Business Studies

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Business Studies

Part 1: Organizational and team culture

The concept of organizational culture stands to be a vital element in the success and sustainability of any human endeavor, whereby project management is not exempted. As outlined by Larson & Gray (2011), organizational cultures refers to a system of shared beliefs, assumptions, values and norms that bound people together, thus creating a sense of meaning. In the organizational context, the concept of culture is very crucial in that it manifests the customs, values and habits governing the operations within the organization. Anderson (2003) postulated that organizational culture is a set of shared mental assumptions that dictate the actions of each individual member of the organization. In regards to this phenomenon, the success or failure of the organization is closely influenced by the organizational culture. It’s worth noting that organizational culture is a holistic term referring to all aspects of organizational behavior among the various members of the organization. Nevertheless, the concept of individual cultures is also evident within organizational context, whereby it stands to be controversial regarding its impacts on the organizational operations.

According to Kendra & Taplin (2004), different cultures within an organization are of great importance in the execution of an organizational tasks or projects. Hofstede (1998) indicated that cultural diversity within an organization is vital for enhancing performance and sustainability of the organization. This is as a result of knowledge and skills diversity that are generated as a product of varied cultures. Different ways and methodologies of approaching various tasks within the organization are made into practice. This helps in boosting efficiency and effectiveness in the execution of organizational tasks. On the other hand, existence of cultural diversity within an organization enhances self esteem among employees. This is very crucial in facilitating autonomy as well as accommodating individual differences. As a result of this scenario, inefficiencies and conflicts that might have erupted from adopting one culture are avoided Hofstede (1998). It is important to note that cultural diversity within the organization enhances management. This is so because admirable cultural values from the individual cultures are manifested in the individual behavior.

Nevertheless, individual cultures within an organization are a serious threat to the success and sustainability of the organization. As indicated by Hofstede (1998), cultural diversity weakens cooperation and project team. This is in relation to the degree of member identity, whereby each individual may tend to identify himself in relation to his culture rather than the organization. As a result of this scenario, serious conflicts of interest may arise in the organization that may increase inefficiencies in executing the organizations projects. Team emphasis is also jeopardized as individualism takes charge at the expense of the organization’s prospects. Kendra & Taplin (2004) indicated that cultural diversity within an organization is a big threat to the management process. The formulation and execution of decisions within the organization is inhibited due to the individual cultural values.

Research by Kendra & Taplin (2004) outlined that cultural diversity within an organization jeopardizes unit integration among the members. Cultural diversity enhances interdependency and disintegration among various groups thus creating avenues for divisions and inefficiencies. It is also worth noting that individual cultures within an organization enhance conflict tolerance. By enhancing individual cultures within an organization, employees gain the freedom to air out criticisms and conflicts openly. This is very harmful to the smooth running of the organization in that negative ethnicity and conflicts may take dominance. Reward criteria in the organization are also negatively impacted by the existence of individual cultures (Kendra & Taplin, 2004). For instance, the aspects of nonperformance factors, seniority, and favoritism may dominate reward criteria rather than going by employee performance. Based on this analysis, it is evident that individual cultures within an organization are of more harm than good.

Part 2: Implementing Change

With reference to the value and worth amounted to organizational culture; there is every need for an organization to ensure it has the best culture. This phenomenon calls for the adoption of organizational culture change that will help in developing and establishing a favorable and sustainable culture. As indicated by Larson & Gray (2011), organizational culture change is the toughest task ever undertaken within an organizational setting. This is in relation to the many years consumed in the formation of the current culture through interaction between the different participants in the organization. Despite the fact that organizational culture develops and grows over time, it frequently initiated and planned by the organizational management. This is in relation to new expectations by the management team among other stakeholders within the organization (Larson & Gray, 2011). In order to efficiently and effectively implement organizational culture change, there is every need for the undertaking of a comprehensive planning for the culture change.

As outlined by Anderson (2003), knowledge on where the organization wants to be as well as the elements that need to be changed is the most crucial aspect of in implementing organizational culture change. In this scenario, the management outlines the elements of culture or behaviors within the organization which support success and sustainability of the organization. There is every need for the organization’s management to consciously determine cultural impediments for change as well as decide on the modes of changing them. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that changing the culture of an organization is very complex and needs a high sense of expertise.

The most vital elements of consideration in implementation of organizational culture change include executive support and training. According to Hofstede (1998), the executive is the most influential unit of the organization and must show due support to organizational culture change. This should be done in ways that go beyond verbal support. For instance, executives must lead change by first changing their behaviors as well showing behavioral support. On the other hand, training for cultural change is also a crucial in enhancing efficiency and effectiveness. Training ensures that the members of the organization are clearly versed with what is expected of them. This helps in ensuring they know how to do the new behaviors the moment they are defined. Larson & Gray (2011) observed that training is both useful for communicating the cultural expectations as well as teaching the new behaviors.

Creation of belief and value statements is also a core element in the implementation of cultural change. In this case, the organization should use the employee focus groups to establish the vision, mission and values into words which define the impacts on employee’s job. This is very vital for establishing understanding among the employees concerning the desired culture. From another perspective, practice of effective communication should also be undertaken in the implementation of cultural change. Anderson (2003) indicated that effective communication ensures that all employees are fully informed of the organizational culture change. As a result of this phenomenon, a high sense of commitment and success is arrived at.