THE DIVERSITY OF CULTURE

The development process described above may result in a culture that characterizes the whole organization. But there may be different cultures within organizations. For example, the culture of an outward-looking marketing department may be substantially different from that of an internally focused manufacturing function. There may be some common organizational values or norms, but in some respects these will vary between different work environments.


                                          THE COMPONENTS OF CULTURE


Organizational culture can be described in terms of values, norms, artefacts and leadership or management style.


Values


Schiffman and Kanuk (1994) state that: ‘Values help to determine what we think is right or wrong, what is important and what is desirable.


Values are beliefs in what is best or good for the organization and what should or ought to happen. The ‘value set’ of an organization may only be recognized at top level, or it may be shared throughout the business, in which case it could be described as value driven.


The stronger the values, the more they will influence behaviour. This does not depend upon their having been articulated. Implicit values that are deeply embedded in the culture of an organization and are reinforced by the behaviour of management can be highly influential, while espoused values that are idealistic and are not reflected in managerial behaviour may have little or no effect. It is ‘values in use’, values that drive desirable behaviour, that are important.


Some of the most typical areas in which values can be expressed, implicitly or explicitly, are:


● performance;

● competence;

● competitiveness;

● innovation;

● quality;

● customer service;

● teamwork;

● care and consideration for people


Values are translated into reality (enacted) through norms and artefacts as described below. They may also be expressed through the media of language (organizational jargon), rituals, stories and myths.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

HR specialists are concerned with ethical standards in three ways: their conduct as professionals, the values that govern their behaviour, and the ethical standards of their firms.

Professional Conduct 

The CIPD Code of Professional Conduct states that:

In the public interest and in the pursuit of its objects, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is committed to the highest possible standards of professional conduct and competency. To this end members:

● are required to exercise integrity, honesty, diligence and appropriate behaviour in all their business, professional and related personal activities; 

● Must act within the law and must not encourage, assist or act in collusion with employees, employers or others who may be engaged in unlawful conduct.

Values

HR professionals are part of management. They are not there to act as surrogate representatives of the interests of employees. But there will be occasions when in their professional capacity HR specialists should speak out and oppose plans or actions that are clearly at variance with the values of the organization. And they should do their best to influence changes in those values where they feel they are necessary. They must not tolerate injustice or inequality of opportunity. If redundancies are inevitable as a result of business-led ‘slimming down’ or ‘taking costs out of the business’ processes, they must ensure that the organization takes whatever steps it can to mitigate detrimental effects by, for example, relying primarily on natural wastage and voluntary redundancy or, if people have to go involuntarily, doing whatever they can to help them find other jobs (outplacement). 

HR specialists may often find themselves acting within a support function in a hard-nosed, entrepreneurial environment. But this does not mean that they can remain unconcerned about developing and helping to uphold the core values of the organization in line with their own values on how people should be managed. These may not always be reconcilable, and if this is strongly the case, the HR professional may have to make a choice on whether he or she can remain with the organization.