REVITALIZATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

1. INTRODUCTION

Culture may affect human resource activities in terms of transferring personal characteristics to the business life. Related to the company size and integration, countries with fully integrated to the international business and economics usually have firms which are more open to the impacts of universal culture.

It has been shown time and time again that company culture influences employees’ job satisfaction, morale, performance, engagement, attitudes, motivation, commitment to their organizations and turnover [10] [12].

Culture is a strategic issue for most organizations and so cross-cultural human resource management experts with the ability to trans-form tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, have a great role to play. [1] [13]

Human resource management in the 21st century seems to have a wider challenge.

Globalization is spreading like wildfire and many company operate in locations all over the world, at the same time and some operate in a single location but penetrating several markets across the world and there is an aspect of cross culture in their everyday business from planning to realization. Cross-cultural management is very vital to an organization in now days because culture is part of an organizations that needs to be managed effectively.

2. METHODOLOGY

The concept of organizational culture has attracted attention from both academics and practitioners since eighties.  The data collected for the research were gathered by consulting various theoretical and empirical studies, research papers, books and online sources.

This range of culture concept has been on focus of the researcher’s attention by social scientists especially in the recent years. We can mention researchers as Osgood (1964; 1971), Triandis (1972), and Geertz (1964), subjective culture can be seen as a cultural group's characteristic way of perceiving the man-made part of his environment, perception of rules and the group's norms, roles and values.

Limitation of the study are in time and access to information. This is a relatively new and future topic. Many studies are being conducted to find the most efficient way possible. Companies that have embraced this spirit are still in their beginnings. Detailed analysis requires a lot of empirical studies, time and access to detailed information.

3. ANALYSIS

3.1. Culture concept evolution

Organizational culture put simply can be seen as a system of shared values and beliefs [1] [14].

A man without a culture is like a man with no identity, so identifying the people needs to be done for effective unity in diversity is an important key in organization. We should see cultural diversities as strength and opportunity rather than as threat or weakness.

Going though different authors, through the years shows the evolution of culture concept.

Pettigrew (1979) examined some of the concepts and processes related with the creation of organization culture and hence with the birth of organization. The author collected the data from the staff and students of a private British boarding school. The research design involved analysis of sequence of social dramas that were likely to provide an insight into the emergence and development of organization cultures. The author further discussed how purpose, commitment and order were generated in organization through feelings and actions of its founder. The author further observed that an amalgam of beliefs, ideologies, language, ritual and myth leads to creation of new cultures in organization. [2] [15]

Wilkins and Ouchi (1983) explored the relationship between culture and organizational performance. The authors argued that the organizations that develop a distinct local culture or clan with particular properties will have significant performance efficiencies, but only under certain conditions such as long history and membership. While pursuing these themes for different purposes, researchers make different assumptions about nature of culture and organization. Therefore, the author felt that evaluation of strength and limitations of the concept of culture must be conducted within an assumptive context. The author pointed out that culture concept is quite suggestive and very promising for different ends that the researchers pursue. The author discussed the problems associated with changing organization culture and argued that cultures are more adaptive than they are thought to be. [2] [16]

Newman and Nollen (1996) pointed out that work teams can achieve better results if their management practices are compatible with national cultures. In order to develop human capital results and improve firm performance, companies should adapt their HRM practices to the culture of the host country. [2] [17]

Bingöl (2006) stated that firms should consider the values, myths, behavioral types, rituals, and expectations of society, when they are identifying HRM policy and strategies. Thus, organizations would be stronger in competition. Equally, if institutions put the ethics of people into account, it would be easier for them to behave in socially responsible way. [2] [18]

Kane and Palmer (1995) cite the linkage between the differences of HRM practices and national cultures. [2] [19]

Tiwari and Saxena (2012) argued the link between national culture and HRM activities. [2] [20]

