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4 theories of organisational culture
Organizational culture introduction
Organizational culture introduction
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For this assignment, I will be analyzing the organizational culture theory in the context of my favorite television show, The Office. Organizational Culture Theory is used to explain the complex organizational cultures that Organizations create within themselves, as well as the shared reality and values created. Organizational cultures help create a sense of organizational reality, and a shared set of values, among the members of the organization. Within organizational cultures there are various symbols: physical, behavioral, and verbal. Physical symbols are things that you can physically see like buildings and logos and décor, behavioral symbols are things that people do, such ceremonies and communication patterns, and verbal symbols, which …show more content…
When introduced to this theory I was struck by how well I thought it fit with the unique culture of Dunder Mifflin presented in the show. Although this is a fictional office setting, I think that this theory does a good job at explain the complex organizational culture shown in The Office. The organizational reality of Dinder Mifflin is based on a shared sense of humor by most of the employees, and an overall loyalness to the organization as a whole. The people within the organization value comedy, almost seemingly above all else. As well as comedy, they also value long-term commitment to the company and a general respect for …show more content…
The physical symbols that are present within the show are the Dunder Mifflin logo and the office building itself. The most noticeable behavioral symbol within The Office are the practical jokes which the workers play on one another. There are multiple examples of verbal symbols within The Office, one of which is the use of “that’s what she said,” which is used by many of the people within the organization. There are also a variety of nicknames, such as Tuna, that are used throughout the series. Performances seem to be more prevalent within the show, ritual performances especially. The people in the organization regularly have meetings in the conference room and birthday parties for every member of staff. They also host yearly Christmas parties in the office, and a yearly awards ceremony called the Dundies. Michael, the regional manager of Dunder Mifflin, also has a personal ritual of going to the water cooler 20 times a day to scan the office. The only social performance I could recognize within the show is the office workers do often say “Good Morning” to one another. Political performances are another large part of the office. Dwight, a sales employee, routinely tries to influence his coworkers through bribes, speeches, and tricks. Michael also spends his entire run on the show trying to influence his subordinants to like and
In this particular case, there are innumerable characteristics of organizational culture and socialization that are present. According to “Introduction to Organizational Communication,” organizational culture is defined as “a way of thinking, acting and viewing work shared by members of an organization that reflects the organization’s identity.” In accordance to this definition, the Donald Food, Inc. is a lax and comfortable environment; most of the employees don’t even show up until 9:00 A.M., “This company was founded by my grandfather 100 years ago on the simple premise of neighbors working toge...
Organizational culture is the system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organization and guides the behavior of its members, while organizational structure is an expression of social and economic principles of hierarchy and specialization (Kinicki, 2015). Both the culture and the structure of an organization are important things for management to understand in order to successfully set and achieve an organization’s goals. Companies who excel in highly competitive fields can attribute their successful economic performance to a cohesive corporate culture that increases competitiveness and profitability. This culture is best utilized in an organization that has the necessary structure to allow its employees to coordinate their actions to achieve its goals.
The work place is something we can all relate to because we all have had a job at some point in time and we all understand that we act differently when we are at work compared to when we are with our friends at the bar or with our family at dinner. These are all different types of social systems that we belong to. The social system I will be using the Johnson Framework to analyze our behaviors is my current employment at the Bucyrus Arby’s. Arby’s is a fast food franchise that specializes in selling roast beef sandwiches and is considered higher quality that McDonalds but lower quality than Chipotle. For this paper, I will discuss my role and my coworkers roles in this social system using the Johnson framework.
The concept of organizational cultures was first raised in 1970s, and soon became a fashionable topic. Organizational culture is the shared beliefs, values and behaviours of the group. Theorists of organizations believe that organizational culture represents the pattern of behaviours, values, and beliefs of an organization. Hence, studies around organizational culture have been seen as great helpful and essential for understanding organizations and their behaviours. Additionally, organizational culture has been considered to be an important determinant of organizational success. Therefore, leaders and managers pay more than more attentions on this topic, focusing on constructing and managing organizational cultures.
The Office exemplifies both the positives and negatives of Herzberg’s two-factor theory. To begin, a motivator factor is demonstrated. At the beginning of season two episode five of The Office, Michael Scott walks into the office and greets his co-workers by saying “Happy Halloween, everyone” along with a warm smile. His co-workers are instantly recognized which ensures that they are well-respected by their manager. On the other hand, shortly after the introduction, Michael Scott informs the audience that he is in charge of firing an employee by the end of the month. Therefore, this exemplifies a hygiene factor because of low job security in the
Organizational culture can be defined as a system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organization and guides the behavior of its members. It includes routine behaviors, norms, dominant values, and a feeling or climate conveyed. The purpose and function of this culture is to help foster internal integration, bring staff members from all levels of the organization much closer together, and enhance their performance.
