Culture is defined as a combination of values, beliefs, experiences, knowledge, religious practices, material things and attitudes which have accumulated over a period of time and they affect human behavior and actions. Culture is influenced by both individuals and groups of people who have lived together for long period of time or people who interact a lot. Culture always has a bearing on how individuals or groups of people behave, make decisions and act on them. Culture is transmitted through social interactions and learning. Culture must be accepted among the people who share it and must affect their beliefs, values, symbols they use, their eating habits and even economic activities. It must be transmitted from one generation to the next through institutions that exists in the society and is considered a tradition among people who practice it. Culture can be developed by various groups of people such as; people living in the same country, people living in the same region, people sharing the same religion, school, same clan, tribe and even people working in the same organization (Chanlat, Davel & Dupuis,2013).This paper discusses culture that exists in organizations and how culture is important to managers of these organizations.
Organizational culture is defined as the values, beliefs, assumptions, behaviors and rules that have been accepted within the organization over duration of time and which are shared by all the people working and associated with the organization. Culture within an organization affects and influences various aspects of people in the organization such as the way they dress, act, make decisions and their productivity. Culture is a very important aspect of the organization since it influences the productivity and morale of people working in the organization (Driskill & Brenton,2010). Culture is beneficial to managers in the following ways;
Culture in an organization brings along a sense of unity. When employees from different demographics share the same organization culture, they become very united. Every organization consist of employees and other stakeholders from different cultural background, tribes, age, marital status, gender, level of education and family background. All the people in the organization therefore have different traditions, beliefs and culture that they bring to the organization. If the different people decide to practice their culture, traditions and beliefs, the organization will not be able to perform as a unit. This is because, in the course of their interactions, disputes and conflicts will arise among employees. This will be as a result of cultures and beliefs which are different opposite of the other and therefore they will collide. Due to this reason, its important for an organization`s employees to put aside all their personal and cultural differences and adopt the culture of the organization in which they are involved in. When employees do this, they share all the beliefs and practices of the organization (Hoang,2008). This will eventually reduce conflicts among the employees. This translates to a peaceful working environment and cordial relations between and among employees. Unity is created in the organization through equal treatment and remuneration policies. Managers will therefore have it easy running the organization since they will save the time that they would have spent in solving disputes and conflicts between employees. This time can be used more productively to contribute positively to the organization. The organization will therefore perform better in all aspects (Griffin,2011).
Another benefit of culture in the organization is that it helps to promote loyalty among the people working in the organization. Loyalty is defined as the state of being faithful and committed to something or someone. It means that a person strictly adheres to certain requirements, culture and code of conduct. Loyalty in the organization means the person working in the organization is committed and dedicated to their roles and duties in the organization. Employees who are loyal do not need to be pushed to perform their basic roles and responsibility. Loyalty in an organization also means that the employees are self motivated and will focus and strive to achieve the objectives of the organization as a whole. Loyalty is achieved in an organization when employees feel they are involved in the activities of the organization (Keyton, 2011). The sense of accomplishment and importance in the organization is important for employees to feel committed to the organization. This happens when an organization promotes a culture of valuing and rewarding their staff. This happens through a proper reward system for good performance. The organization should not punish non-performers but encourage them to work harder to achieve their targets. An organization can create loyalty by being concerned about the personal welfare of their employees. This can be done by contributing financially to social events involving employees such as weddings and funerals. The organization can also create a guidance and counseling department where employees can be helped on the psychological issues affecting them. Once all this is done, employees feel valued and appreciated by the organization. They will therefore be more dedicated and work selflessly towards helping the organization. Managers of organizations with an organization culture will therefore be able to enjoy the benefits of having loyal employees. Such benefits include retaining qualified and experienced staff members who are very valuable to the organization. Retention of employees helps in transferring the culture of the organization among the incoming employees. Long-serving employees will also help in training new employees and therefore they are able to adapt easily and fast. Eventually, the managers of these organizations will not need to recruit on a regular basis. The organization is also able to save on the cost of recruitment and on-job training. The organization is therefore able to make extra profits.
Culture within an organization also helps managers in improving the productivity of employees by creating a culture of competition. Healthy competition among an organizational workers helps in creating a common organizational culture. Employees develop a culture of hard work and competition among employees. All employees will strive to perform well and impress their superiors. They will therefore be rewarded or promoted. Competition is important within the organization since it helps in improving the productivity of the workers. Production per hour is increased when competition is high among the workers. A culture of competition within an organization is also very important because it helps new employees to learn quickly and understand how the organization works. New employees will therefore focus on performance and delivering results. The total units produced per month increase and therefore profitability is improved. This is important to managers because the responsibility and objective of every manager is to maximize productivity and profitability of the company. Increased profits will mean improved value for shareholders. The managers will also benefit by being rewarded for good performance (Watson, 2011).
Organizational culture is also important to managers because it helps in creating an identity for the organizational. An organizational identity is the set of values and statements that members of an organization perceive to be key and unique. The identity of the organizational also determines how people inside and outside the organization perceive it. Its basically what an organization is all about. An organization culture will therefore create a picture of the organization which people will associate the organization with. The culture of the organization can create a positive or negative image for the organization. A good culture will mean that the organization will be viewed positively by various stakeholders. This is important in attracting new employees, getting credit facilities from financial institutions, good relations with the government and maintaining good profile with the suppliers. It therefore means that the managers of the organization will be able to maintain good relations with all stakeholders. A good image for the organization also generates financial benefits for the organization. The organization will therefore be run smoothly with cooperation and support of all the people involved with the organization (Schein,2010).
Another benefit of having a culture in the organization to the managers is that it gives the employees a sense of direction. The culture of the organization helps in shaping the direction an organization will take in its future operations and growth. The culture of the organization shapes the vision, mission and objectives of the organization. A sense of direction helps in determining how employees work and the objectives that they have in mind as they work. The future growth of the organization is therefore shaped by the culture of the organization. Therefore, the culture of the organization helps managers to impact the vision, goals and objectives of the organization on employees. The therefore underpins the overall success of the organization over time (Markovic?,2012).
Culture within an organization is important to managers since it helps in designing the ethics and code of conduct to be followed by employees. The culture of the organization determines the ethics that the organization will impose upon its employees. It determines how employees are supposed to behave within the organization`s premises and at work. This is very important in ensuring a suitable working environment and good behavior among the workers. Strict adherence to the organization`s code of conduct and behavior helps mangers to achieve the performance objectives of the organization (Daher, 2012).
Finally, the culture of an organization helps to promote innovation within the organization. This happens when the management instills knowledge and mentality that promotes creativity. The management of the organization should provide all the necessary equipment and facilities which will help employs to work towards improving the organization (Daft,Kendrick & Vershinina,2010). Innovative and creative employees should be encouraged and motivated through a proper reward policy. It helps to encourage more and more workers to come up with new ideas which help the organization to be more competitive in the industry in which it operates. This is very important especially in the modern times when technology drives most of the industries. Managers in charge of organizations with an innovative culture will therefore benefit through this creativity in many ways. Increased innovation will help to boast the brand of the organization and increase the product portfolio of the company. Profits will increase and this will be beneficial to the managers (Alvesson,2013).
Conclusion
Culture is key to the organizations stability, growth and development. There are various benefits of an organization having a culture. Some of the benefits include promoting unity among and between employees. Organization culture also helps in promoting loyalty to the organization. Through organization culture, a sense of direction, identity and also creativity and innovation is promoted in the organization. Therefore, it is therefore important for the management of the organization to focus on cultivating a good culture in the organization.
References:
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