Organizational Culture Essay

Organizational Culture Essay
Organizational culture refers to how the various types of things are performed in the organisation. In
other words it can be said that how the work is executed, and whether that work is satisfactory or
unsatisfactory." Organisation culture includes different types of values, beliefs, opinions, traditions,
rituals, Policies, beliefs, notion" (Mullins, 2005 p 891 ) In many ways organisational culture helps to
the organisation to achieve their goal and to formulate strategies and propaganda so that proper and
effective decision making process should work in favour of the organisation. The organisation
culture directly put effects on organisational policies like structure of the organisation , team
behaviour, group psychology, working...show more content...
It involves shaping the employees work expectation so they understand and accept the return and un
return rules of organisation. Strong culture is reflection of successful companies and their founder
such as imprint of Watson on I.B.M., Bill Gates on Microsoft, Michael Dell on Dell. When any
organisation fulfil their particular task and required to replace the old version of culture influenced
by latest working policies , changes in external environment , current trends in market . In other
words when organisation needs to introduces new policies and new features with respect to latest
scenario of the movement of the competitors , new technology working in market so that further
strategies can be formulate in order to achieving the future goals with new working environment and
new with culture/pattern in the organisation. There are various parameters on behalf of which we
can say that an organisation change their culture when the particular pattern/ culture are not in use
with respect to current time, such as frequent development in latest technology and information age,
competition, global perspective, economic implications, customers trend, changing nature and
constitution of work force , competitive pricing policies, wages structure, administrative procedure,
educational cause, profitability, reorganisation, consumerism, market forces, forecasting future
trends, condition of
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Employee Organizational Culture Essay
The shared characteristics and, in some cases, perception of employees create what is known as
organizational culture. A strong culture constructs a unified employee atmosphere, whereas a weak
culture lacks a shared sense of distinction between employees. An employee's heritage or individual
culture, although different than, affects the overall organizational culture of companies. Like society,
sub–cultures exist within organizations. Formed by departmental function, geographical location,
and/or the personalities of employees, sub–cultures include employees who continue to adhere to the
organizations' overall culture, but have additional independent characteristics. Employees' individual
heritage, along with the culture and...show more content...
xii). Although rather obvious that the higher level of leaders have a commanding subculture, rank is
not the only condition, the reach of this group offers a substantial aspect to its power. Leaders at the
highest levels of organizations control a more considerable territory – internal and external – and a
greater number of employees.
Internal and external perception of organizations develops from leaders creating and managing
culture, the behavioral norms within particular industries, and influential subcultures. Organizational
culture contributes to the approach and method used to train and develop employees of
organizations. Sidestepping organizational culture and cultural diversity while developing and
administering training programs inhibits the effectiveness of the training by not addressing company
culture and individual perspectives of employees.
Discussion
A strong positive organizational culture develops from employee awareness of the distinct
differences between their company and other companies along with company mindfulness and
embracing cultural diversity of its employees. As long as the organizational uniqueness of companies
is positive, company pride among employees expands and improves the employees' willingness to
learn. Conversely, disinterested employees lack commitment to their company and lack desire to
learn, making training more difficult.
Dimensions or characteristics of organizational

Leadership and Organizational Culture Essay
LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
In this paper I will discuss the effects and responsibilities leaders have on an organizational culture. I
believe leaders have an enormous effect on the well–being of an organizational culture. Leaders must
take an active role within their organization's culture. Whether positive or negative, in an
organization, things tend to follow suit "down hill." A leader has the power and influence to
maintain, create, or repair an organizational culture. However, this can prove to be a delicate and
challenging task.
When trying to maintain a healthy organizational culture the leader has many factors that he/she
must balance. Maintaining a healthy organizational culture may be viewed as an entire strategic
...show more content...
4)
These factors that shape an organization culture often seem to evolve naturally among subordinates
in an organization. It is vital that the leader know how to manage these factors effectively to ensure a
healthy organizational culture.
Perspectives on Relationships between Leadership and Organizational Culture Upon researching I
found a three perspective model showing the relationship between leaders and organizational culture.
The first is the "functionalism perspective." The functionalism perspective basically entails that "a
strong culture depends on a strong leader or a strong leader can develop a strong culture. Leaders
have choices and can influence the firm through their actions or decisions." (Zhang, Tsui, Wang, Xin,
n.d., p.5) With the functionalism perspective it is believed that the leaders, who are in the head
positions, have all the power in molding and changing an organization. There are numerous factors
and the leader must know how to manage them.
The second perspective is the "attribution perspective." With the attribution perspective theorists
"argue that the role of leadership is in the mind of the followers, who attribute a person the ability to
lead and consider him/her to be the

