Module 4 SLP: Organizational culture

Module 4 SLP: Organizational culture Essay

Module 4 SLP: Organizational culture

Instructions:-

Module SLP 4

Organizational Structure and Culture

For the SLP 4 assignment, you will explore some aspects of an organization’s culture, at least as you see it. (Select an organization you have worked with, if possible.) Since the concept of organizational culture is open to many interpretations and classifications, this assessment offers a slightly different approach from your background reading on organizational culture.

Required Reading

Debra Woog McGinty and Nicole C. Moss have compiled a short corporate culture survey aimed at identifying characteristics of workplaces. The categories of workplace description that it generates are fairly self-explanatory.

Assignment

When you have completed the assessment think about it for a minute, and how it compares to the Academy, Baseball Team, Fortress, and Club cultures described by McNamara in the Background reading. Then prepare a 2- to 3-page paper addressing:

  • Your scores on the McGinty/Moss assessment and whether or not they fit your general expectations or constitute a surprise in some ways. Interpret the results of the assessment in terms of your own experience, either to confirm or to question the results. Compare your findings with the McNamara categories.
  • The degree to which the McGinty/Moss assessment and the McNamara information tell you similar or dissimilar things about your organization.
  • Do the assessment and the McNamara categories help improve your managerial understanding and/or skills? What can you infer from the assessment results about how your organization’s culture fits or doesn’t fit with you? What (if anything) can you do to make your interaction with the culture more effective?
  • Provide your opinion on whether or not the questions asked help you understand the organization and how you cope with it. Do they accurately assess what is needed to analyze a company’s culture?  
  • Include the actual results to the survey in an Appendix section in your paper.

SLP Assignment Expectations

Your paper will be evaluated using the criteria as stated in the SLP rubric. The following is a review of the rubric criteria:

Assignment-Driven: Does the paper fully address all aspects of the assignment? Is the assignment addressed accurately and precisely using sound logic? Does the paper meet minimum length requirements?

Critical Thinking: Does the paper demonstrate graduate-level analysis, in which information derived from multiple sources, expert opinions, and assumptions has been critically evaluated and synthesized in the formulation of a logical set of conclusions? Does the paper address the topic with sufficient depth of discussion and analysis?

Business Writing: Is the essay logical, well organized and well written? Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary appropriate for graduate-level work? Are section headings included? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of responding, or is justification/support instead conveyed through excessive use of direct quotations?

Effective Use of Information: Does the submission demonstrate that the student has read, understood and can apply the background materials for the module? If required, has the student demonstrated effective research, as evidenced by student’s use of relevant and quality (library?) sources? Do additional sources used provide strong support for conclusions drawn, and do they help in shaping the overall paper?

Citing Sources: Does the student demonstrate understanding of APA Style of referencing, by inclusion of proper citations (for paraphrased text and direct quotations) as appropriate? Have all sources (e.g., references used from the Background page, the assignment readings, and outside research) been included, and are these properly cited? Have all sources cited in the paper been included on the References page?Timeliness: Has the assignment been submitted to TLC (Trident’s learning management system) on or before the module’s due date?

Solution

Module 4 SLP: Organizational culture

Organizational Culture is a term that refers to the basic beliefs, norms, and assumptions that are shared by members of an organization. They are mostly subconscious and often ‘taken for granted’. According to Kenneth, (2010), culture is characterized by elements such as organizational behavior, work group norms, dominant values, and organizational philosophy and rules that govern the organization.  The results of my assessment of my organizational culture point at a company with an established/stable culture, characterized by established processes to address most situations. Employees in this type of culture benefit from mentoring and formal training opportunities.  Compensation is also relatively good. The McGinty & moss (2001) assessment confirms my assessment of my workplace culture and therefore fits my general expectation. This organizational culture conforms to the Academy culture as developed by Mcnamara (2000), which is characterized by a stable work environment and many employee growth opportunities.

My assessment of McGinty/Moss and McNamara information is that my score results point at an organizational culture that corresponds with my current organizational culture experience. They all point at an organization with established structures and processes, mentorship and training programs and generally an organization that is stable. In my organization, for instance, most employees have stayed for a long time, with most leaving on retirement or medical grounds, there are also established processes and reporting structures with employees grouped into functional departments under the leadership of a department head. Remuneration is also relatively high and structured, with people in similar job roles earning similar salaries. Their assessment, therefore, seems to fit well with the description of the organization, the only deviation being that most CEO’s in this company tend to serve for an average of 5 years, unlike their proposition that due to stability, employees seek to work in the organization for long.

The above assessment and understanding of McNamara’s categories are helpful in understanding the various types of organizational cultures and how they impact processes, programs, and employee motivation. It also helps in understanding the role of leadership in influencing organizational culture and employee motivation and individual and group performance in an organization (Bégin & Sarah, 2007).  My understanding of the various categories of organizational culture is useful in the development of leadership and managerial skills that can help fit in my particular organizational culture. With this background, it becomes necessary for me to make the necessary effort to ensure that I learn all the aspects of my company’s organizational culture in order to fit well with the company as well as help in my personal and professional development.

In my opinion, the questions asked by McGinty/Moss in their corporate culture survey, appear to be rather abstract and do not seem to clearly support an understanding of an organizational culture or how to cope with it. While they clearly detail the characteristics of the various categories of organizational culture, they provide little guidance on what individuals can do to cope or fit in a particular organizational culture set up. Despite this apparent shortfall of the questions, they adequately cover most of the relevant areas in the assessment of a company’s organizational culture in areas such as norms, values, conflict resolution, behaviors and the role of leadership and culture in influencing and organizations strategic direction.

References

Bégin, Diane Sarah (2007) Organizational Culture Counts [Online] in The Importance of Organizational Culture, 2007, HRSB Concepts Inc., Ottawa. Retrieved from: http://www.hrsbconcepts.com/articles/KIG-03.2007OrganizationalCultureCounts.pdf [Accessed 28 April 2013]

Kenneth, D  (2010) Organizational Culture – Why Does It Matter? [Online]. Presented at the Symposium on International Safeguards International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna Austria, 3 November 2010, Ottawa: Pentor Communications Inc. Retrieved from http://www.iaea.org/Public/root/SG_SYMPOSIUM/Documents/PapersRepository/315.pdf

McNamara, C (2000) Organizational Culture and Changing Culture. Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/organizations/culture.htm

McGinty, W.D &  Moss, CN (2001) Quiz: What Is Your Corporate Culture? https://www.inc.com/articles/2001/08/23312.html