CULTURE AND PERFORMANCE

            There are many factors that affect any organization’s performance and the organization’s culture is one of the many factors as it ensures that the organization has the capability to invent, innovate, and compete and enhances a well engagement of both the workers and the customers in a corporate culture. Organizational culture refers to the way in which human resources complete undertakings and interact with one another in the organization (Druckman et al 1997). This business culture unites the employees together and provides a direction towards the governing of the company. Business culture comprises of the incorporation of values, mission and vision in the running of the organization’s day to day characteristic of relations, communication and operational objectives which creates the company’s environment that pervades the way in which the workforce work. It is therefore evident that the organizational culture majorly deals with the sharing of the established beliefs and values created by the company’s leaders and later communicated and toughened through different methods (Druckman et al 1997). Hence this has ultimately leaded to the shaping of the workers perception, performance and understanding. Thus business structure and design can be seen as its body whereas its culture is simply the soul of the organization hence a strong organizational culture has a major role to play in ensuring improvement of the general performance and efficiency (Druckman et al 1997). This paper therefore will explore on the various components of organizational culture such as the individualism versus collectiveness, power distance, uncertainty and risk avoidance strategies and achievement versus nurturing orientation.

           

Individualism culture deals with independent individuals who are capable of succeeding on their own as they are just members of the group. Individualism has the idea that a person has the right to live his/her life according to how they see it fit, make their own judgment, utilize on the output of their efforts and to pursue the cost of their choices as life belongs to an individual (Price 2007). Collectiveness on the other hand has a different perspective with that of individualism as they believe that a person’s life does not belong to him but rather to the entire group or the society and he/she has no rights to himself as all efforts and objectivity should be geared towards the society’s greater good. In collectiveness the whole group is of greater moral concern while individuals are only important when they are serving the community (Price 2007).

            Power distance refers to the degree in which members of a group or community who have less power in the society agree to and also expect that the allocation of power is undertaken unequally. This dimension therefore states clearly that there is an establishment and execution of hierarchy in the society. Inequality and power is apparent from the lower level members in the society (Matsumoto 2016).

            Uncertainty and risk avoidance refers to the society’s tolerance for indistinctness where people hold close to an occurrence of something unexpected, unidentified or far away from the status quo. Higher extent of this uncertainty and avoidance index selects stiff codes of behavior, guiding principles, laws and absolute truth.

            Achievement and nurturing direction represents a competitive versus cooperative view of inter-relations with other people. Achievement index explains the extent to which societal values are exemplified by assertiveness, competitiveness and materialism.

Those who have a higher desire for achievement have reasonable challenges, individual responsibility, acknowledgment and feedback. Achievers always value those who are tough and support the possession of money and the material products. Whereas nurturing index insists on relationships and the moral concern for others well being. Their major focus is on the human interaction rather than the individual success and competition.  They care so much for others and continuation is dominant while they generally stress on equality, cohesion and quality of work for their survival.

            In conclusion, organizational culture is quite essential in any business structure as it is clear that the effectiveness, efficiency as well as competence are as a result of a well formulated organization culture. The organization culture is therefore different in the various business structures as they have different roles they have to play. The goal of an organization determines its culture that is their beliefs, values and objectivity. It is thus important that before any form of culture is designed, the goals of the organization should be clearly stated so that the leaders may now choose on the appropriate culture that would fit in the business. Any organization ought to have a culture to which they are upholding in which they are geared to achieving the specific goals. Goals that are geared to helping out each employee individual such as individualism, achievement enhance individual’s performance for one’s own benefit whereas those that are geared towards helping the society like the collectiveness and nurturing enhance group achievement and success. Strong organizational culture provides the employees with better relation qualities, cohesiveness, competence and performance than those that have weaker business culture. Decision making, strong knowledge, less disagreements, mutual trust as well as cooperation are core benefits that accrues to any business with strong company culture.

 

Reference

Druckman, D., Singer, J. E., Van, C. H. P., & National Research Council (U.S.). (1997).           Enhancing organizational performance. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press.

Matsumoto, D. (2016). Culture and psychology. Place of publication not identified:           Cengage Learning.

Price, A. (2007). Human resource management in a business context. London: Thomson.