Organizational culture Culture is something that encompasses all of us. It helps us to understand
how things are created, acknowledged, developed and managed. In this context, culture helps to
define and understand an organisation and how it works and manages. Organizational culture is a
shared value system derived over time that guides members as they solve problems, adapts to the
external environment, and manage relationship (Schein in Wooten and Crane 2003, Vol. 21(6),
p.276). Organisational culture is about how things get done subtly without people watching so that
the organisation runs smoothly. Organisational culture is needed so that company can run without
hiccups and run efficiently. It shows organisation structural...show more content...
(Schein 1992). In nursing, it is believed that patient safety comes first before others in the nursing
line. They are the most deeply held beliefs of the group (Neuhauser, Bender and Stromberg 2000 p5).
Such beliefs are the ones that influence the actions of the nurses. Layer 2 involves behaviours and
habits that changes frequently as the environment changes (Neuhauser, Bender and Stromberg 2000
p5). This layer is about the norms of the organisation. This layer shows the way the organisation staff
does their work. It ranges from formal policies and procedures to the informal habits and tactics
employees use to function effectively within the company (Neuhauser, Bender and Stromberg 2000
p5). Example of formal policies and procedures is when nurses are to ensure patient safety at all
times when they come in contact with patients. Informal habits and tactics include junior nurses
being tactful to senior nurses or nursing managers when communicating with them. By
understanding the way senior staff act, new or junior staff can distinguish which actions are
appropriate. The third layer includes symbols and language of the organisation staff that changes
frequently as environment and business strategy changes (Neuhauser, Bender and Stromberg 2000
p5). These are the parts of culture that can be visibly be seen, felt or heard. Examples include
nursing home logos, uniform and workplace layout. By understand an

Organizational Culture Aspects Essay
Organizational Culture Aspects
The impact of culture is very important when it comes to attempting and achieving personal goals
and business goals. Organizational cultures are the characteristics that are based on morals, values,
traditions and personnel behavior. Values are very important because people act out upon his or her
values, and values channel behavior. Saying and doing the right thing are two different things and if
managers are trying to set the culture they have to set the example. Physical manifestations such as
ethical codes or written rules are some ways the organization reflects its values. General Electric,
Lockheed Martin, Haliburton Company, Corporate Express, ACH Foods and Whole Foods are
corporations that strive to...show more content...
Lockheed Martin uses The Diversity Maturity Model (DMM) to measure employee's thoughts and
perceptions to a better work environment.
We all have heard the slogan "We never forget who we are working for." Well, that is exactly what
Lockheed's mission is based on, "What's good for people is good for business" (2008). Many
companies are customer based and like General Electric they also "depend upon the imaginations,
intelligence and curiosity of its employees" (2008) to serve customers better. Diversity is accepted
and welcomed at Lockheed Martin because they rely heavily on teamwork. Ethical standards and
behaviors are given to all from top executive leadership positions to every level at the corporation.
They have values they rely on to respect each person's individuality. Do what is right, Respect others,
Perform with excellence.
Creating the right culture is not easy but there are programs that help alleviate conflicts. For
example, Lockheed uses the internet base software programs that give training on ethics and legal
compliances. This type of training can address different topics such as sexual harassment and with
technology has helped many companies in giving training where there is no time for seminars.
Corporate Express Canada
Corporate Express Canada (CEC) has been voted in the top 50 employers of Canada for the last 3
years in a row. Having this prestige makes CEC a very reputable