Office politics can have advantages that may motivate certain employees and cliques. It can be very productive, as they usually know each other well and can utilize each person’s talent in a team setting. How a supervisor or manger deals with office politics can ultimately lead to his or her success or demise. It can also be the most unproductive and destructive problem in the workplace; which can derail the best laid business plans. It can eventually take down what was once a profitable smooth running business if it is allowed to continue or if upper management is a participant.
A strong organisational culture leads to higher organisational performance. Organisational culture can be defined as a total function of common beliefs, values, patterns of behaviour that are held and shared by the members of an organisation. It is also a valuable resource which can improve the competitiveness of a company and is used to distinguish the company (Barney 1986). From the 1970's the study of organisational culture has become an important issue and closely studied in the early 1980s. Since then, organisational culture has turned out to be one of the most important factors which affects the overall performance of a company.
Organizational culture can be defined as the glue that holds an organization together through a sharing of patterns of meaning. The culture focuses on the values, beliefs, and expectations that members come to share (Siehl& Martin, 1984). Organizational culture helps to contribute towards achieving the organizational goals, decision making processes, job satisfaction, employee motivation etc. It helps in uniting the employees of an organization.
Corporate culture is the shared values and meanings that members hold in common and that are practiced by an organization’s leaders. Corporate culture is a powerful force that affects individuals in very real ways. In this paper I will explain the concept of corporate culture, apply the concept towards my employer, and analyze the validity of this concept. Research As Sackmann's Iceberg model demonstrates, culture is a series of visible and invisible characteristics that influence the behavior of members of organizations. Organizational and corporate cultures are formal and informal. They can be studied by observation, by listening and interacting with people in the culture, by reading what the company says about its own culture, by understanding career path progressions, and by observing stories about the company. As R. Solomon stated, “Corporate culture is related to ethics through the values and leadership styles that the leaders practice; the company model, the rituals and symbols that organizations value, and the way organizational executives and members communicate among themselves and with stakeholders. As a culture, the corporation defines not only jobs and roles; it also sets goals and establishes what counts as success” (Solomon, 1997, p.138). Corporate values are used to define corporate culture and drive operations found in “strong” corporate cultures. Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, and Bonar Group, the engineering firm I work for, all exemplify “strong” cultures. They all have a shared philosophy, they value the importance of people, they all have heroes that symbolize the success of the company, and they celebrate rituals, which provide opportunities for caring and sharing, for developing a spiri...
Schein (2006) also identified two levels from an outside perspective. First would be the visible elements which are the symbols, logo, business, work clothes, work environment, etc. which are apparent when one visits the organization. These are elements that could have been planned by the leaders of the organization on how they want it to be viewed by outside spectators The second element would be the invisible elements which include the language, stories, management style, values, attitudes, and standards of conducts. These develop over time through the history and the relationship of people in the
Organisational theorists, depending on their school of thought, hold differing conceptions of organisational culture. Most theorists attempt to use a variety of metaphors, or images, to bound, frame, and differentiate that category of experience referred to as an “organisation” (Smircich, 1983). The most common comparisons made of organisations
This theory states that how you feel about something becomes information that your mind uses to evaluate something. Humor plays key role in this. For example, a person may prefer a humor advertisement as opposed to a non-humor advertisement. His reason for preferring this may be because he feels more at ease when he sees an ad that makes him laugh. This will influence the way in which he evaluates ads.
Detweiller, Eric. ““I was Just Doing a Little Joke There”: Irony and the Paradoxes of the Sitcom The Office” Journal of Popular Culture 45.4 (2012): 727-748. Web. 15 January. 2014.
As far back as history can be told mankind has struggled between balancing culture, power and politics. Many wars have been fought and many people have placed their lives on the line in order to stand up for what they believe in. The combinations of culture, power and politics have spilled over into the workplace. In today’s business environment individuals have much more to worry about than just completing their assigned tasks. Organizational culture, power and office politics influence day to day operations as well as govern the atmosphere within the organization. The amount of impact that power and politics have in the workplace, directly reflect the organization’s culture formally as well as informally.