Organisational Culture

An Organisational Culture plays a significant role since it shapes employees behaviours, attitudes and interactions  and influence everything from performance, innovation to employee retention and over all success of a business. 

The words ' Organisational Culture' refer to the beliefs, values, symbols, language, and even norms that help shape the behavior and day-to-day activities of people in a company or institution. To put it simply, it is the personality of an organisation. Otherwise, one could even say that it is the way things are expected to be done withing the organisation.

Key Elements of Organisational Culture:

1. Beliefs—Assumptions and convictions that are taken as true within the organisation.

2. Values—Core principles or standards that guide decision-making (e.g., innovation, integrity, customer focus).

3. Symbols and Language—Logos, slogans, dress codes, or even specific jargon used internally.

4. Norms—Unwritten rules about how employees should behave.

5. Routines—Regular practices such as weekly meetings, awards, and onboarding processes.

6. Leadership Style—The behavior and attitudes of leaders, which often set the tone for the rest of the organisation.

To get a better understanding of the organisatoinal culture we will look in to a few authors who commented and carried this from one step to another in the history.

Although there are several prominent authors who have extensively commented on and contributed to the understanding of organizational culture. Edgar Schein is often considered the "father" of organizational culture, with his work on the three levels of culture under

• 1, Artifacts 

• 2. Espoused values

• 3. Basic underlying assumptions 

Edgar H. Schein:
Schein's work on organizational culture mainly emphasized that organizational culture acts as a significant barrier to both change and understanding how this aspect was crucial for effective leadership. In his eyes a leader must understand the culture of the organization before making changes. They must also work collaboratively and invest in resources and assets to further both analyze and improve organizational culture. 



Another prominent author is Geert Hofstede who described organisation culture as the programming of the human mind by which one group of people distinguishes itself from another group - the set of shared beliefs, values, and norms that distinguish one group of people from another.
• Geert Hofstede

Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory provides a framework for understanding how cultural values influence organizations. His dimensions include power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term vs. short-term orientation, and indulgence vs. restraint






• 
  
• John Kotter is a famous author where his work centers on organizational change, and he emphasizes the importance of culture in supporting or hindering change initiatives. He developed a 8-step model for leading change, highlighting the need to create a sense of urgency, build a guiding coalition, and anchor new approaches in the culture. Further he emphasis that leaders create change by developing strategy and vision
• John Kotter
• John Kotter's theory is widely used framework for leading organizational change. It provides a structured approach to implementing significant changes within a company, focusing on both the process and the people involved. Here's a breakdown of the eight steps:
• 

  
  
  
• 1. Create a Sense of Urgency:
• This step involves highlighting the need for change and making it relevant to employees by emphasizing potential problems or missed opportunities
• 2. Form a Powerful Coalition:
• Building a team of influential individuals who are committed to the change and have the necessary skills and experience to drive it forward is important under these steps
3. Develop a Vision and Strategies: 
Creating a clear and compelling vision for the future of the organisation and developing strategies to achieve that vision was introduced


4. Communicate the Change Vision:
Effectively communicating the vision and strategies to all employees, ensuring they understand the need for change and their role in it


5. Empower Action:
Removing barriers that might hinder progress, such as outdated systems or processes, and encouraging employees to take ownership of the change


6. Generate Short-Term Wins:
Achieving quick, visible successes to build momentum and maintain employee motivation was also considered as important


7. Consolidate Gains and Produce More Change:
Building on the initial successes to drive further change and avoid complacency.


8. Anchor Changes in Corporate Culture:
Making the new ways of working a permanent part of the organization's culture, ensuring that the changes are sustainable.

Another famous is Frederic Laloux who shared his views as that organisations evolve in the same way that human consciousness does and he describes five stages of organisaional structure and culture as follows:

1. Red (impulsive) – Characterised by enforcing authority through power. Focus is on division of labor, top-down authority

2. Amber (conformist) – A common understanding of what is right is internalised according to what the majority believe and think. Focused on replicable processes, a stable organisation chart

3. Orange (achievement) – Organisational members perceive the world as predictable, and understood via rationality and scientific method. Characterised by – innovation, accountability, meritocracy.

4. Green (pluralistic) – Inclusion and equality drive this type of organization, relationships and affiliations are important and shape the organisational culture. Empowerment, values-driven culture, and stakeholder value are key.

5. Teal (evolutionary) – The world is seen as neither fixed nor machine-like. Instead, it’s viewed as a place where everyone is called by an inner voice to contribute based on their unique potential. Characteristics include self-management, wholeness, evolutionary purpose.

According to Frederic Laloux, he provides a clear picture of how culture may evolve in an organization. further he emphasis on adopting more human centric and soulful, practices that optimise engagement and trust in an organisation.

In todays' world organisations adopt to different organisational cultures depending their requirement.

References:

Achievers. (n.d.). Employee Rewards and Recognition Programmes | Cloud-based Employee Success Platform Software. [online] Available at: https://www.achievers.com.

Geared for Growth. (2024). Home. [online] Available at: https://gearedforgrowth.biz.

Nih.gov. (2001). Home - Books - NCBI. [online] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books.

BDC (2023). What Is Organizational Culture. [online] BDC.ca. Available at: https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/entrepreneur-toolkit/templates-business-guides/glossary/organizational-culture.

Boogaard, K. (2022). The 4 types of corporate culture, explained. [online] Work Life by Atlassian. Available at: https://www.atlassian.com/blog/teamwork/types-of-corporate-culture.

Pena, S. (2021). How to describe your company culture. [online] Ideas. Available at: https://www.wework.com/ideas/professional-development/creativity-culture/how-to-describe-your-company-culture.