Essay On Organisational Culture

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INTRODUCTION Organisational culture is a term that has been used more frequently in the last ten years. A lot of research has been done on the concept of organisational culture and many different views have been raised as to what organisational culture really means. Businesses nowadays are said to have their own distinct organisational culture. Then again, what does organisational culture really bring to a business? Does it improve productivity? Does it ensure a better working environment or does it force employees to conform? These are some of the questions we aim to analyse. We will try our best to give you a greater understanding of organisational culture even though there is no definitive definition and so many different theories floating around. Psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists all have their own standpoint on the subject matter. This essay will discuss the theories surrounding organisational culture. We will also look at organisational culture in a South African context. Lastly, we will critically analyse culture theory and the field in general. PART 1: ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE THEORIES DEFINITIONS OF ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE Culture is a concept that helps to explain trends of behaviour that distinguish individuals and the groups with which they are associated. The culture theory is used to depict organisations based on their values, attitudes and beliefs. Some consider culture the as glue that holds everyone together, some compare it to a compass providing direction, it includes values, beliefs, customs, norms etc. Arnold (2005, p 625) states that “organisational culture is the distinctive norms, beliefs, principles and ways of behaving that combine to give each organisation its distinct character”. Organisat... ... middle of paper ... ...or the work assigned to them. In this culture power comes with responsibility. From the above theories of organizational culture it is plain to see that commitment is an important aspect of organizational culture. Global Leadership and Organizations Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) is a research project “investigating inter-relationship between social culture, organizational culture and organizational leadership”, Robert J. House from the Warton school; University of Pennsylvania in 1991 came up with this research project idea. It was originated and formally started in 1993. GLOBE emphasises nine cultural dimensions some of which have been mentioned above; they are  Power distance  Uncertainty avoidance  Human orientation  Performance orientation  Future orientation  Assertiveness  Collectivism I: Societal collectivism  Collectivism II: In-Group collectivism

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