Organisational culture is the collection of traditional values, policies, beliefs and attitudes that constitute a pervasive context for everything we do and think about in an organisation (Mullins L J, 2007). Deal & Kennedy said organisational culture is ‘the way we do things around here’ (1982).
There are three layers of culture. These are:
1) Basic assumptions – This is the fundamental basis of a business.
2) Values and beliefs – These are the values that are serving as guidelines for action.
3) Visible aspects of culture – These include things such as the physical layout of the office, uniforms, language, status symbols, rites and rituals, stories and taboo. Other examples of visible aspects of culture are stories about the past, unwritten rules and expectations, role models, management style, communications and the general pace of work.
Nando’s is a business that clearly shows that is has visible aspects of culture. There are many ways in which they show their organisational culture. One of the ways it does this is looking after its employees in a way that will make customers have a good time and come back for more which in turn will lead to higher profitability. Another way in which they show visible aspects of culture is their job titles. Some examples are:
· Mother Hen – HR Director
· Poultry in Motion – Transport Manager
· The Full Monty – Nando’s top team.
The Nando’s team also manages itself by a ‘book of stories’. This is used as a guide for managers as it illustrates lessons which have been learnt and how to deal with situations. They are very determined to manage Nando’s in such a way that both employees and customers are happy and this clearly shows in the way they are treated and the visible aspects of their organisational culture.
Nando’s is a business that clearly shows and demonstrates a good organisational culture because of the way in which they set out their restaurants and the way in which the employees are all bought together in way that shows a united front with good quality service. Here is the link to the Nando’s website: http://www.nandos.co.uk/
There are a few ways in which different types of organisational cultures are classified. Charles Handy (1985) looked at the work Roger Harrison and developed his idea of 4 types of organisational culture. He suggests that organisations can be classified into broad categories of four main cultures. The four types of culture that he talks about are:
1) Power Culture: Handy describes this as a ‘web’. By this he means that there is a concentration of power at the centre of the business and this central figure provides rays of influence to the rest of the organisation. This type of culture is normally found in small entrepreneurial organisations that are based on trust, empathy and personal communications to achieve effectiveness. Most of the control is given to the central individuals in the organisation who then transfer roles and tasks out to others in the business.
There are three layers of culture. These are:
1) Basic assumptions – This is the fundamental basis of a business.
2) Values and beliefs – These are the values that are serving as guidelines for action.
3) Visible aspects of culture – These include things such as the physical layout of the office, uniforms, language, status symbols, rites and rituals, stories and taboo. Other examples of visible aspects of culture are stories about the past, unwritten rules and expectations, role models, management style, communications and the general pace of work.
Nando’s is a business that clearly shows that is has visible aspects of culture. There are many ways in which they show their organisational culture. One of the ways it does this is looking after its employees in a way that will make customers have a good time and come back for more which in turn will lead to higher profitability. Another way in which they show visible aspects of culture is their job titles. Some examples are:
· Mother Hen – HR Director
· Poultry in Motion – Transport Manager
· The Full Monty – Nando’s top team.
The Nando’s team also manages itself by a ‘book of stories’. This is used as a guide for managers as it illustrates lessons which have been learnt and how to deal with situations. They are very determined to manage Nando’s in such a way that both employees and customers are happy and this clearly shows in the way they are treated and the visible aspects of their organisational culture.
Nando’s is a business that clearly shows and demonstrates a good organisational culture because of the way in which they set out their restaurants and the way in which the employees are all bought together in way that shows a united front with good quality service. Here is the link to the Nando’s website: http://www.nandos.co.uk/
There are a few ways in which different types of organisational cultures are classified. Charles Handy (1985) looked at the work Roger Harrison and developed his idea of 4 types of organisational culture. He suggests that organisations can be classified into broad categories of four main cultures. The four types of culture that he talks about are:
1) Power Culture: Handy describes this as a ‘web’. By this he means that there is a concentration of power at the centre of the business and this central figure provides rays of influence to the rest of the organisation. This type of culture is normally found in small entrepreneurial organisations that are based on trust, empathy and personal communications to achieve effectiveness. Most of the control is given to the central individuals in the organisation who then transfer roles and tasks out to others in the business.
2) Role Culture: This type of culture is most often stereotyped as a bureaucracy and works on the basic of logic and rationality. It has also been described as a ‘Greek temple’ in the sense that top of the temple is where all the decisions are made and the pillars of the temple show the functional units of the organisation and shows where all the decisions are implemented. This type of culture is very much focused on job descriptions in a way that authority is not based on personal initiative but mostly an organisation which is run by paper.
3) Task Culture: This type of culture is usually adopted in organisations that carry out extensive research and developmental activities as they are more dynamic. This is because the teams of researchers and developers are always changing as they are trying to meet future needs therefore the most valuable assets in this type of organisational culture are expertise and skills. The main idea of task culture is to bring together the best people and the right resources and to utilise this power to achieve future needs.
4) Person Culture: This is where the individuals themselves form a group and decide that it is in their own interest to band together skills and expertise and share office space, equipment and clerical assistance to determine collectively the path of the organisation. This type of culture tends to reject the idea of formal hierarchies and exists solely to meet the needs of its members. A person culture is usually suitable for a self-help group or a commune rather than a business organisation.
http://www.lindsay-sherwin.co.uk/guide_managing_change/html_overview/05_culture_handy.htm
One of the problems of trying to classify culture into one of the four types is that organisations are always changing. There could be a time when an organisation falls into one type of culture; however there could be times when it falls in 2 types of organisational culture and therefore it is difficult to chose one type of culture. This change in culture could be for many reasons such as:
· Mergers or acquisitions,
· New technology, products, markets,
· New managers,
· New location,
· Decline in profitability,
· Outsourcing.
Overall, there are many ways in which an organisation can chose their type of culture and use the best techniques to fulfil their needs for the future. They can utilise the needs of just the managers or they can give power to every individual and take advantage of all the employee’s needs and expertise. The culture is also one of the most important ways in which a business is recognised in the wider market so it is important to have one that provides the best image for the business.
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