Topic > Organizational Culture - 735

Edgar Schein, a famous theorist who works on organizational culture, provides the following definition of the term: "A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group has learned through solving its problems and that has worked well enough to be considered valid and passed on to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to such issues." (organizational culture101) However, organizational culture is more than just the sharing of assumptions used by a group to solve problems; it is the combination of the views, the ineffective processes, the education, the backgrounds of all the staff that are part of an organisation's way of doing things. Company culture should extend from the board of directors to the rest of the employees. Although there are many foundations of an organizational culture, organizational values, beliefs, and norms are the fundamental basis of organizational culture. Organizational core values ​​reflect the guiding principles of corporate behavior, they are normally stated in company guidelines, nowadays they are accessible on any company website. Organizational beliefs include the use of theory in a company that explains the way things are done and their internal policies to inspire employees to be more productive and work towards the company's goals. Norms are a combination of the values ​​and beliefs plus accepted behaviors in a company. Within the standards companies can present how a company expects individuals to behave, do their jobs, appropriate ways of communicating and leadership styles. The organizational culture of a company begins with the founder's vision of creating a business and believing in his ideas. As the first leaders in an organization, companies focus more on implementing subcultures in an organization rather than the company's core values ​​and norms. To involve everyone in the organizational culture, many entities hold regular meetings within the executive team to involve them in informing staff about the vision, mission and goals of the entity and how each individual could contribute to those goals. Annual surveys and meetings to discuss the results are good alternatives to foster trust among employees. Involving management more in daily processes and interactions with employees is another great way to inspire cultural behavior. Training courses on understanding corporate behavior, diversity and proper communications within the company always motivate members of an organization to have better relationships.