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. However, there seems to be a widely held misconception
that throughout an organization or within a specific division there is only one uniform culture that
exists. This definition does not seem adequate because it fails to recognize that in many
organizations there are quite often groups that are unique...show more content...
Quite often individuals never really become part of the dominant culture yet merely they try to give
that impression so that they are not dismissed. Secondly, it falls short in the case of many
individuals that have been hired as a contract employee. Not having the certainty and job security of
a full time staff member makes individuals less open towards the organization's norms and values.
By not having the confidence in their future at the firm individuals are likely to be very reluctant to
make the effort and try to become part of the team, and eventually the firm's culture. In addition the
candidates did not receive the extensive training that was needed to help develop their skills and
perform the routine tasks of this very demanding position. This may have been a result of the fact
that the company was unsure whether they would retain the services of the new staff. This in turn
made many of the new recruits feel inadequate when compared to their full–time counterparts. Hence
they did not feel part of the team and part of the organization. It also had the unintentional effect of
reinforcing the feeling among many individuals that the company was not committed to them and
that they did not want to make the investment in their training since they were uncertain whether
they would keeping them as

Reflection Of Organizational Culture
Living in a world of approximately 7.5 billion people mean living with different perspectives,
different ideas, different cultures; in other words, we live in a society full of diversities. Throughout
this semester, I have learned that an organization cannot function without people. In fact, employees
are one of the valuable assets of an organization. Every organization has a corporate culture; thus,
living in a world of diversities poses the challenge for companies in maintaining such culture alive. I
believe that organizational culture, just like Politics, cannot be avoided within an organization. I am
not a mother yet, but based on my observation, organizational culture is like growing up a child that
is, it requires of a strong mother (an empowered leader) to nurture a child (culture) with values and
confidence which are key elements towards attaining success.
A new–born does not have a specific time to eat. However, as this baby grows, he begins to adapt to
the environment setting in which he was born. For instance, his mother will eventually "train" him
that there are three meals per...show more content...
As stated in my first reflection, our personality and values are profoundly influenced by a place
we call home. As a result, we will carry that personality and values in our workplace. One of the
most global culture was that of "men being in power". This article proves that such culture is
changing. Seeing PepsiCo website, creates a feeling of astonishment to know that one of the
world's biggest food, snack and beverage corporation, has a female CEO. Moreover, it also
comprises of at least four different ethnic groups. I think that these global cultures of "men in power"
and "white men are the boss" influence the organization. For instance, in PepsiCo case having a
combination of women and other ethnicities can foster creativity in the

The Intel Corporation produces microprocessors that are used in computers. It has a market share of
over 75% and has been praised for its highly innovative culture. Do you think that an innovative
culture can be relied on to guarantee the future success of a business? Justify your answer with
reference to Intel and/or other organisations you know. (40 marks)
An organisation's culture refers to 'the way we do things around here' and is determined by the
values, attitudes and beliefs of the people who work within it. As such, culture will undoubtedly
influence the success of a business. In particular, it can be argued that an innovative culture can lead
to business success because it enables companies to share ideas more freely and...show more
content...
BMW use a similar culture where everyone is expected to help find solutions. They have a network
of committed associates with few hierarchical barriers, allowing every employee to voice their
opinion. This culture has allowed BMW to promote new products and get the product just right
through thousands of brainstorming sessions. These examples show how innovation can lead to
success in technological industries.
Innovative culture can be relied on to guarantee the future success of a business, as the external
environment is constantly changing. This can be linked to Charles Handy's theory of 'discontinuous
change' which means that in the future change is constant, and therefore an innovative culture would
most likely guarantee a business success. Being highly innovative would mean that managers would
have to be flexible and react to the constantly changing external environment, therefore adopting an
innovative culture would mean businesses would have to come up with ideas and strategies for the
future in order for the business to remain competitive and successful. Innovative culture should equip
firms with the ability to cope better with change. For example Intel's strategy of diversification
where they use tactics such as job swapping and controlled employee role changes to increase

