Organizational Culture

Organizational Culture as a Social Phenomenon

1.1. Subject of Study: "Organizational Culture"

Organizational culture is shaped by various factors and significantly influences individuals, who in turn contribute to its formation and evolution.
It emerges naturally from human interactions within an organization focused on producing goods or services for profit.
The study of organizational culture arose from the need to improve work efficiency and the evolution of personnel management.
Subject of study includes: features, structure, types of organizational cultures, their relationship with strategy and organizational development, and methods for studying, forming, and developing organizational culture.
Organizational Behavior, Human Resources Management, Economics and Sociology of Labor, Organization Theory, Strategic Management, Management Psychology, Management Sociology examines the influence of organizational culture.
Theory of organization studies organizational culture because it closely relates to all aspects of an organization's activities, reflects its structure, and defines its principles of operation.
Organizational culture reflects the structure, preferred management style, personnel policies, communication systems, goals, and strategies of an organization.
Organizational culture is closely related to economics and sociology of labor, regulating relationships and attitudes of personnel.
It shapes attitudes toward work, job satisfaction, and the organization of labor, influencing long-term motivation aligned with strategic goals.
Organizational culture regulates all aspects of the organization and shapes the organizational behavior of its members (coordinates, integrates, motivates, and orients employees).

1.2. Concept and Properties of Organizational Culture

Organizational culture is a system of values, beliefs, norms, roles, and rules that guide an organization's activities.
It is distinguished by traditions, language, slogans, and customs, transmitting cultural values to new employees.
It's a product of interaction between employees, individual values, beliefs, and effective communication.
Organizational culture is a product of human relationships and also exists above people, directing behavior in accordance with norms and values.
Properties of organizational culture include:
- Collectivity: generated through close interaction within the collective.
- Emotionality: includes significant emotional impact and coloring.
- Historical Perspective: Develops slowly but evolves throughout the history of the organization.
- Dynamism: Changes over time as cultural norms evolve or disappear.
- Inertia: Conservative element, based on slowly changing values.
Culture regulates activities with unique characteristics that differentiate it from society's culture.

Table 1 compares Organizational culture with Society Culture

1.3. Culture as a Social Phenomenon

Culture involves artificial orders and objects created by people, learned behaviors and activities, acquired knowledge, and symbolic representations of the world.
It is a human-adapted environment transformed through technologies to meet diverse needs, guiding behavior for survival and development.
Cultural norms are learned, not genetically inherited, emphasizing effective learning and socialization methods.
Adaptation to environments creates varied cultural traits among peoples.
Each Culture embodies social practices specific to a historical time frame.
The primary social functions of culture include:
- Integrating people for effective satisfaction of needs.
- Organizing joint activities.
- Regulating and predicting behavior.
- Accumulating and transferring efficient technologies.
- Creating cultural forms with emotional appeal and self-identity.
Culture is dynamic, being both a product and a consumer/producer of culture; it serves as a basis for self-identification.
Culture defines installations and behavior as a shared way of existing, assessing, and acting, handed down through generations.
Culture structures and limits perception while easing comprehension, forming values and behaviors within communities. It evolves and maintains a connection with the past.
Culture emerges from regulating interactions, serving as an adaption mechanism that evolves with society by dividing labor, creating structures, and later developing organizational culture.
Culture functions as an evolutionary mechanism for society's adaptation to change.

