Chapter 11

Key Work feature: The impact of culture on organizations

The concept of organizational culture is a complex phenomenon. In many ways trying to find a single definition is like trying to describe an elephant – we know it when we see it (or in the case of culture, experience it) but beyond that leads to difficulties. Organizational culture is commonly thought of as the assumptions, values, experiences, beliefs, norms and values shared within an organization. It finds its outward expression in the perceptions, thoughts, feelings and behavior of members of an organization. It may involve such things as dress code, speech, and symbols. It also involves the common understandings and meanings shared by members of a group which may be largely tacit. These meanings in turn will be translated to new group members. Hofstede (2000) argues that culture can be seen to be distinct from individual personality, which refers to one person, and human nature, which refers to all humans. For Hofstede culture can only be defined for a group of people because culture demarcates what makes one group stand out from other groups. Organizational culture then is simply what distinguishes the members of one organization from other people.

Organizational culture can be a powerful force for identifying what's important to an organization. The reward and control mechanisms that help point to what is valued within the organizations will often be implicit as well as codified. Even where this is explicit and written down there is often an implicit understanding as to what is really important in organizations. As such an organization’s culture ensures standards of behavior are observed and common expectations fulfilled by controlling the ways in which individuals and groups in an organization interact with each other and work to achieve the organization’s goals. Culture, therefore, helps with the coordination of subordinates’ work without the organizations incurring the costs of providing constant supervision. It is important to note that an organization’s culture need not be monolithic; different sub-cultures may exist. If these sub-cultures are counter the dominant culture they may act to subvert the attainment of the organization’s goals. In the same way an organization’s culture can be a negative or positive force for influencing change.

To utilise culture as a leadership tool it is necessary to recruit and select individuals who fit the organization’s culture, and socialize and train these individuals to ensure they share the organization’s values. The individuals who are rewarded will be those employees whose attitude and efforts reflect and reinforce the organization’s culture. Although this approach would seem to make sense when recruiting managers and staff it may be wholly inappropriate when selecting a leader. This is because the effect of an organization’s existing culture may inhibit the strategic change required for the organization to successfully compete in its markets. In such a case what the organization requires is a leader unencumbered by the current culture. And because culture is so ingrained within corporations a new leader will invariably appoint their own top management team to help facilitate that change. This highlights another interesting aspect of culture and leadership. If leadership is to have legitimacy for implementing strategic change then leaders have to act (and be perceived to act) in ways that are consistent with the values they expect their employees to share. Any divergence from this whether perceived or real, will have the effect of undermining their change efforts.

Can an organizational culture be changed? It is interesting to note that Hofstede emphasizes not the role of leadership but rather the part played by the personnel department. He argues that if the values of members of an organization are not dependent on being a member of that organization then their values filter into the organization through the recruitment and selection process. The personnel department which pre-select the individuals the organization will recruit therefore play a crucial role in maintaining an organization’s values. Aligned to this will be the social interaction of managers of an organization in the form of their example setting, changing work practices, and their sanctions of reward and punishment.

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Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Chapter 11.

Chapter 11