Organizational culture is a widely discussed topic not only in the earlier days but businesses have recognized the impact it has towards the success of the company in today’s context and how it should be nurtured in the long run. In order to do so, it is important to know the theoretical aspects of organizational culture and how companies have applied it to their organizations. This blog consists of understanding the mechanism of culture and how it can be used to attract and create a pool of talents to sustain in the ever changing world.

Organizational Culture defined

Organizational culture plays a vital role in the survival of a company and it is defined as ‘set of norms and values that are widely shared and strongly held throughout the organization’ (O’ Reilly and Chatman 1996, p. 166). Hofestede (2011, p.3) defines that ‘Culture is the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from others’.

However, Schein (1990, p.111) defines culture as ‘(a) a pattern of basic assumptions, (b) invented, discovered, or developed by a given group, (c) as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, (d) that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore (e) is to be taught to new members as the (f) correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems’.

Components of Organizational Culture

Once an employee walk in to an organization, the layout, the attire, how other employees engage with the customers can be noticed but the visible aspect of it is similar to a skin of an onion where the core of the onion can be noticed only if you cut deep in to it.

Figure 1: The onion theory of culture

Source: (Hofstede, Hofstede and Minkov, 2010, p.8) 

In Figure 1, (Hofstede, Hofstede and Minkov, 2010) introduces how culture is similar to an onion where the skin represents the symbols such as layout, communication, pictures that are noticeable from outside but represents a meaning only to those who share the culture of the organization. Heroes represents individuals (role models) whose characteristics inspire the employees to behave in a certain manner. Rituals are unconscious activities that doesn’t necessarily help to achieve organizational goals but are considered necessary in the social sense. ‘Values are broad tendencies to prefer certain states of affairs over others’ (Hofstede, Hofstede and Minkov, 2010, p.9) which is the core of the culture.

However, (Hofstede, Hofstede and Minkov, 2010) categorizes symbols, heroes and rituals as practices which are easily visible to outsiders but the really meaning is hidden and exclusively relies on how the particular organizational practices are construed by the employees or insiders.

Figure 2: The learning of values and practices

Figure 2 demonstrates how Values and practices are acquired and absorbed since childhood from home and school; unconsciously from parents, teachers, colleagues, and surroundings (the way and how things should be done). This is how the basic values of people are formed and they slowly switch to a conscious way of learning and new practices (Hofstede, Hofstede and Minkov, 2010).

Hemmelgarn et al., (2006) states that once a new employee is hired by an organization, they are shown how things are carried out in the organization, what their rewards and punishments are, what they can expect from their work behavior, they observe and make a mental structure of how work is carried out and continue to work in the particular framework they have in their mind.

Figure 3: Three levels of Culture 

Figure 3 depicts the ‘three levels of culture’ Schein (2004, p.26). Based on his theory (Schein, 2004) demonstrates that Artifacts are the visible structures, layouts, technology and systems that can be easily seen or observed. Once a new employee is hired, they form a perception of what the artifacts mean but it doesn’t necessarily mean that his/her opinion is accurate as it difficult to interpret the true meaning of them but if they remain in the organization for a long time period, they will eventually learn the true meaning behind the artifacts. 

‘Espoused theories are those that an individual claims to follow. Theories‐in‐use are those than can be inferred from action’ (Argyris, Putnam and Smith, 1985, p.82). In a research carried out by them, they identified that when asked from people about how they would react to a particular situation, people would probably answer the structured pattern of how a particular thing should be done but when they are really in the midst of the particular situation, they would react in a different manner through their actions (Argyris, Putnam and Smith, 1985).

According to (Schein, 2004) Underlying Assumptions are the beliefs that employees have in mind after a leader, founder or particular individual takes a decision as a solution to a particular problem through their own belief that a certain decision would work. The ideas of other employees are not taken in to consideration. If the particular decision is successful, the other employees perceive that in the future, the same decision would yield results and those belief and values are transformed to the next set of employees and so forth. This will let the employees think that any other decision taken is non-comprehensible. Employees tend to have a mental state that they are stable in the current decision.

Robbins and Judge (2013) asserts that the culture of an organization is determined by the following characteristics:

1. Innovation and Risk taking
2. Attention to detail
3. Outcome Orientation
4. People Orientation
5. Team Orientation
6. Aggressiveness
7. Stability

Success stories of the positive impact of Culture