WORKPLACE CULTURE

INTRODUCTION

In early 1920’s, researchers and more forward thinking industrialists started to think about the different ways in which work could be organized and  the role enterprise have and could perform in order to achieve its goals or objectives.  This led to a number of theories or models of overall organizational roles or cultures such as:

• Autocratic vs. Democratic
• Task Centered vs. Relationship Centered
• Production Focused vs. Sales/Customer Focused
• Paternalistic vs. Empowering
• Centralized vs. Decentralized

One of the most compelling holistic theories was developed by the British management consultant and author Charles Handy.  Handy suggests that anyone who has spent time working in or with a number of different organizations will noticed the different atmospheres or climates that exist in each organizations. Such differences typically reflect things like differing:

• levels of energy
• ways of doing things
• attitudes to individual freedom
• kinds of personality to be found
• sets of values
• structures and systems

These differences are not the result of chance or accidental design but actually reflect a very specific kind of culture that is adopted as a basis for approaching the kind of work that the enterprise in question is engaged in.  Organizations promote a set of strong and prevailing beliefs about:

• the way that work should be organized
• the authority should be exercised
• the people controlled and rewarded
• the level of obedience that is expected
• the working hours deemed appropriate in order to be successful and
• even to what people should wear at work (even when uniforms are not specified)

The idea is that culture creates a cohesive set of views amongst employees.  This can create a highly “clannish” climate or even quite “tribal” behavior in which past values and traditions are constantly reinforced through

• private or internal language that is used
• common catch phrases
• organizational acronyms
• mini rituals
• “heroic” stories about the enterprise

Although every individual comes into the world with some innate personality traits we also ‘drink-in’ the experiences that are fed to us by our senses which slowly start to evolve our beliefs and attitudes, and shape our general behavior.  Some of these experiences are gained through our parents, teachers and other influential people who will often be instrumental in crystallizing our prevailing moral or ethical values.  A value is deemed to be

”a belief in action or a choice that individuals make (consciously or unconsciously) about what is good or bad, worthy or not worthy, important or not important”

Ultimately we form a coherent and relatively consistent set of personal values that we regularly refer to when making all of our moral judgments or decisions about the world and the future situations.

WORKPLACE VALUES

Organizational values seek to define the acceptable standards which govern the behavior of individuals within the organization.  A clearly articulated statement of values can draw an organization together, thereby creating greater focus and energy or momentum towards the goals.  The articulated values of an organization can provide a framework for the collective leadership of an organization to encourage common norms of behavior which will support the achievement of the organization’s goals and mission.  However, individuals need to “buy into” these values in order for them to have their intended effect.

Organizational values are about the behavior of people in the organization and the decisions that are made.  The big challenges for organizations are to live up to the values.  If an individual finds that the organization’s values differ from his or her own values then he or she will have to decide how he or she will act.  Where there is a conflict between what an individual believes in and the organization’s values there are only three realistic choices:

• stands up for his or her beliefs and possibly loses his or her job
• compromises on his or her beliefs by turning a blind eye
• tries to influence the organization to change its values or behavior

There are many values which an organization may select as being important to its overall mission, vision or success.  There are two very useful over-arching models that have been highly influential

THE 7 VIRTUES MODEL
1.	Temperance	restraint or self-control constant “mindfulness” both personally and towards others paying attention to people and surroundings but essentially involves practicing self-control, moderation, and deferred gratification
2.	Wisdom	knowledge or fidelity being honest with oneself, one’s colleagues, and to people ability to refrain from being distracted and influenced by temptation or corruption constant education and personal betterment are considered to be the best paths to develop this ability
3.	Patience	peace and moderation being quiet endurance including the effort to resolve conflicts and injustice in a calm and peaceful manner creating a sense of peaceful stability rather than confrontational antagonism
4.	Humility	modesty and selflessness humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less a spirit of self-examination and being charitably disposed towards people you disagree with giving credit where credit is due includes taking on tasks which are difficult, tedious or unglamorous and being committed to promises, no matter how big or small they may be
5.	Diligence	persistence and faith being quiet and careful in actions and work a calmly decisive work ethic, involving steadfastness in belief and the persistence or tenacity not to give up ncludes managing personal time and monitoring personal activities to guard against laziness
6.	Kindness	hope and compassion compassion and friendship for its own sake or empathy and trust without prejudice or resentment involves unselfish consideration towards others and voluntary kindness without bias or spite having a positive outlook and cheerful demeanor, which in turn inspires kindness in others
7.	Charity	generosity or self-sacrifice benevolent giving unquestioning sense of belief in and generosity towards all others
THE 5 VALUES MODEL
1.	Harmony	most interested in nurturing relationships with people usually kind in nature, socially comfortable, sympathetic and altruistic also soft-hearted, overly idealistic, conflict-avoiding and uncritical at times apply most in organizations where people matter
2.	Independence	most interested in building and developing personal knowledge and expertise usually conceptual, learning-oriented, innovation-focused and curious also insensitive, over-analytical, vague and uncommitted at times apply most in organizations where the freedom to think laterally and multi-task are important
3.	Tradition	most interested in stability and structure and having clear personal goal-orientation in life usually respectful of institutional structures, detail-oriented and highly responsible also over-cautious, over-security conscious and even negative at times apply most in larger intuitional-type organizations
4.	Achievement	most interested in using endeavor and personal goal-orientation in life usually practical, systematic, pragmatic and task-focused also pedantic, impulsive, skeptical and readily critical at times apply most in very goal-focused organizations of all kinds
5.	Power	most interested in the use and deployment of control over people and tasks usually confident, thick-skinned, single minded and goal-driven also ego-centric, cold, unrelenting, and over-demanding at times power is often something that is pushed from the top power is more likely to be a kind of values “turbo-charger” so that any of the above values may be turbo-charged by power

