Organisational Behaviour & Management
1. Introduction
Organisational culture and organisational
climate is a critical element to an organisation’s anatomy. Several articles
support a positive organisational climate and culture affects the business
positively. These themes will be explored through the analysis of journal
articles which define organisational climate and culture, illustrate the impact
of organisational climate and culture on managers, and specify the relationship
between organisational climate and culture with a positive output from
employees. Lastly, a summary of literature will be presented as well as,
practical applications for managers.
2.
Overview of culture and climate in organisations
2.1 Defining organisational climate and culture
Schneider, Ehrhart and Macey (2013) provide an
in-depth analysis of organisational climate and culture and its implications,
as well as, an overview of the research and practice conducted within the two
elements. Schneider, Ehrhart and Macey (2013) define organisational climate as
the collective understanding of policies, practices and procedures witnessed by
employees and behaviours they see rewarded, supported and expected. Schneider,
Ehrhart and Macey (2013) also define organisational culture as the norms and
characteristics taught to new employees as the right way to act, think and
feel. Schneider, Ehrhart and Macey (2013) identify subtle differences between
climate and culture. Climate focuses more on the tangibles such as policies and
procedures within the business which generate certain behaviours required for
effectiveness, whereas culture focuses more on the intangibles that produces a
more rooted and unified psychology amongst employees. Similarly, Denison (1996,
p. 625) contrasts climate and culture identifying that both perspectives have
the potential for a “shared, holistic, collectively” defined environment which
transpires over time. Denison (1996) also concludes that the differences
between climate and culture originates from their theoretical foundations
rather than their practical application within businesses.
2.2 Impact of
organisational climate and culture on managers
Madan,
M & Jain, E 2015, ‘Impact of Organizational Culture & Climate on
Management Effectiveness’, Delhi Business Review, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 47-57.
Madan and Jain (2015) in their research identify
the impact organisational climate and culture have on managers and the
performance of staff. The role of the manager in the organisation is to lead,
motivate and inspire their team, managerial effectiveness is becoming
increasingly important to gain a competitive advantage within the business
world (Madan & Jain, 2015). There are two distinct sides to culture:
firstly, the intangible norms, assumptions and values; and secondly, the more
tangible practices of the organisation which is often a part of the
organisation’s formal structure. Strong behaviour regularity is often found
where such formal structures are in place, culture within a workplace
determines how employees behaviour across the board (Madan & Jain, 2015).
From their research, Madan and Jain (2015) found that a misalignment between
the organisational climate and leadership style of the manager would become
problematic and create a dissonance in workflow. Madan and Jain (2015) also
determined that when climate was more closely aligned to the leadership style
there is likely to be better performance. Madan and Jain (2015) concluded that
organisational climate and culture influences the effectiveness of managers,
particularly in the private sector.
2.3 Relationship
between organisational culture with a positive output from employees
Barnes,
JW, Jackson Jr, DW, Hutt, MD & Kumar, A 2006, ‘The Role of Culture Strength
in Shaping Sales Force Outcomes’, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales
Management, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 255–270.
Barnes et al. (2006, p. 255) examined the
significance of culture strength on an organisation’s outcomes such as ‘job
satisfaction, organizational commitment, role stress, role conflict and role
ambiguity. Barnes et al. (2006) identified that where personally held values
aligned with that of the organisation’s employee, commitment to the
organisation and job satisfaction increased. Characteristics of culture within
an organisation can change and control its employees’ behaviours.
A solid organisational culture is comprised of
two traits. The first is the ability of the organisation to affect and inspire
its members to behave positively in the ways advocated by the organisation. The
second is that an organisation’s employees strongly and clearly acknowledge the
organisation’s values (Barnes et al. 2006).
Strong organisational culture utilises a number
of cultural elements (stories, heroes, rituals, ceremonies, and the cultural
network) to reinforce the shared values within the organisation. The four
hypotheses studied by Barnes et al. (2006) led to similar conclusions: that a
strong culture within an organisation and strong alignment of personal values
with those of the organisation, enables higher levels of job satisfaction;
lower levels of role ambiguity; lower levels of role conflict, and higher
levels of commitment to the organisation.