It is not uncommon in today's business world to hear a new CEO, an organizational consultant, a
leadership expert–talk about the urgent need to change the organization culture. Often organizations
set high aspirations to "change the culture" but fall short of modifying the way that people feel,
behave and get work done. Culture changes rarely manifest into noticeable long term improvements.
It is important to note that corporate cultures are slow to evolve and difficult to change, that is not to
say that culture cannot be changed. For starters, organizational culture can be complex to even define
and differ in definition depending on the organization. As organizations move forward with their
"culture change" programs, it is crucial that they have a vast understanding of what culture is and
how it is formed. In the present paper, the foundation of organizational culture is studied from a
couple of different aspects: how culture evolves, how culture can be changed, and what is a leader's
role in culture change? When positive culture forces and strategic priorities are in sync, companies
can begin to gain competitive advantage or regain advantages that may have been lost.
Organizations should no longer ignore cultural forces within the workplace when looking to
implement change of any kind. Organizational culture as a concept has recently came to the
forefront, although, many concepts have touched on aspects of culture. In earlier research,
characteristics of culture were

Organizational Culture Paper
Organizational Culture
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.
However, there seems to be a widely held misconception that throughout an organization or within a
specific division there is only one uniform culture that exists. This definition does not seem adequate
because it fails to recognize that in many organizations there are quite...show more content...
Many of the fail points within the organization could be traced directly back to its socialization
process. The socialization process is the process by which an organization brings new employees
into its culture. The older members of the society transmit to younger members the social skills and
knowledge needed to function effectively in the organization. This process of the organization
develops the skills and competencies needed to perform the new job. Although the company seemed
to be successful in the first two steps the remainder of the process seemed to be inconsistent with this
theory.
The company followed the traditional pattern of selecting potential candidates through the use of
trained recruiters and a standardized procedure. These recruiters looked for a variety of specific traits
in each candidate that they believed would make them suitable for the position at the firm. Those
individuals that did not meet these strict criteria were not considered for the position. The
organization also had many similarities with the next step in which the successful candidates were
placed in many challenging environments, or impossible situations to test their commitment to the
position. The theory then suggests that at this point in the process those individuals who are not
willing to accept the culture would be removed and all others allowed to proceed. Yet this does not
seem

As known each organization has a set objective to be achieved. Hence depending on the objective
& to achieve those objectives, an organization can be structured in many difference ways: the 2
basic division, is the division of labour& coordination & supervision. These are done to be in–line
with the organizational objective.
Defining and identifying an organization structure affects the organization in two big ways – it
provides the foundation on which standard operating procedures and routines rest and it determines
which individuals get to participate in which decision making process.
For the ease of operations, the organization structure is further divided into:
Tall organization structure – for large & complex companies
Flat organization structure – mid–size organisations.
Virtual organization structure – companies that are dependent on communication technology for
their day to day working.
Boundary less organization structure – a contemporary format of working.
Introduction to organizational culture:
Organizational culture is the heart of the organization performance it is critical for organizational
success. It is a culture in which the core values are intensely and widely shared among the
employees and stake holders.
Some of the characteristics are:
Innovation – some organization encourage its employees to be creative and generate new ideas.
Stability – some organization emphasize on maintaining a stable & predictable environment.
People oriented – organizations

