Identify and build culture within organizations.

Essay by alfa_lum November 2003

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There are different approaches to determine organizational culture. DEAL and KENNEDY classify four types of culture (tough guy/macho culture, work hard/play hard culture, bet-your-company culture and process culture) according to the risk and the speed of feedback participants faces whereas HANDY's four types of organizational culture is based on power, roles, tasks and person. Furthermore a dimensional approach using BATE's six dimensions (unemotionality, subordination, conservatism, isolationism and antipathy) are used. The key points from these concepts are drawn from the Open University Business school:

·Culture is real - organizations differ in the cognitive, emotional and interpersonal orientation they expect from their members (values and beliefs).

·Culture is pervasive - but staff may be not aware of it because it is not easily to describe.

·Culture makes a difference - in problem solving or conveys values that are highly functional for performance.

·Culture is in here - it is how members of an organization act behave and deal with each other also in terms of unwritten rules.

·Culture is multifaceted - there is no best ways to describe it, but the perspectives drawn from the concepts provide an insightful picture.

Besides sub-cultures and organizational cultures there are corporate cultures and national cultures providing shared guiding values towards the achievement of broad corporate aims, irrespective of their diverse cultural background. Furthermore, it is of vital importance to value cultural diversity because it is provides innovation and organizational learning in organizational processes and strategic decision-making. Put another way, culture is characterized by diversity and are therefore an asset of every organization.

This in turn leads to the necessity of promoting corporate values by a combination of several methods:

·Communication - mission, mission and values through corporate newsletters, annual reports, come together meetings, etc.

·Being a role model - in that setting an example,