1.4. Elements of Culture

Culture includes both material and non-material components (e.g., norms, values, laws, rituals, symbols, knowledge, beliefs, traditions, language).
Values are crucial for social regulations determining the focus and ethical framework.
Social values are product of interactions reflecting fairness and morality upheld and protected by social groups.
Values are important to subjects and serve as goals/landmarks.
Social norms define acceptable behavior.
Norms are less stable than values, acquired socially but shaped by sanctions, becoming self-valuable with violations triggering negative reactions.
Social norms dictate behavior patterns, ensuring stability and predictable interactions, which promotes repeat-ability of the same social standard.
Norms can be legal or moral, supported by laws or public opinion.
Social norms are reinforced by customs, traditions, and rituals.
Customs are mass actions, while traditions pass from generation to generation, unifying social groups.
Rituals, which involve symbolic actions, embody norms and values.
There are also habits, manners, etiquettes, and fashion involved.
Culture's structure includes cultural statics (elements/traits and configurations) and dynamics (transformation processes).
Traits of culture can be universal, common, or specific, with universal traits distinguishing humans, while regional traits are for societies with similar histories.
Specific traits are unique to cultures.
Fundamental patterns of culture involve speech, material traits, arts, mythology, religion, family, property, government, and welfare.
Cultural complexes are connected to elements of culture, showing societal changes (e.g., sports complex with stadiums and fans).
Cultural configurations dominate, integrating lifestyles and distinguishing cultures.

1.5. Modern theoretical view of Organizational Culture

Under the human capital theory, an individual is an asset to a company, and their capabilities are defined as skills or assets.

Human capital: gathered knowledge used over time through education.
Culture capital: Allows members of society to use knowledge and interaction.
Symbolic capital: Affects opinions and behaviors.
Capital shapes organizational cultures, which can be converted to economic capital.
Intellect and creativity drive competitive edge, so organizational culture motivates/integrates people.

Definitions and views on organizational culture:

Table 2 represents Definitions of Organizational Culture from different sources

Edgar Shane: Organizational culture arises from adapting to external changes and calls for internal integration.
Ruttinger: Culture is valuable to regulation functioning above our consciousness.
Bazarov: Organizational culture has the knowledge of successful business strategies.
Pakanovsky and O'Donnel-Truzhlilo believe culture should change how we threaten its destruction.
Shikhirev views culture as a symbolic communicative structure which helps effective management and allows for good usage, but is problematic as it may encourage not so useful things.
Karpov and others: Organizational culture serves a strategic benefit.
Different interpretations of organizational culture and its importance for the operation of businesses.
The organizational culture and definition help give direction, acting as a resource, or something like a method to make someone's life more enjoyable at work.

Value of Organizational Culture:

It creates a strong brand image and good reputation.
This is because workers become dedicated to the company and promote standards of behavior.
It makes the workers more stable, gives them confidence, and forms a way for workers to judge their quality.
Organizational culture is based around workers, which means workers have the chance to develop themselves more than machines.

1.6. Knowledge Economics & Corporate culture

A post-industrial society prioritizes expertise, knowledge, and the study of education.
Knowledge and its application also replace labor in the creation of resources.
The value of a person becomes more important than information alone, causing psychological problems that require new solutions.
New economies based on knowledge call for creative thinking.
Cultural norms and innovations encourage community development.
Education improves the value of labor, so employees must adapt to any changes in technology.
Constant development is important because the signals in the environment will push for specific development.
Restrictions also inspire people to remove assumptions from their knowledge.
Druker states, the rules are: Continue learning, continue to use knowledge, be innovative with said knowledge that results in an innovative culture.
Knowledge requires those who are experts to apply information, necessitating decentralization, and being clear on the expectations of the organization.
For employees to care about their job, they must care about the company's culture, requiring communication.
Organizations must build a culture to manage others by building an open community.
There are challenges such as the need for innovation and the role of culture for it.
Surtaeva highlights a good community will look in one another and seek the organization's development by changing their cultures.

Question Section

What are the different subjects in the discipline of organizational culture?
What are the causes that cause the need for the organizational culture course?
What ways does organizational culture relate itself with in the organization?
How does it influences the members and participants of the organization?
How does it compare to the management of personnel?
What does it say about the beginning of organizational culture?
What features does it have?
What are the elements of what is talked about in their book?
What are they like compared to other cultures?
What are they like when they apply to a work environment?
What does it say about the relationship and growth of economics and knowledge?
What is the main expectation of what is to be expected in organizational culture?
Lastly, what thoughts does this topic have regarding psychological, social state?