Organizational Culture Shapes Behavior and Influences Performance

Organizational culture shapes behavior and influences performance

One of the topics covered in Chapter 9 that stood out greatly to me was on organizational culture. According to Schermerhorn, it is the system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organization and guides the behavior of its members. Sometimes referred as “corporate culture,” it is the personality of a business and can have positive benefits to the company and its workers. Organizational culture helps shape attitudes, reinforce beliefs, direct behavior, and establish performance expectations.

This stood out to me because I work as a consultant for a marketing company where I have noticed that management tries to invoke a fun attitude towards work. We have a group chat where all of the consultants (around 60 people whom I have never met) can communicate to solve an issue or receive assistance while working. However, it feels more like a chat with my close friends where jokes are told; competition is friendly, yet assistance is always ready. It was hard to become involved at first and be so casual because I was not sure it was right. I did not have great career socialization, which is the process through which new members learn the culture of an organization. However, I have noticed that I communicate on the chat even when I am off work and indirectly helping productivity. The challenge that comes with organizational culture is how much of an individual’s belief and values should be mixed with its coworkers and workplace. Having many different values and beliefs mixed is also a hard thing to manage. A manager has to be ethical and take into consideration all of his/her employees. Below is a link to a Forbes article discussing when culture really matters and six ways one can build a great company culture.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2013/10/04/how-to-build-a-great-company-culture/

The text talks about Zappos, a popular online retailer for clothing, shoes, and...