Culture and Structure
Organizational structure and culture are important elements in a company. Why are these important and how do they affect each other within an organization? The culture is created when the company founders establish a vision or mission (Robbins, Decenzo, & Coulter, 2013). This is their dream and the future of what they have created. The values are traits that are learned from the first employees hired, which then creates the culture or the personality of the business.
The definition of organizational culture is ‘The shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of doing things that influence the way organizational members act’ (Robbins, Decenzo, & Coulter, 2013, p. 39). Structures can be some form of either a Mechanistic or an Organic formation. Mechanistic structures are a top down organization, which is more formal, using the traditional chain of command decision making process. Organic structures are informal, flatter organizations using limited rules. How do these interact with the culture? The company strategy, size, technology and environment all play a role in the development of the structure.
The structure of a company should enhance and expedite the attainment of the company goals (Robbins, et al., 2013). . When companies are new and young, the structure can be organic to enable a small organization to make quick decisions. As companies grow in size, more rules must be put into place to control costs and regulations. When a company is around 2,000 employees, it has probably already become mechanistic. Technology plays a role in this as well. When a company is using ordinary technology, they have a tendency to become mechanistic as they grow. In opposition, companies wi...
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..., it could have a devastating outcome. Employee behavior, attitude and future commitment will change when they do not believe in the values and structure. Successful companies have a combination of many factors, a defined culture, structure and employees that are committed to both elements.
References
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Robbins, S. P., Decenzo, D. A., & Coulter. M. (2013). Fundamentals of Management (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Wulf, J. (2012). The flattened firm: Not as advertised. California Management Review, 55(1), 5-23.
Management 3rd edition, Kathryn M. Bartol & David C. Martin (Boston, Massachusetts Burr Ridge, Illinois Dubuque, Iowa Madison, Wisconsin New York, New York San Francisco, California St. Louis, Missouri 2008), p36, 37, 41
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.
Organizational culture is a reflective view of the inner workings of an organization. This culture reflects hierarchical arrangements as it pertains to the lines of authority, rights and obligations, duties, and communication processes. Organizational structure establishes the manner in which power and roles are coordinated and controlled amongst the varying levels of management. The structure of an organization is dependent upon their goals, objectives, and strategy. Determining organizational structure best suited for an organization is generally found within the six key elements of organizational structure and choosing those to implement those best suited for the organization. The six key elements include:
Organisational Structure, Culture, and Management Style of a Business C2 An Analysis of How the Organisational Structure, Culture And Management Style of the Business Affects its Performance and Operation and Help It to Meet Its Objectives The organisation structure of Wednesbury IKEA The organisation structure in the ‘Appendix section’ belongs to the Wednesbury branch of IKEA. Wednesbury IKEA is a large formal organisation and it is best suited to a hierarchical organisational structure. This is because; there are more employees as it goes downwards from each level.
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.
Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. (2009). Management (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Jones, G. R., & George, J. M. (2011). Contemporary management. (7 ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
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.
Robbins, S, DeCenzo, D, Coulter, M and Woods, M 2014, Management: The Essentials, 2nd ed, Pearson, Frenchs Forest, NSW.
Robbins, S., Decenzo, D., & Coulter, M. (2013). Fundamentals of management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
and other resources needed to achieve goals. Organizing activities include attracting people to the organization, specifying job responsibilities, grouping job into work units, marshaling and allocating resources, and creating conditions so that people and things work together to achieve maximum success (Bateman & Snell, 2011). When a company is able to successfully organize each portion of their business, they will then be able to maintain a strong foundation. A company that has managed to be successful through its well use of organization is that of General Electric Company. They have what it is called a ‘flat’ structure in which everyone becomes equal (Clawson, 2012). General Electric used to have 29 levels, but today it has only a handful of layers (Bateman & Snell, 2011).
Robbins, S, DeCenzo, D, Coulter, M & Woods, M 2011, Management: The Essentials, Pearson Australia, NSW, Australia, 1st Edition
Importance of organisational culture Organisational culture is one of the most valuable assets of an organization. Many studies state that the culture is one of the key elements that benefits the performance and affects the success of the company (Kerr & Slocum 2005). This can be measured by the income of the company, and market share. Also, an appropriate culture within the society can bring advantages to the company which helps to perform with the demand of the industry environment. For example, a company with a flexible, and innovative organisational culture will create competitive advantages that benefit the organisation's performance.
Organizational culture is imperative to the success of the organization. The strength and core values of the organization is supported by the organizational culture. This allows for organization to operate in a specific manner that is specific to that organization and can pave the path for success. Company founders are passionate about their vision and mission and they elude that passion into their employees. When that passion and mission is successfully implied to the employees the company strives in it 's path to success.
The concept of organizational culture is one of the most debated topics for researchers and theorists. There is no one accepted definition of culture. People even said that it is hard to define culture and even more change it. It is considered a complex part of an organization although many have believed that culture influences employee behavior and organizational effectiveness (Kilmann, Saxton, & Serpa 1985; Marcoulides & Heck, 1993; Schein, 1985a, 1990).