Organizational Culture Analysis Essay examples
Organizational Culture Analysis
Danielle Stacey
Business 610
Dr La Tonya Gale
February 25, 2013
Each organization has a different culture. The culture can help shape how an organization functions
and has the potential to set it apart from the competition. There are three levels to culture: observable
artifacts, espoused values, and enacted values (Baack, 2012). Each level plays a different part within
an organization. State Farm Insurance is the larges mutual property and casualty insurance carrier
in the United States. The company was founded over 90 years ago and has had plenty of time to
develop their layers of culture. Observable artifacts are the outward viewable signs of an
organization. Observable artifacts are viewed...show more content...
The last layer of culture is enacted values. These values are the actual behaviors exhibited by the
employees. Rick Darby of Safety Culture (2012) stated, "the enacted values of an
organization...may be at a considerable distance from those proclaimed in official statements and
public relations material". In the case of State Farm and being "remarkable", employees are
having a hard time providing the remarkable service. Slow systems, being short handed, and a
disconnect between operation employees and agents, contribute to less than remarkable service.
These enacted values differ from what the company would like but not much has been done to
rectify the situation. Darby (2012) believed if a great gap was found between enacted values of the
employees and the espoused values of upper management, there could be confusion and
dissatisfaction. The dissatisfaction found in employees can start to alter the observable artifacts of
the company. The recognition of State Farm for being an admired company will stop being awarded
if management does not address the enacted value of its employees. The three levels of culture
contribute to how an organization is presented to the public. Observable artifacts, espoused values,
and enacted values all supply a foundation for the organization's culture. The culture of the
organization is part of what defines their success and growth. State Farm is known as the good
neighbor company but needs

Organizational Culture Defined
In accordance with the Business Dictionary, organizational culture (similarly entitled Corporate
Culture) is the standards and conducts which subsidize to the distinctive communal and the
psychosomatic atmosphere of an establishment. Organizational culture incorporates an establishment
's expectancies, knowledges, perspective, and principles which sustain it, collectively, and is
articulated in its individual–representation, internal workings, collaborations with the external
domain, and impending expectancies. (Business Dictionary, 2016)
Organizational culture is constructed on communal perspectives, convictions, traditions, and
inscribed and unrecorded administrates which have been arisen over a while and are deemed
acceptable. Furthermore, corporate culture, it 's demonstrated in the manner the establishment
accomplishes its transactions, regards its workforces, consumers, and the broader communal;
correspondingly, organizational culture entails the degree to which liberty is allowable in decision
making, fostering modernistic philosophies, and individual manifestation, by what means authority
and information surge through its hierarchy, and exactly how dedicated workforces are regarding
cooperative objectives. (Business Dictionary, 2016)
Organizational culture shakes the establishment 's production and functioning, and affords strategies
on consumer consideration and service, product characteristic and security, attendance and
punctuality,

Edgar Schein, a famous theorists dealing with organizational culture, provides the following
definition for the term: "A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its
problems that has worked well enough to be considered valid and is passed on to new members as
the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems." (organizationalculture101)
However, organizational culture is more than sharing assumptions used by a group to solve
problems; it is the combination of the points of view, ineffectual processes, education, backgrounds
of all the staff which are part of an organization way of doing things. Corporation culture should
uncover from the board of the directors to the rest of...show more content...
Since organization culture is the combination of many factors there are several factors that could
affect it. Among the internal factors to consider are the company's approaches to their processes, is
the company more into results and profits or product quality and employee's safety. Management
style is another important feature that affects corporate culture micromanage companies tend to have
less motivated employees. Technology these days influence organizations at all levels as the
company's approach to technology will go hand on hand with bettering processes. New factor
affecting corporate culture these days is the different work arrangements that are needed these days
with the implementation of flexing time and tele–working had commuting acceptable. The
management approach to work environment, communication style will definite affect organization
culture.
Strong culture is said to exist where staff respond to stimulus because of their alignment to
organizational values. Conversely, there is Weak Culture where there is little alignment with
organizational values and control must be exercised through extensive procedures and

