Types of Organizational Culture
Space planners value the importance of organizational culture. This culture is broad and encompasses all assumptions, values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours shared by a group. Members of the group are influenced by the culture that they subscribe to. Culture regulates and directs all internal and external relationships in organizations. Scholars argue that organizational culture is founded on a set of assumptions that govern the operations of the natural world and the human relationships found therein. The following paper will open with a discourse on the different types of organizational cultures and move on to focus on the application of one of the discussed cultures to the specific nations where they are it is found.
Ravasi and Schultz gives a formal definition of organization culture as a set of mental assumptions that are shared among employees of an organization and that these assumptions guide their interpretation of tasks and the subsequent actions taken to accomplish the task at hand (5). Different theorists of old have proposed different types of models upon which organizational cultures can be categorized. However, of the many categorizations available in literature, this paper will discuss Kim Cameron and Robert Quinn’s categorization of organizational culture. According to Quinn and Cameron, there exist four different types of organizational cultures. These are the clan, market, adhocracy, and hierarchy cultures. (3)
The first organizational culture is the Clan. Just as the name suggests, a Clan culture is one that promotes unity and oneness. The organization operates like one big family with a special focus placed on nurturing and mentorship. Teamwork is highly encouraged in this culture and the employees look up to their leaders as mentors and parental figures. Participation, group loyalty, and consensus are the main cornerstones that hold this collaborate culture.
The second type of culture is the Adhocracy culture. This culture is fuelled by new and witty inventions and innovations. Employees working in an organization with this culture are allowed the freedom of bringing their individual initiatives to the table. Both the leaders and the workers operate on the premise of risk-taking and innovations. Such an organization always strives to become the first to release a new product to the market and its success is pegged on its ability to release a new product into the market faster than its competitors are.
The third type of culture is the Control culture. This culture is hierarchical in nature. The workers in the organizations are categorised according to their job groups. The management releases the rules and procedures that govern the operations of the workers. Maintaining a stable and smooth running organization is the preoccupation of such organizations. Security and predictability is desired by the management of these organizations.
The fourth and final type of organization culture is the compete culture. This market culture requires that the workers be very competitive to meet the targets set by the management. The leaders in such organizations are hard driving, demanding, and productive. Emphasis is placed on market leadership and competitive pricing. The market culture is the organizational culture that dominates nations such as Germany, China, Russia, and Japan (Ubius and Alas 92-97). The main pros of the market culture include market leadership and competitive pricing. However, the major con is that this culture inhibits innovation and it burdens the workers with competitive pressures that might impart more harm than good to the organization. These nations are drawn towards the market culture because it gives allows them acquire competitive advantage in the international markets while at the same time maintaining a vibrant corporate social responsibility function.
Work Cited
Cameron, Kim S, and Robert E. Quinn. Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2011. Internet resource.
Ravasi, D., Schultz, M. “Responding to organizational identity threats: exploring the role of organizational culture.” Academy of Management Journal 49.3 (2006): 433-458.
Ülle Übius, Ruth Alas. “Organizational Culture Types as Predictors of Corporate Social Responsibility.” ENGINEERING ECONOMICS 1.61 (2009): 92-97.
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