1.
Introduction to
Business and Management
Topic-­
“Organizational
culture
can
be
one
of
the
most
important
means
of
improving
organizational
performance”
Name: Akta Gupta
Course: BBA Business studies
Module Code: MNGT120
Module Coordinator: Dr. Seema Bhatt
GDGWI ID: 100100
Batch: 2010-2013
Section: A
Word Count: 1182 words

2.
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GDGWI
ID
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“Culture
is
the
soul
of
the
organization
—
the
beliefs
and
values,
and
how
they
are
manifested.
I
think
of
the
structure
as
the
skeleton,
and
as
the
flesh
and
blood.
And
culture
is
the
soul
that
holds
the
thing
together
and
gives
it
life
force.”
-­Henry
Mintzberg
These
lines
by
Henry
Mintzberg,
an
internationally
renowned
author
on
Business
and
Management,
portray
how
critical
is
a
culture
in
an
organization.
Organizational
culture
is
the
combination
of
the
values,
norms,
and
behavior
of
all
the
people
working
in
an
organization,
which
creates
the
physical
and
social
artefacts
of
any
organization.
The
culture
of
the
organization
is
derived
from
the
founder’s
philosophy.
Over
a
period
of
time,
the
values
and
beliefs
of
the
founders
are
presented
in
the
functioning
of
the
company,
which
later
becomes
its
culture.
The
question
is,
what
are
the
values,
norms
and
behaviors
in
an
organization
that
form
its
culture.
Researches
have
suggested
that
the
organizational
culture
has
seven
distinct
values,
which
forms
the
organizational
culture
profile
(OCP).
These
values
are:
• Detail-­Orientation
This
deals
with
the
degree
of
importance
given
to
the
details
of
any
activity
by
the
employees.
This
becomes
a
competitive
advantage
to
the
organization
in
differentiating
its
company.
McDonald’s
Corporation
is
a
company
that
follows
this.
Every
employee
is
instructed
how
the
task
is
to
be
performed
and
detail
is
given
from
the
start
of
processing
the
product
until
served.
• Result-­Orientation
This
deals
with
the
people
focusing
on
achieving
the
end
result
rather
than
on
the
processes
used
to
attain
the
results.
Many
companies
implement
the
Results
Oriented
Work
Environment
(ROWE)
that
allows
employees
to
work
flexibly
until
and
unless
the
work
is
completed.
• People-­Orientation
It
is
a
value
where
the
organization
focuses
on
its
people
during
decision-­‐
making.
It
values
the
individualism
and
rights
of
the
employees.
Starbucks
Corporation
is
one
such
company
that
follows
this
culture.
It
pays
its
employees
above
minimum
wage;
provide
health
care
and
creative
perks.
Infosys
is
another
company
that
treats
employees
as
assets.
• Team-­Orientation
It
is
the
degree
of
emphasizing
on
working
in
teams
instead
as
individuals.
Southwest
Airlines
company
facilities
a
team
oriented
environment,
which
builds
a
cooperative
environment
among
the
employees.

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• Aggressiveness
Companies
that
have
an
aggressive
culture,
work
towards
competiveness
to
reduce
competition
to
be
the
dominant
company.
Bill
Gates,
co-­‐founder
of
Microsoft
Corporation
emphasizes
on
having
an
aggressive
work
environment.
Every
employee
works
towards
killing
the
competition
in
the
market.
This
culture
at
times
may
fall
short
on
the
corporate
social
responsibility
as
it
works
solely
on
the
vision
of
the
company
unless
and
until
the
company
is
a
NGO
like
Greenpeace
that
also
follows
an
aggressive
culture.
• Stability
This
culture
is
highly
formal
with
high
levels
of
bureaucracy.
Activities
are
predictable
in
nature.
Though
such
a
culture
may
result
in
increasing
efficiency
in
a
stable
environment,
it
may
tend
to
fall
in
a
dynamic
environment,
due
to
inability
to
adapt
new
environments.
Kraft
Foods
Inc.
has
a
stable
culture
and
follows
a
very
bureaucratic
method
of
functioning.
• Innovation
and
Risk-­Taking
Contrasting
to
the
stable
culture,
companies
with
an
innovative
culture
support
employees
towards
flexibility
at
work.
The
working
style
is
less
bureaucratic
with
a
flat
organizational
hierarchy.
Google
provides
this
environment
to
its
employees.
It
allows
them
to
spend
20%
of
their
working
hours
on
projects
of
choice.
These
shared
values
vary
in
organizations
between
continuums
of
high
and
low.
It
is
considered
that
if
a
company
has
a
high
degree
of
acceptance
and
sharing
for
the
cultures,
it
has
a
strong
culture.
People
have
the
same
belief
and
culture
due
to
which
the
organization
works
smoothly,
increasingly
efficiency.
If
it
has
a
low
degree,
the
people
in
the
company
do
not
share
the
same
values,
thus
contradict
each
other,
resulting
in
conflict.
The
culture
is
perceived
as
a
weak
that
reduces
the
efficiency
levels
and
performance
of
the
company.
Roger
Harrison
in
1972
developed
a
systematic
analytical
method
of
comparing
cultures.
He
defined
a
theoretical
framework
of
culture
types,
which
are,
-­‐Power
culture-­‐The
power
is
concentrated
to
a
few
people,
which
then
radiates
outward.
Companies
with
centralized
decision-­‐making
fall
under
this
category.
-­‐Role
culture-­‐This
culture
has
defined
authority
in
highly
bureaucratic
and
structured
organization.
The
people
rely
on
scope
to
higher
position
and
have
little
scope
for
power.
-­‐Task
culture-­‐In
this
culture,
teams
are
formed
which
results
in
a
network
forming
a
matrix
organization.
Power
and
authority
of
task
is
distributed
to
the
right
person
with
the
right
expertise.
This
culture
is
highly
performance
orientated
where
the
personal
goals
tend
to
synchronize
with
the
organizational
goals.

