Organizational Culture
Organizational Culture, also known as corporate culture, is a system consists of shared beliefs,
values, and assumptions that develops within an organization and guides the behavior of its
members.
It is the organizational personality that may have been influenced by the strong view of its
founder and the standards of prevailing management on different issues.
It varies considerably among different organizations since each organization has different
emphasis on rules and regulations, risk taking, treatment of employees, conflict and criticism,
teamwork, and rewards.
Fostering the right organizational culture is one of the most important responsibilities of a chief
executive. Management needs to be involved in establishing the shared values, beliefs and
assumptions within the organizations so that employees would know how to behave.
Examples of organizational culture are casual dress and long hours work (Microsoft),
conservative business attire and formal setting of rigid work rules (Bank of America), fun and
excitement – work with music videos (Southwest Airlines), and time certain delivery (FedEx).
Importance of Organizational Culture
Culture can strongly shape an organization’s long-term success and direction. It serves the
following functions:
1. Provides Organizational Identity
The prestige of an organization or positive perception to it lends identity to its members. It gives
them the feeling of importance and motivates them to live and act within the organizational
standards.
2. Assists Collective Commitment
Employees that know the good standards of their company would uphold them and make
decisions that will support those standards.
3. Promotes Social-System Stability
The more effectively issues and change are addressed within the organization, the more
employees perceive the work environment to be positive and reinforcing, the more stable the
social system within the organization.
4. Shapes Employees Behavior
The sense of orderliness and predictability of an employee’s conduct can be strongly influence
by the organization’s culture.
Types of Organizational Culture
1. Invisible Culture
It represents the core values, beliefs and assumptions which are followed automatically. These
underlying beliefs and values are the very nature of the organization. They are widely shared
even without discussing them. They are usually and naturally used by employees to defend their
assumptions by saying “That’s the way it’s always done here”.
It is often sourced from the vision, assumption, and basis of the organization’s founder, and the
outlook that the pioneer employees learned from their own experiences during the formative
years of the organization.
2. Visible Culture
It is the observable culture with obvious object manifestations that can be easily referred to as
reference for actions as discussed in learning organizational culture.
Objects Organizational Culture
TH 103: Quality Service Management for Tourism and Hospitality Page 1
