Organizational Culture and Communication

Week one has opened my eyes to how an organizational culture can be created and sustained. Also, this week I learned about the relationship shared by organizational culture and communication. The culture is created by the top management of the company, usually the founder, and then passed down to the lower-level employees. The culture of an organization entails a number of different characteristics, which can either positively or negatively affect an organization. To sustain an organization culture usually starts with the organizations hiring process. The manager in charge of hiring starts by looking for applicants who display the values that are important to the company. The actions of top management also affects the organizations culture, they must lead by example. Lastly the organization must help the new hire adapt the ways of the organization. This process is referred to as socialization.

Just as organizational culture is vital, the communication of the organization is too. The culture of the company and the communication of the company also share a relationship. In a well-defined culture employees know what forms of communications that are acceptable, whether it’s formal or informal. In a business setting the norm is formal communication. When communicating with others, however, it is important to be mindful of whom you are attempting to communicate with. You are highly acceptable to miscommunication if your message is not adapted to the audience you are communicating with.

I found the organizational culture to be most challenging and interesting topic cover this week. I was challenged because it wasn’t easily defined for me, but on the same note I found it interesting because it changes depending on the location of the company.