Essay about Organizational Culture
Organizational culture influences many aspects of workplace life. A workplace with strong beliefs,
values, behaviors, ideas and expectations define an organization. Well–communicated beliefs, values,
ideas and expectations influence employee's behavior and determine how employees communicate
with others throughout the organization, thus defining the organization's culture. Over the years, the
topic of organizational culture has been studied in many disciplines from anthropology to sociology.
A prominent theorist of organizational culture, Edgar Schein (2004), provided the following general
definition of organizational culture:
A pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of
external...show more content...
Opposite of economical approach is the organizational development approach. This approach focuses
on the culture of the organization while developing the employee's competencies. Organizational
development approach is intended to development the employee's commitment to the organization
(Hellriegel, 2004). In our efforts to find more effective ways to reward employees, we developed a
committee to review our performance evaluation and merit increase procedures. The purpose of this
committee was to evaluate the procedures and make recommendations for improvement. By taking
this approach, the employees have developed a sense of commitment to the organization and a sense
of value as an employee.
Once an approach has been identified, there are several elements that can be modified or changed
that will impact the organization's culture. These elements include changing 1) what managers and
teams pay attention to, 2) how crisis are handled, 3) criteria for recruiting new members, 4) criteria
for promotion, 5) criteria for allocating awards, and 6) organizational rites and ceremonies
(Hellriegel, 2004). To implement a change to culture, organizations can change the criteria for
recruiting new employees. For instance, typically our recruitment procedures included advertising
externally and internally for a period of two weeks for open positions. We have been unsuccessful at

Organizational Culture
Organizations have personalities like individuals and like individuals, they have enduring and stable
traits that help us predict their attitudes and behaviors. An organization's culture may be hard to
define but it has a major impact on the behavior of individuals in the organization. To understand
one's behavior in an organizational culture it helps to understand the dominant culture in an
organization and to figure out how individuals come to learn that culture and how the culture affects
them.
Defining Organizational Culture (7 Characteristics)
There seems to be wide agreement that organizational culture refers to a system of' shared meaning
held by members that distinguishes the organization from other...show more content...
Appraising the organization oil these seven characteristics, then, gives a composite picture of the
organization's culture. This picture becomes the basis for feelings of shared understanding that
members have about the organization, how things are done in it, and the way members are supposed
to behave
Culture is a Descriptive Term
Organizational culture is concerned with how employees perceive the seven characteristics, not
whether they like them. That is, it is a descriptive term. This point is important because it
differentiates the concept of organizational culture from that of job satisfaction.
Research on organizational culture has sought to measure how employees see their organization: Are
there clear objectives and performance expectations? Does the organization reward innovation? Does
it encourage competitiveness?
In contrast, research on job satisfaction seeks to measure affective responses to the work
environment. It is concerned with how employees feel about the organization's expectations, reward
practices, methods for handling conflict, and the like. Although the two terms undoubtedly have
characteristics that overlap, keep in mind that the term organizational culture is descriptive, whereas
job satisfaction is evaluative.
Contrasting Organizational Cultures
Organization A
This organization is a manufacturing firm. Managers are expected to

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Culture consists of beliefs and behavior. It is cultivated behavior in the sense that it is learnt from
the other members of the society. According to Henry Mintzberg, an internationally renowned author
on Business and Management, "culture is the soul of the organization – the beliefs and values, and
how they are manifested. I think of the structure as the skeleton, and as the flesh and blood. And
culture is the soul that holds the thing together and gives it life force." These lines portray how
critical is a culture in an organization.
Some theorists looked upon organizations as having many of the features of cultures (Brown, 1995).
Martins and Martins (2003) defined organizational culture as "a system of...show more content...
Therefore, managers and employees do not behave in a value–free vacuum; they are governed,
directed and tempered by the organization's culture (Brown, 1998). Employees' behavior includes
their commitment to their respective organizations. For example, if the culture encourages
innovativeness, any problem will make people take initiative and risks as well as try out new ways
of doing things. On the other hand, if the organizational culture is security oriented, the same
problem situation would cause people to start looking for rules, procedures as a mode of response.
Organizational culture is also known as "corporate culture" that has a major impact on the
performance of organization and especially on the quality of work life experienced by the
employees. If people in the organization follow the same culture and accept the cultures as well,
there would be unity formed within the organization that would lead to higher levels of efficiency
resulting in an increase in the levels of performance. It is known that an increase in performance
can lead to the development of a culture, which could lead to culture homogeneity in the way the
organization works. A common culture results in having a common goal. People would agree to the
decisions made more easily and be motivated to work, as the decisions made are the same as the