2.4 Summary of
literature
Schneider, Ehrhart and Macey (2013) defined and
provided an analysis of organisational climate and culture and its
implications, as well as, an overview of the research and practice conducted
within the two elements. Schneider, Ehrhart and Macey (2013) illustrate the
subtle differences between climate and culture. Climate focuses more on the
more tangibles practices whereas culture focuses more on the intangibles social
cues amongst employees. Similarly, Denison (1996, p.625) in contrasting climate
and culture identified that both perspectives have the potential for a ‘shared,
holistic, collectively’ defined environment which transpires over time. Denison
(1996) concludes that the differences between climate and culture originates
from their theoretical foundations rather than their practical application
within businesses.
In addition, Madan and Jain (2015) identify the
impact organisational climate and culture has on managers and the performance
of staff. The role of managerial effectiveness is becoming a competitive
advantage within the business world (Madan & Jain, 2015). There are two
distinct sides to culture, the intangible norms, assumptions and values, as
well as the more tangible practices of the organisation which is often a part
of the organisation’s formal structure. Madan and Jain (2015) concluded in
their research that organisational climate and culture influences the
effectiveness of managers particularly in the private sector. Comparatively,
Barnes et al. (2006) identified that where personally held values aligned with
that of the organisation, employees’ commitment to the organisation and job
satisfaction increased. From their study and the analysis
of
four hypotheses. Barnes et al. (2006) concluded that a in combination, a
stronger culture within an organisation, and strong alignment of personal
values with those of the organisation, lead to higher levels of job
satisfaction; lower levels of role ambiguity; lower levels of role conflict;
and higher levels of commitment to the organisation.
Both
Madan and Jain (2015) and Barnes et al. (2006) similarly conclude that, while
there are subtle differences between organisational climate and culture, they
are in fact more similar than they are different. There is a direct link
between organisational climate and culture and the effectiveness of employees
and managers.
3.
Practical applications for managers
From the findings within the research studied in
this assignment, there are several practical applications for managers to use
organisational climate and culture to become more effective. Schneider, Ehrhart
and Macey (2013) proposes that for managers to use culture as a competitive
advantage, they first must know and understand the current culture in place,
and then aim to change and shape the culture positively in order to create a
competitive edge. This process would be effective in organisations where the
organisational climate and culture is having a negative effect and is not
managed properly, which, in turn, leads to decreasing work efficiency and
creates low satisfaction amongst the organisation’s employees. In this
situation, management should focus on reshaping this climate and culture. To do
this, management needs to find the causes of the negative energy, and determine
what can be implemented in order to turn climate and culture around towards a
positive direction.
Furthermore, it is important for managers to
align their leadership style with the organisational climate and culture, as
misalignment creates confusion, rumours and distracts employees. Managers in an
organisation with a strong organisational climate and culture can apply certain
artifacts which project the desired values and behaviours consistent with the
organisation (Barnes et al. 2006). Another way managers can shape the
organisational climate and culture so that it is more effective, is to reshape
the structure of the organisation from a conventional vertical top down
approach to a more horizontal one. In this way, employees can feel heard,
valued and respected (Madan & Jain, 2015).
When
managed correctly, organisational climate and culture can be a manager’s
greatest asset, and can create an organic breeding ground for positive work
ethic and overall satisfaction at work for employees.
4. Reflection on learning about organisational
culture and climate
My independent learning and attendance of
lectures broadened my understanding of organisational climate and culture and
its impact on managerial effectiveness, as well as on employee effectiveness.
Through my research for this task, I gained a more in-depth knowledge about the
development and impact of culture within an organisation. Based on my findings
in Denison’s (1996) article, I believe that organisational climate and culture
are almost interchangeable, in that they are connected and feed off each other.
Additionally, an organisation cannot have a climate and culture which oppose
each other. Through my research, I have learnt that organisational climate and
culture has much more of an impact in the effectiveness of the organisation
than I had previously anticipated, which has made me believe that management
needs to have more focus on both the organisation’s climate and culture, to
ensure that they are not having a negative impact.
Based
on the feedback from assessment three, I have changed my primary article to the
appropriate one from week ten. I also focused on my referencing to make sure I
have paraphrased correctly to ensure I have not plagiarized, and I have
correctly included in-text citations and full references, and that these are
written in the Harvard Referencing Style.
5. Conclusion
In conclusion, the research analysed in this
paper support the view that a positive organisational climate and culture
positively affects the business. Schneider, Ehrhart and Macey (2013) and
Denison (1996) defined organisational climate and culture; Madan and Jain
(2015) illustrated the impact of organisational climate and culture on
managers; and Barnes et al. (2006) specified the relationship between
organisational climate and culture with a positive output from employees. Lastly,
a summary of literature was presented along with practical applications for
managers.
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