Introduction
Organizational behavior is the analysis of individuals and their actions within a workplace setting. Management is concerned with the behavior of its employees because it shapes the culture of the organization. Behavior of employees within the organization influences the competitive advantage of organizations. Organization culture determines behavior of employees within the organization. “It refers to the values and behaviors that contribute to the unique social and psychological of an organization” (Black, 2003, p.67). Most high performing organizations focus on culture to remain competitive. Therefore, management should adopt a culture that ensures the organization leads in the given industry. This paper focuses on organizational culture and describes steps for improving success within the organization.
Meaning of focusing on culture
Organizational culture is becoming a key driver for high results in most companies in the contemporary world. Organization culture is a set of shared values in the workplace that employees use to interact with each other and with outsiders. The values and accepted standards of behavior that a given organization practices shape the culture of that organization. Organization culture differs from one organization to another. Organizations adopt different cultures in order to have something unique that makes them remain competitive. The uncertainty prevailing in the business world calls for organization to adopt a workforce that brings meaning and other intangibles to improve performance.
Corporate culture is one of the most effective drivers for high performance in organizations. Employees in organizations that focus on culture respond to quickly to stimulus because of high values. These employees show exemplary performance in the organization because of high motivation and loyalty to work. Culture shapes employee behavior at the workplace allowing organizations to be more efficient and effective in their operations. Culture enhances teamwork in the organization and thus leading to high performance in the organization (Huselid, 2011). Cohesiveness between various departments in the organization is evident in employees that adopt corporate culture leading to high performance.
Organizations that focus on culture have a clear vision, mission and values. These objectives generate employee motivation and loyalty encouraging them to improve performance. Customers become loyal to an organization that has compelling objectives because they trust the organization to continue supplying products and services. This customer loyalty ensures high performance for the organization. An organization that focuses on culture creates a personalized relationship between the organization and employees. This emotional contract promotes motivation of employees and encourages them to perform excellently. Values-driven organizations have greater employee commitment, which enable them to perform highly (Black, 2003). Employees are interested in high performance and therefore, they are committed to work through teams to ensure one community with one goal.
High performance organizations have effective mechanisms for dealing with change when it happens. These organizations use the management to communicate change to employees and provide stability during a period of change. They thus ensure a low employee turnover because they are able to deal with change. In addition, high performance organizations appreciate and accept diversity of employees. Diversity is commonplace in most organizations and it is a key consideration for high performance. It is important for organizations to align employee diverse interests to shared goals to create synergy in the organization. Thus, an organization that embraces diversity is sure to perform highly because of incorporating different skills.
My organization
The organization I work with falls under quadrant three in the given exhibit. This organization has a high values-driven culture meaning that it focuses on inspiring employee commitment to work and reinforcing the values of employees. However, this organization has low business performance because it does not take keen interest in driving results. The organization in this quadrant tends to concentrate more on the values of employees, which right because values drive the culture of the organization. Employees in the organization focus on the internal operations of the organization by encouraging teamwork and share values. Employees are committed to working in the organization because the morale is high. The high morale means that the organization may eventually lead to sustainable success for the organization. Team cohesiveness and high employee motivation ensures strong company focus towards achievement of goals.
The organization I work with does not have loyal customers and employees do not provide adequate customer service. The organization experiences this scenario because employees focus more on internal operations at the expense of external stakeholders. This scenario is characteristic of quadrant three. It is dangerous to assume customers in the organization because they ensure high performance of businesses. The organization may, with time go out of business because of the low business performance (Rosenthal & Masarech, 2003). Employees should focus in driving results from their commitment to work to avoid going out of business. The organization should formulate a strategic vision and mission that puts the interests of customers first. Employees should be innovative to be able to serve customers effectively. In as much as values drive the overall organizational culture, high performance is also important. A complete corporate culture incorporates both the values and business performance. At quadrant three, low business performance is risky for the organization, it may drive a company out of business since innovation, and customer service is low.
How to improve success
Developing a high performance culture in the organization requires commitment and hard work from employees. Commitment is important because a culture of high performance in the organization may take years to be operational. Improving a culture in the organization requires change and not all employees may accept the change. Top management should be at the forefront in improving success in the organization. The organization that I work with being at quadrant three needs to adopt five steps to avoid going out of business.
The organization should clarify its values, mission and have a beginning point for its success. A clear mission establishes the end where the organization would like to be in future. Values shape the behavior of employees in the organization and ensure integrity in the company. If the organization has clear and compelling objectives, it becomes easy to develop a high performance culture. Values in the organization are important in driving business results. The organization I work with can improve success by focusing on the core values of employees. Since the organization has clear guidelines regarding its mission and values, the leaders need to clarify these values to employees in the organization to improve performance.
The organization should adopt communication as the next step in improving performance. Communication is vital in conveying the mission and values to employees. Having clear core values and objectives is not enough for the organization to achieve a high performance culture (Rosenthal & Masarech, 2003). Communication shapes the culture of the organization and it should be a two way process. To ensure greater commitment of employees and motivation, the top management should interpret abstract ideas into reality. Creating a culture of communication eventually translates to high performance in the organization.
Once the organization has developed best practices, it is important to align them to the daily operations of the organization. Alignment of organizational values may prove challenging to management because some employees may resist the change (Rosenthal & Masarech, 2003). However, to implement a culture of high performance, the organization should make decisions that will not only drive results but also encourage employee commitment.
Finally, this organization should engage employees in developing a high performance culture. Employees are the major stakeholders in the organization and they implement change. After developing values and mission, the management should engage employees in the process of change and inspire them to succeed.
Conclusion
Organizational culture is the environment at the workplace developed from interaction of employees in the organization. An organization that focuses on culture has high employee cohesiveness among its departments hence improving motivation and loyalty of employees. A high business performance and values driven culture is desirable for most organization despite not being easy to sustain. To improve success, an organization should clarify its mission and core values, communicate, model, align and engage employees with an aim of establishing a high performance culture.
References
Black, R.J. (2003). Organizational Culture: Creating the Influence Needed for Strategic Success.
London: Universal Publishers.
Huselid, M. A. (2011). Celebrating 50 years: looking back and looking forward: 50 years of
Human Resource Management. Human Resource Management, 50, 309-312.
Rosenthal, J. & Masarech, M. A. (2003). High performance cultures: How values can drive
business results. Journal of Organizational Excellence, 22, 3-18.