Chandrakumara and Sparrow (2004) achieved the result that, national culture is one of the important elements which determine organizational perspectives in establishing structure for effective HRM practices. [2] [21]

Judy Jackson (2022) Culture is very important because people know that they have choices and their choices are beyond the name of the company or the salary that they make. Their choices are around enrichment, their choices are around who am I learning from. How is my soul being fed? And they are willing to exchange money and location for feeling fulfilled. [3] [22]

Nickle LaMoreaux (2022) Not since the industrial revolution have companies really had to think about work design, about what tasks get done and where do those tasks get done, and when and how do you deconstruct work so that it’s done in an optimal manner. [3] [23]

3.2. Organizational culture and Human Resources Management

Dealing with people from different countries, different cultures, different linguistic backgrounds is an interesting and challenging experience. In this kind of work environment, Human Resource Management should deal with interring relation of all the cultures and cultural aspects and to make the environment a pluralistic one, guiding to respect for all cultures at the detriment of the cooperate culture.

 

Looking at the relationship between culture and organizational system we can refer at authors as Kroeber and Kluckhohn, saying that dimension of culture, namely, that deals with values and norms, conceptions of what is desirable, and prescriptions or proscriptions of conduct affect the behavior.

Human resource managers have to continuously learn and upgrade their understanding of a unified culturally diverse environment as if it effects the business culture inside and outside. This can only be possible when there is a strong cooperate cultures that is tolerant and all-inclusive. This is a very big challenge to Human Resources Management because human beings by nature seem to have a strong link to certain cultural values and often reflect it as the best practice in their daily in interaction within the organization.

Which are the processes that get influenced by culture in department of Human Resources:

1. Recruitment and Selection

Choosing the right candidate is always a challenge. It reduces absenteeism, reduces turnover, increase employee satisfaction, leads to better employee performance and productivity as per consequence improving processes, products and services which contribute to organization success.

To make good recruitment decisions and benefit from all mentioned above, the candidate needs to fit not only with the role but also with company culture.

Therefore, the importance of values and values integration throughout the recruitment process is inevitable.

2. Trainings

Precise information and applicable knowledge usually made available via training and development always assist performance, whereas erroneous information and irrational knowledge are likely to do the opposite, (Feldman and March, 1991; Daft and Weick, 1994). Not only that, cultures provide cognitive frameworks through which people interpret what they observe and experience and provide language and referents to use in communicating with others, (Wilkins and Ouchi, 2003). Culture through the different training and development activities contribute schemes and scripts that can affect performance by providing pre-existing ways of understanding what is occurring, how to evaluate it and what sequences of actions are appropriate to the situation (Lord and Foti, 1996). [2]

3. Performance Management

According to Brooks (2006), the job performance of organization has a strong impact of strong organization culture which leads to enhanced productivity, and that the productivity and culture of organization helps in improving performance. [2]

It has been proven that organizational performance and the employee performance is greatly influences by HRM [Bowen and Ostroff, 2004; Guest, 1997] (Onalenna & Hill, 2016). Armstrong (2000), HRM is a strategic personnel management practice, which pays more emphasis on the acquisition, motivation and organizing human resources. Without a well-trained labor force, many businesses will lose their ability to compete globally and this will lead to a fall in their economic success (Tomaka, 2001). [1]

1. 3. Latest trend of organizational culture

In the 21st century world where globalization and internationalization is increasing producing multinational work force, the role of organizational functioning and strategic human resource practices is to know how to manage their organizations different cultural factors that exist both within and out of it.

Key to winning tips for the war of recruiting and retaining top talent is renew focus on company culture and reinvent resilience by cultivating a workplace culture that engages, rewards and, most of all, inspires employees.

As per today challenges, there are some emerging trends for which employer’s need to rethink:

Flexible work

To recruit and engage top performers, a flexible workplace culture will be essential. We should admit that flexible work will become permanent. After pandemic flexibility is prioritized, employees value more their health and well- being.

