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How culture influences behaviour
An organizations culture may be hard to define but it has a major impact on the behavior of individuals in an organization
Culture and human behavior
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Organizational Culture Organizations have personalities like individuals and like individuals, they have enduring and stable traits that help us predict their attitudes and behaviors. An organization’s culture may be hard to define but it has a major impact on the behavior of individuals in the organization. To understand one’s behavior in an organizational culture it helps to understand the dominant culture in an organization and to figure out how individuals come to learn that culture and how the culture affects them. Defining Organizational Culture (7 Characteristics) There seems to be wide agreement that organizational culture refers to a system of' shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations. This system of shared meaning is, on closer examination, a set of key characteristics that the organization values. Recent research suggests that seven primary characteristics, in aggregate, capture the essence of an organization's culture. 1. Innovation and risk taking-The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks 2. Attention to detail-The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail 3. Outcome orientation-The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve those outcomes 4. People orientation-The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of' outcomes oil people within the organization 5. Team orientation-The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals 6. Aggressiveness-The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygo... ... middle of paper ... ...s the consistency of employee behavior. These clearly are benefits to an organization. From an employee's standpoint, culture is valuable because it reduces ambiguity. It tells employees how things are done and what's important. But we shouldn't ignore the potentially dysfunctional aspects of culture, especially a strong culture. Culture is a liability when the shared values do not agree with those that will further the organization's effectiveness. This situation is most likely to occur when the, organization's environment is dynamic. When the environment is undergoing rapid change, the organization's entrenched culture may no longer be appropriate. Consistency of behavior is an asset to an organization in a stable environment.. It may, however, burden the organization and hinder its ability to respond to changes in the environment.