Essay Sample on Elements of Organisation Culture

Introduction

In a working environment we would like to live in an organisation culture because this culture is made up of all of the life experiences that we and each employee would bring to the organisation. Culture is especially influenced by the organisation's founder, executives, and other managerial staff because of their role in decision making and strategic direction. We work together to accomplish goals, groups developing into organisations. When goals become more specific and longer-term, and work more specialized organisations become both more formal and institutionalized Organisations tend to take on a life of their own and gain beliefs, values, and practices develop, differentiating one organisation from another and often affecting the organisation's success or failure. Management distinguished these belief systems, which they referred to as organisational or corporate cultures.

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Definition of Organisation Culture

Gareth Morgan has described organizational culture as: "The set of the set of beliefs, values, and norms, together with symbols like dramatized events and personalities that represents the unique character of an organization, and provides the context for action in it and by it." Beliefs and values are words that will pop up frequently in other definitions, as well. Norms might be described as traditions, structure of authority, or routines.

There are many practices within organisation that tend to keep a culture alive and measuring the cultural between the organisation and its employees. Using the approach of performance appraisal, training, and career development would reinforce the organisation's culture. Organisational beliefs can influence the work communication practices, and philosophical stances of employees. Organisations process called socialization is to adapt new employees to the organisation's culture. If employees do not adapt well, they may increase pressure from supervisors and from co-workers who are better acculturated. They might stay and fight, stay and become isolated, or leave the organisation, voluntarily or involuntarily, and look for a different organisation whose culture they fit better. Culture is represented in a group's: Language Decision making, Symbols, Stories and legends.

Daily Work Practices

In a organisation there are many factor that interest company like HSBC in operating elements of organisation culture and its development to success. In simple terms, it's a bank that deals with money, but in Business terms it's a bank with high potential and a well establish development that brought customers worldwide. The factors that influence the development of this organisation, depends on how it is organised. When customer walk into HSBC, they get a certain 'feel' for it, whether it is fast moving and responsive, or whether it feels old and backward looking, this 'feeling' is referred to 'organisational culture'. The Culture is about how the organisation organised itself, it's rules, procedures and beliefs make up the culture of the company.

An organisational culture has six elements of culture, to demonstrate how this culture has influence the development of HSBC. The next six elements will explain organisation culture operates.

Power Culture

Within a power culture, control is the key element. Power cultures are usually developed within a small or medium size organisation. HSBC is a world wide organisation but it is broken down into medium organisation. All these medium organisation will be known as bank branches and District Service Center (DSC). Decisions in this organisation that display a power culture are centralised around one key individual. That person likes control and the power behind it. As group work is not evident in a power culture, the organisation can react quickly to dangers around it as no consultation is involved. But sometimes this culture can have problems, lack of consultation can lead to staff feeling undervalued and de-motivated, which can also lead to high staff turnover.

Role Culture

In organisations in today's world is a role culture. In a role culture HSBC has been very created in dealing with roles being split into various functions and each individual within the function is assigned a particular role. This is successful because the role culture has the benefit of specialization Employees focus on their particular role as assigned to them by their job description and this should increase productivity for the company. This culture is quite logical to organised in a large organisation.

Task Culture

HSBC value's being part of the team community within there organisation. The task culture refers to a team based approach to complete a particular task. In all organisation they are popular in today's modern business society where the organisation will establish particular 'project teams' to complete a task to date. A task culture can offer some benefits. Staff feel motivated because they are empowered to make decisions within their team, they will also feel valued because they may have been selected within that team and given the responsibility to bring the task to a successful end.

Person Culture

Person culture is people in workplace that would like to believe in organisational culture, this is a mysterious word that characterizes a work environment. It is a key questions and assessments, when a employers would interview a prospective employee, they will need to explores whether the candidate is a good cultural fit. Culture is difficult to define, but generally know when an employee found who appears to fit this culture. They would just feel right for the company. A person culture can be defined when they can feel the culture environment that surrounds them at work. Culture is a powerful element that shapes their work enjoyment, their work relationships, and their work processes. But, culture is something that cannot actually see, except through its physical manifestations in a work place. This culture in some ways is like personality. In a person, the personality is made up of the values, beliefs, underlying assumptions, interests, experiences, upbringing, and habits that create a person's behavior.

Culture is made up of the values, beliefs, underlying assumptions, attitudes, and behaviors shared by a group of people. Culture is the behavior that results when a group comes together - generally unspoken and unwritten - rules for working together.

Forward and Backward Looking Cultures

This is a culture that can be a gamble, its a culture that would focus the needs of every other culture elements into one, (organisational culture). HSBC have an entrepreneurial spirit, always embrace change and listen to staff and customers, they known to be forward looking. Forward looking organisations are risk takers and do well because of it. HSBC may not put them-self in managing the organisation just by systems and procedures operation at all time. But it could be a risk that they may have suffered. But a backward looking culture does not embrace change and is led by systems and procedures. They do not take risk and because of it are usually left with a business not doing so well and this is why they are known as 'backward looking' some company have suffered the consequences in managing business and have became slow to change any losses. Culture can be best understood as "the way we do things around here". Culture forms the context within which people judge the appropriateness of their behaviour. An organisation's culture will influence human behavior and human performance at work.