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES

 

Charles Handy developed a model that identifies four major organizational cultures.  He linked these four cultures, Power culture, Role culture, Task culture and Person culture, to four Greek gods, Power - Zeus, Role - Apollo, Task - Athena and finally Person – Dionysius.  Each organizational culture is distinct and each has its strengths and weaknesses.

The Power culture (Zeus) a Club culture or Web culture rely on central control Characteristics Depends on trust for effectiveness Mainly face to face communication Few rules and procedures because those in charge have power to decide and change rapidly Very little bureaucracy autocratic, not democratic Can adapt and move quickly Results oriented Tends to promote individuals who are comfortable with power, fast decision making ability, capacity to take risks, influencing skills

The Role culture (Apollo) ruled by logic and rationality emphasize careful, logical work machines and structure around clearly defined roles within defined structures hierarchical top-down structure strengths are its predictability and stability can also lead to inflexibility and slowness Manuals, budgets, procedures, systems are part of the role culture individuals are essentially “role occupants” with job descriptions specifying requirements, responsibilities and boundaries Communication is often formalized and transmit from job to job (title to title) rather than person to person Characteristics Strong structure, usually pyramidic, hierarchical Relies on systems and order Procedures and specified standards Formalized communication mechanisms Prefers to design work so it is routine, stable and unchanging Often slow and bureaucratic in decision making Not quick or comfortable with major change Believes in firm control and management with little or no questioning of authority

The Task culture (Athena) task and action oriented emphasis on solving problems, achieving goals, taking action structure is flexible and can form and re-form according to the task at hand Power and respect come from individual knowledge and contribution rather than rank, title or position Characteristics Little formal hierarchy, prefers flexibility and an adaptable matrix structure teamwork or collaboration oriented Problem solving, action oriented Believes in challenging the existing system, asking lots of questions Communication is formal and informal, high value on feedback at all levels Will often seek widespread input but can still make pragmatic decisions Expects people to form relationships to get work done Happy to share expertise and power The approach is of a team of collected talents or resources that can respond flexibly to demands It is about plans rather than procedures routine is avoided with the emphasis on solving one problem and moving on to the next

The Person culture (Dionysius) individuals believe themselves to be superior to the organization consists of educated and articulate individuals or specialists who have come together because of a common interest see administration and management as lowly functions simply necessary to serve their expertise members share common resources like office space, support staff, equipment, but will nevertheless operate independently Managing them requires influence and persuasion, rather than attempts at command and control Characteristics Loose and flexible, minimal organizational structure Collects people to work for the organization based on talent and skills Communication generally around influence and persuasion Decisions made by personal negotiation or bargaining between individuals Few controls or procedures Few organization-wide standards, leaving individuals to develop their own systems and approaches Allows careers to develop according to individual preferences and skills Accepts long tenure as a way of locking in expertise

Cultures impact

• better able to understand why things are happening a certain way – and whether some of those practices need to change
• able to identify and name the prevailing practices
• helps explain differences in approach that may be causing problems between individuals, managers, departments, divisions
• helps when assessing efficiency, effectiveness and productivity
• informs our approach to restructuring of work

Shared from:

http://blog.readytomanage.com/category/climate-culture/

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