For an organisation to succeed, there needs to be not too great a gap between the managerially espoused and the 'actually prevailing' sets of meanings, values and norms.

Essay by tomwrightUniversity, Bachelor'sB, January 2003

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The term 'organisation' from a business perspective refers to a group of individuals who come together to achieve a set of common goals, often in the form of a firm or other business entity (Daft, 2000: 6). Organisations can be any size, from a joint venture or partnership between two people, to a sprawling conglomerate mass such as a multinational. Whatever the size of the organisation however, it is imperative that for it to function successfully there is at least some degree of coordination and cohesion. This cohesion must be present on a number of different levels, from the factory floor, right up to the corporate objectives and targets as defined by the management.

One area of management which is often overlooked in many of the management handbooks (Magretta, 2002: 19) is to do with the creation of a consistent and sustainable working culture. A working culture consists of a set of values and ethics which the business and all that are connected with the business, are expected to adhere to.

It defines values, and contains assumptions about the world around us, and all that live in it (Watson, 2001: 21). An example of this is for instance the NHS (National Health Service). This organisation claims that its culture is one of 'caring'. By this, they mean that any decisions which are taken by NHS staff should be motivated primarily by fulfilling the best interests of their clients or patients. The NHS was set up as a non-profit entity designed to serve the health needs of the British public. Many people argue however that over recent years, a number of business decisions made by the NHS have been in conflict with this so called 'culture of caring', and have been primarily motivated by cost cutting and even profiteering.