Introduction
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.
This...show more content...
Deal and Kennedy (1982:21) believe that the core of organizational culture is `Value', which are
shared by the members within an organization. And the upper level which is `Behaviour' is guided
by shared values. The invisible values provide a common direction for all members to behave
towards the goal of the organization.
Moreover, Schein (1985) has expanded the concept including fundamental assumptions, artefacts and
symbols. (Schein 1980; Schein 1985)
In Schein's theory, the most visible/outer level is behaviour and artefacts. This is the observable
level of cultures, and consists of behaviours patterns and outward cultural manifestations: such as
flags, dress codes, myths, stories, products and services, level of technology utilized, type of
operations process, and the physical layout of work spaces. These are all visible factors that
presenting the cultures of an organization. At the next level of culture are values. Values underlie
and to a large extent determine behaviour, but they are not directly observable

Essay On Organizational Culture In The Workplace
An organization always faces challenges when allowing new employees into their culture. Brethren
Woods Camp and Retreat Center encounters this change every year when they orient their summer
staff. Last summer, however, a new problem occurred to challenge their organizational culture.
During the fifth week of their six week summer camp program, they caught wind from a stakeholder
that some of their employees had been in violation of the personnel policy they all signed earlier in
the summer. After confirming this information with the employees in question, they were quick to
judge the situation. Two employees were fired while the rest were treated to a talking circle. The
incident was not explained to the entire staff and was never spoken...show more content...
With roots in the Church of the Brethren, it is easy to trace where the organizational culture gets its
roots. In fact their mission statement is "to provide Christian educational opportunities, facilities,
and programs for all ages in an inviting woodland setting; encouraging the formation of
Christ–centered living, leadership, and stewardship of creation, leading toward wholeness in the
kingdom of God" (Brethren Woods, 2017). These Christian beliefs are explicit in each camp week as
the organization values events including bible study, vespers, and morning watch. They can also be
seen in the expectations for employees from the dress code to the housing rules. Brethren Woods also
gets much of their funding from Brethren churches surrounding the area. As stakeholders, these
churches keep the camp accountable to their values because they do not want to put their money into
an organization that does not align with their beliefs. All of these elements of the camp's
organizational culture led to the way the handled the problem with their staff. First off, one of the
elements of their mission is to form leaders in Christ. With their leaders exhibiting behaviors
contrary to these values, something had to be done. Next, there was a culture set by the executive
director and two co–program directors that they wanted to perpetuate. They could not allow the
culture to morph into something against their mission. Lastly, the stakeholders expect Brethren
Woods to uphold an

Three general types of organizational culture–constructive, passive–defensive, aggressive–defensive:
The organizational cultural inventory measures 12 sets of normative beliefs or shared behavioral
expectations associated with three general types of cultures, Constructive, Passive–Defensive, and
Aggressive–Defensive. Constructive cultures–in which members are encouraged to interact with
others and approach tasks in ways that will help them meet their higher–order satisfaction needs, are
characterized by Achievement, Self–actualizing, Humanistic–Encouraging, and Affiliative norms.
Constructive styles strongly associated with satisfaction and low stress (Cooke & Szumal, 1993).
пЃµAchievement: pursuing a standard of excellence. пЃµ...show more content...
On the other hand, in systems concerned with fostering social cohesiveness, equality tends to be the
dominant distributive value where equality of outcomes emphasizes members' common fate, and
promotes solidarity and social cohesion. The different ways in which organizations seek to resolve
this distributive dilemma have been described in terms of a typological theory of organizations. The
more unequal or centralized the power structure is in an organization, the more equity values (or an
equity orientation) predominate, and the more resources and rewards will tend to be differentially
(i.e. unequally) allocated. This means inequality and consequent threats to social cohesion or
integration become problematic. On the other hand in organizations with decentralized or
democratic power structures, an egalitarian orientation and more equal allocations will tend to
predominate. Economic inefficiency and inequity emerge as problems. While organizations' power
structures give them an underlying orientation towards distributive equality or equity, organizational
processes then either reinforce or compensate for this orientation. Thus an organization with an
egalitarian orientation can have

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