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-­‐Personal
culture-­‐In
this
culture,
the
individual
person
is
considered
superior
to
the
organization
as
the
organization
exists
only
if
the
individuals
share
a
like-­‐
minded
goal
and
come
together
as
one
for
a
purpose.
Example:
Volunteers
coming
together
to
support
a
rally.
Researchers
have
shown
a
link
between
the
organizational
culture
and
how
it
affects
the
organizational
performance.
If
the
people
in
the
organization
follow
the
same
culture
uniformly
and
accept
the
cultures
as
well,
there
would
be
unity
formed
within
the
organization
that
would
lead
to
high
levels
of
efficiency
thus
resulting
in
an
increase
in
the
levels
of
performance.
A
common
culture
results
in
having
a
common
goal
that
helps
in
makes
decision
making
easier.
People
would
agree
to
the
decisions
made
more
easily
and
be
motivated
to
work,
as
the
decisions
made
are
the
same
as
the
goal
of
the
people.
A
reverse
relationship
between
organizational
culture
and
performance
is
also
shown.
It
is
known
that
an
increase
in
performance
can
lead
to
a
development
of
a
culture,
which
could
lead
to
culture
homogeneity
in
the
way
the
organization
works.
Thus,
the
culture
in
the
business
can
just
be
a
by-­‐product
of
the
performance.
Culture
is
considered
as
a
regulatory
mechanism
to
regulate
complex
situations,
resulting
higher
efficiency
thus
has
a
high
level
of
performance.
If
an
organization
has
the
ability
to
adapt
to
various
cultures,
depending
on
the
task,
it
would
lead
to
high
levels
of
efficiency
as
the
chaos
and
confusion
created
within
an
organization
due
to
change
in
the
environment
and
work
type
would
be
minimized,
thus
increasing
performance
and
motivation
levels.
This
culture
could
also
result
in
being
a
limitation
to
the
company,
which
recruits
new
people
who
belong
to
a
different
culture
and
ideas.
It
is
very
important
for
the
employees
to
adapt
to
the
new
culture,
which
may
consume
a
lot
of
time
in
the
beginning.
Also,
recent
studies
have
shown
that,
companies
are
moving
towards
concentrating
on
merging
or
acquiring
companies
that
share
a
similar
culture
because
the
major
issue
that
arises
after
a
merger
or
acquisition
is
incompatibility
of
workers
with
the
new
environment
resulting
in
diseconomies
of
scale.
Thus,
an
organization
with
a
strong
culture,
which
may
vary
depending
on
the
industry
the
company
is
in,
not
just
helps
in
increasing
the
organization
performance
levels,
but
also
increases
the
opportunities
available
to
the
company
and
developing
a
competitive
advantage
over
the
other
companies
which
in
the
long
run
becomes
a
company’s
identity.

5.
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Bibliography
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Coulter, M. Robbins, Stephen P. & Vohra, N.,2010. Management. 10th ed. New Delhi:
Pearson Education. Ch.3.
Judge, Timothy A & Robbins, Stephen P.,2009. Organizational Behavior. 13th ed.
New Delhi: PHI Learning. Ch.17.
Moshal, B. S.,2009. Organisational Theory and Behavior Text and Cases. 2nd ed.
New Delhi: Ane Pvt. Ch.13.
Sinha, Jai B. P.,2008. Culture and Organizational Behaviour. 1st ed. Los Angeles:
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