Organizational Culture
Organizational or corporate culture is the pattern of values, norms, beliefs, attitudes and assumptions that may not have been articulated but shape the ways in which people behave and things get done. Values refer to what is believed to be important about how people and the organizations behave. Norms are the unwritten rules of behaviour
The definition emphasizes that organizational culture is concerned with abstractions such as values and norms which pervade the whole or part of an organization.
They may not be defined, discussed or even noticed. Put another way, culture can be regarded as a ‘code word for the subjective side of organizational life’ (Meyerson and Martin, 1987). Nevertheless, culture can have a significant influence on people’s behaviour
The following are some other definitions of culture:
The culture of an organization refers to the unique configuration of norms, values, beliefs and ways of behaving that characterize the manner in which groups and individuals combine to get things done.
Eldridge and Crombie (1974)
Culture is a system of informal rules that spells out how people are to behave most of the time.
Deal and Kennedy (1982)
Culture is the commonly held beliefs, attitudes and values that exist in an organization. Put more simply, culture is ‘the way we do things around here’.
Furnham and Gunter (1993)
A system of shared values and beliefs about what is important, what behaviours are important and about feelings and relationships internally and externally.
Purcell et al (2003)
Summing up the various definitions of culture, Furnham and Gunter (1993) list, amongst others, the following areas of agreement on the concept:
● It is difficult to define (often a pointless exercise).
● It is multi-dimensional, with many different components at different levels.
● It is not particularly dynamic, and ever changing (being relatively stable over short periods of time).
● It takes time to establish and therefore time to change a corporate culture.
Organizational climate
The term organizational climate is sometimes confused with organizational culture and there has been much debate on what distinguishes the concept of climate from that of culture. In his analysis of this issue, Denison (1996) believed that culture refers to the deep structure of organizations, which is rooted in the values, beliefs and assumptions held by organizational members. In contrast, climate refers to those aspects of the environment that are consciously perceived by organizational members. Rousseau (1988) stated that climate is a perception and is descriptive. Perceptions are sensations or realizations experienced by an individual. Descriptions are what a person reports of these sensations.
The debate about the meanings of these terms can become academic. It is easiest to regard organizational climate as how people perceive (see and feel about) the culture existing in their organization. As defined by French et al (1985), it is ‘the relatively persistent set of perceptions held by organization members concerning the characteristics and quality of organizational culture’. They distinguish between the actual situations (ie culture) and the perception of it (climate).
Organizational or corporate culture is the pattern of values, norms, beliefs, attitudes and assumptions that may not have been articulated but shape the ways in which people behave and things get done. Values refer to what is believed to be important about how people and the organizations behave. Norms are the unwritten rules of behaviour
The definition emphasizes that organizational culture is concerned with abstractions such as values and norms which pervade the whole or part of an organization.
They may not be defined, discussed or even noticed. Put another way, culture can be regarded as a ‘code word for the subjective side of organizational life’ (Meyerson and Martin, 1987). Nevertheless, culture can have a significant influence on people’s behaviour
The following are some other definitions of culture:
The culture of an organization refers to the unique configuration of norms, values, beliefs and ways of behaving that characterize the manner in which groups and individuals combine to get things done.
Eldridge and Crombie (1974)
Culture is a system of informal rules that spells out how people are to behave most of the time.
Deal and Kennedy (1982)
Culture is the commonly held beliefs, attitudes and values that exist in an organization. Put more simply, culture is ‘the way we do things around here’.
Furnham and Gunter (1993)
A system of shared values and beliefs about what is important, what behaviours are important and about feelings and relationships internally and externally.
Purcell et al (2003)
Summing up the various definitions of culture, Furnham and Gunter (1993) list, amongst others, the following areas of agreement on the concept:
● It is difficult to define (often a pointless exercise).
● It is multi-dimensional, with many different components at different levels.
● It is not particularly dynamic, and ever changing (being relatively stable over short periods of time).
● It takes time to establish and therefore time to change a corporate culture.
Organizational climate
The term organizational climate is sometimes confused with organizational culture and there has been much debate on what distinguishes the concept of climate from that of culture. In his analysis of this issue, Denison (1996) believed that culture refers to the deep structure of organizations, which is rooted in the values, beliefs and assumptions held by organizational members. In contrast, climate refers to those aspects of the environment that are consciously perceived by organizational members. Rousseau (1988) stated that climate is a perception and is descriptive. Perceptions are sensations or realizations experienced by an individual. Descriptions are what a person reports of these sensations.
The debate about the meanings of these terms can become academic. It is easiest to regard organizational climate as how people perceive (see and feel about) the culture existing in their organization. As defined by French et al (1985), it is ‘the relatively persistent set of perceptions held by organization members concerning the characteristics and quality of organizational culture’. They distinguish between the actual situations (ie culture) and the perception of it (climate).
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