Organisational culture was defined by Hofstede (1984) as ‘a body of learned behaviour, a collection of beliefs, habits and traditions, shared by a group of people and learned by people.’ People working within an organisation develop their own culture in the same way a national identity is developed in societies. Culture normally refers to group of people that follow the same behaviour, when relating this to an organisation it gives a sense of identity for example ‘what we do’ and ‘how we should behave’. According to the CIPD, companies with strong cultures tend to perform better than those that are weaker.
Visible aspects of organisational culture relate to the physical and social environment. There are two main theories which explore the levels of culture within an organisation these are Schein and French and Bell. According to Mullins (2010) Schein suggested in 1992 that ‘the most visible level of culture was artefacts and creations.’ This level includes technology, language both written and spoken and the behaviour of group members. This theory is often related to an onion as the outer layers are visible aspects of culture, the middle layers are deeper aspects of culture and the centre is the basic beliefs on which the organisation was built. The second theory is French and Bell’s organisational iceberg. French and Bell (1990) suggested that there were two contrasting aspects to organisations; the first is visable and formal whereas the second is more hidden and refers more to what goes on despite the formal structure.
Shein (1992) French and Bell (1990)
Using my own work experience at Philip Green and Partners estate agents I am able to provide examples of a few ‘visual’ aspects of culture in their organisation. Firstly estate agents use different language and certain phrases that are specific to this industry for example, vendor and probate. There are also many phrases that are written in short hand for example first time buyer is always written as FTB and everyone within the organisation uses this shorthand. Aside from language there are certain unwritten rules and expectations that employees are expected to follow. When an employee is showing applicants around a property for example they are expected to take their shoes off and treat the house with respect like they would their own. There are many other examples of visual aspects of culture within this organisation that I could comment on but the final aspect I have chosen is atmosphere. Philip Green and Partners is a professional business so members of staff are expected to act accordingly. This means if a customer is to walk into the office a member of stands up to greet them and talks to them in a formal manner. As well as having a business attitude staff are expected to dress formally in business suits.
Organisational culture can be classified in many different ways. Handy developed the ideas of Harrison and came up with four types of organisational culture; power culture, role culture, task culture and person culture.
Power Culture
Within a power culture there are a selection of powerful figures at the centre and few rules and procedures. Decisions are often made quickly as communication is made in person. According to Mullins (2010) ‘A power culture is often found in small businesses as it relies deeply on trust, empathy and personal communication.‘
Role Culture
A role culture is typical of a beurocracy as work is decided via rules and regulations. The job role or title is often seen as more important than the individual and therefore power is based on the level in the company hierarchy. People in a role culture work to a job description, these are often seen in the public sector for example hospitals and local governments.
Task Culture
A task culture is a project based organisation that involves a lot of team work. This type of culture utilises the right resources and people to create a unique business. A task culture is based more on expert power rather than personal power as it is the task that is key rather than the individual or company rules. Within this type of culture there is a lot more freedom and flexibility.
Person culture
Within a personal culture the individuals are the main focus of the organisation. This means that there isn’t a hierarchy as the company only exists to serve the interests of those within it. Examples of this type of organisation include barristers, architects, consultants and doctors.
Every organisation will have its own unique culture so some businesses are likely to be a mix of cultures for example in different parts of the organisation there may be different cultures. This will make it hard to classify this culture under just one of the types mentioned previously.
To conclude organisation culture refers to the behaviour, beliefs and traditions of a group of people within an organisation. It can be said that it is the glue that holds an organisation together. There are a few theories that explore organisation culture further two of which I have mentioned previously. These are both based on a similar concept but Schein splits an organisation into three layers whereas French and Bell only split it into two. These visual layers can be applied to culture in organisations such as Philip Green. Not all organisations will have the same visual aspects as it depends on the type of company. Every organisation is unique and will therefore have a different culture. These can usually be classified under by the four types of culture suggested by Handy however this is not always possible as many organisation contain different aspects of all four cultures.
References
Books
Mullins, L. (2010) Management and organisational behaviour.9th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
Websites
Google images (2010) Organisational iceberg [online]. Available from: www.google.co.uk/images [accessed 22 December 2010].
Philip green and partners (2010) home page [online]. Available from http://www.philipgreen.co.uk/ [accessed 22 Decemeber 2010].
Value based management (2010) Three levels of culture edgard schien [online]. Available from: http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_schein_three_levels_culture.html
[accessed 22 December 2010].
Another comprehensive blog, Sapphire, well done.
ReplyDeleteThank you! This is a very helpful blog!!
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