Organizational Culture

In addition to their formal structure and the rules and standard operating procedures used to support and operate the structure, organizations also rely heavily on their organizational culture as an important tool in controlling and coordinating the activities of their members (e.g., executive, managers and employees), formulating communications among those members, and providing incentives and reasons for them to act in ways that the leaders of the organization considers to be necessary in order to achieve and sustain organizational effectiveness and comply with the requirements and expectations of the organization’s external environment. A number of definitions of organizational culture have been offered; however, if managers and employees are consulted they may simply respond that culture is “how we do things around here”. There is obviously truth to such a statement but it would be a mistake to ignore the breadth and scope of the issues that are influenced by cultural norms and values—how activities within the organization are carried out, how members communicate with one another, who is accepted into the organization and who is ostracized, and what is the organization’s overall morale. The culture of a particular organization is created and maintained by its members, particularly the founders and senior managers, based on a variety of influencing factors and they are also the ones who can change and transform the culture when they are convinced that such actions are necessary in light of the then-current environment that the organization is facing. This book provides an introduction to research work relating to organizational culture and practical guidance on how manage organizational culture.