Organizational culture

Organizational culture

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Organizational culture is the behaviors, shared vision and the values which contribute to the organization’s environment. According to Schein, there are several elements related to organizational culture. These are depth, breadth, stability, and integration or patterning.

As Schein, (1990), states, structural stability can manifest itself in a public organization in cases whereby the organization has a deep sense of identity. In this case, the organizational employees hardly let go of the culture as they have an understanding that it brings forth predictability and meaning. Secondly, because of stability, depth is natured. This is manifested when the organization shows a sign of stability. It is important to note that when culture is embedded deeply it gains stability. The third element is breadth. This is depicted vividly in an organization in cases where all the aspects of the organization are influenced by culture: its various environments, its primary tasks and the internal operations. When all the operations of the public organization depict its culture, then we can say breadth plays a part here. Finally, integration or patterning is another element of culture which helps create stability. The patterning and integration of several organizational elements into the larger paradigm creates this stability. This manifests itself in an organization when factors such as administration, operations and recruitment are integrated all in one to match the organizational culture.

The above mentioned elements can be seen in some organizations that are in existent today. For instance, Disney only recruits’ employees who have their values aligned with the organizational culture (Wills, 2017). They thus are able to create a happy place for every member. This creates a win-win situation as the employees feel appreciated and cared for and hence work towards their level best. Netflix on the other hand has no set schedule and has a culture of offering unlimited vacations for its employees (Hastings & Meyer, 2020). This culture was created in its early days by Patty McCord with a slideshow known as “Netflix Culture: Freedom & Responsibility” and has been adhered to till now.

In my company for instance, when hiring employees, there is a golden question that is normally asked. This is, “teach me something.” This question has been a norm for decades and it has proved to work magic. It reflects on the skills set that the organization values in employees. It helps in evaluating a candidate’s dynamism, influence and taste. This helps the organization to make a selection of the values that they desire. The hence end up hiring uniform employees thus maintaining a uniform organizational culture.

It is widely accepted that organizational cultures exist and are the key drivers in shaping the behaviors of the organization. Schein has provided some elements which can be embedded in an organization. These can be seen manifested in various ways can differ as per the organization as organizational cultures are different. These have been proven to work as it is seen in some organizations like Netflix and Disney which are reputable companies and possess organizational cultures that have worked for them over a long period of time.

References

Hastings, R., & Meyer, E. (2020). No rules rules: Netflix and the culture of reinvention. New York, NY: Penguin Press.

Schein, E. H. (1990). Organizational culture (Vol. 45, No. 2, p. 109). American Psychological Association.

Wills, J. (2017). Disney Culture. Rutgers University Press.