Connection will drive workplace culture

Diversity, equity and inclusion strategies will increase people- on focus programs as part of top priorities for Human Resources Management for 2022. Studies have shown of ADP Research Institute found that workers who feel strongly connected to their employer are 75 times more likely to be engaged than those who do not feel connected.

Employee on focus

Changing roles, new positions, new tasks ask for new skills set. To remain in the forehead of the industries and being a competitive company need to invest in training the employees. On the other hand, employees will feel engaged, developed professionally, challenged as per consequence the retention rate will grow.

Technology

Technology will play an important role in workplace culture.

When technology is well-integrated with a company’s culture, there is a 5x higher likelihood of employee engagement and a 47% lower chance of attrition, according to O.C. Tanner’s 2021 Global Culture Report [30]. 77% of employees believe advanced technology will improve their work experience, even in organizations where it has eliminated jobs. That’s because they know that it will establish a greater connection with the organization and one another.

1. 4. Challenges

In today’s economy, firms are challenged to continuously offer a portfolio of innovative products and services. Despite the key role of portfolio innovativeness for corporate performance, firms differ in their focus on building innovation capabilities and generating innovation outcomes (Hambrick, 2007; Hambrick and Mason, 1984). Research of the link between organizational culture and performance had increased substantially during the past two decades (Lim,1995). In the 1980s, there were ‘obsessions’ by researchers to focus on the Strong Theory- a search for strong shared values in organization which were supposed to result in performance for the organization. Perters and Waterman (1982) claimed that high performance firms could be distinguished from low performance firms because they possessed certain cultural traits and ‘strong culture’. [9]

A multicultural globalized world involves learning other cultures, languages, skills and tolerating aspects of different cultures. It empowers people with the ability to interact and live in any society and reduce the possibility of any ambiguity. It is challenging for strategic human resource management to interact in everyday business life with people from different cultures, different nationalities, different values, different skills and abilities, to adapt situations as they endeavor to engage all employees into common multicultural or cross-cultural organizational strategies.

4. CONCLUSIONS

Organizational culture plays a very important role at the time of framing the Human Resources strategies and management. It is becoming more and more challenging day by day. More businesses and communities are going global, cultures keep going across borders increasing internationalization of people, businesses, countries, governments.

Cultural oriented organizations will struggle for a heterogeneous cultural and a cross-cultural managerial approach with the advancement of globalization and the increasing mobility of labor.

After several studies and research, we can assume that there is no generically good culture, no one ideal type of organizational culture. However, it must be adapted under given circumstances and employees’ preferences for cultures.

5. RECOMMENDATIONS

I recommend that the cultural differences must be taken into consideration while preparing human resources and company strategies aligned with business goals. Its management will increase employee satisfaction, decrease turnover and increase productivity. Cross cultural management approach should be an important issue for organizations in their future tasks.

Further research must be carried out in practice because this paper was mainly literature review and based primarily on secondary data and so the findings may be limited in its applicability and scope.

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13. Cameron et. al., 2011; Warrick, 2017
14. Holden, 2002
15. Deshphande and Webster, 1989
16. Pettigrew (1979)
17. Wilkins and Ouchi (1983)
18. Bingöl (2006)
19. Kane and Palmer (1995)
20. Tiwari and Saxena (2012)
21. Chandrakumara and Sparrow (2004)
22. Judy Jackson (2022)
23. Nickle LaMoreaux (2022)
24. Feldman and March 1991; Daft and Weick, 1994
25. Wilkins and Ouchi, 2003
26. Lord and Foti, 1996
27. Bowen and Ostroff, 2004; Guest, 1997
28. Onalenna & Hill, 2016
29. Armstrong (2000)
30. Tomaka, 2001
31. O.C. Tanner’s 2021 Global Culture Report
32. Hambrick, 2007; Hambrick and Mason, 1984
33. Lim,1995
34. Perters and Waterman (1982)