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Enjoying Your Work Richard Brislin |
Organizational culture
affects the quality
of workplace lifeA reader recently wrote: "You have written about cultural differences between people who have recently moved to Hawaii and people who have lived here all their lives. I have also heard the term 'organizational culture' used when referring to different companies in Hawaii. Is the term 'culture' being used in the same way?"
Culture refers to shared attitudes, values and behaviors that are familiar to people who live in the same community and speak the same language. When applied to organizations, the use of the term "culture" is similar. Organizations have norms that guide behavior, and people who work for the same company often have similar attitudes toward key business issues such as ethics, customer service and participative decision-making. When studying a society's culture, a key issue is that attitudes and values are passed on from generation to generation. Young adults see their culture in the behavior of their parents and grandparents.
With organizations there is also transfer of information and values from older to younger people, but the number of years per "generation" is shorter. With organizational culture the length of a generation is the average number of years people spend in a company. For fast-food restaurants a generation is short, perhaps no more than a year. For a well-established bank, the typical tenure of employees is much longer, and consequently, generations are marked by larger numbers of years.
Knowledge of organizational culture allows people to answer the question, What sort of place is this to work at over a long period of time? Organizational culture is summarized in the stories people tell for generations. In a large office supply store for which I consulted, the owner's 25-year-old son returned home after earning his MBA degree at a prestigious university. Expecting an executive position, he asked his father, "What job do you want me to take on?" His father handed him a mop and broom and pointed to an area that needed cleaning. This story was told over and over in the company to communicate an important part of the organization's culture. Everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up based on proven abilities.
Other aspects of organizational culture are summarized in images of the heroes and heroines in the organization. Who opened up new niche markets for the company? Who rose to the level of vice president even though he didn't have a college degree? Who should we look to for guidance when we want to improve our customer service? Heroes and heroines embody traits and behaviors of an organization's most valued employees. These people are often kept in mind as summarizing the standards to be met when companies interview candidates for new hires. If candidates know why certain people are considered heroes and heroines, they have an advantage during the interview process.
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The purpose of this column is to increase understanding of human behavior as it has an impact on the workplace. Given the amount of time people spend at work, job satisfaction should ideally be high and it should contribute to general life happiness. Enjoyment can increase as people learn more about workplace psychology, communication, and group influences.
Richard Brislin is a professor in the College of Business Administration, University of Hawaii. He can be reached through the College Relations Office: cro@cba.hawaii.edu
