An organization’s culture is what holds a company together and influences decision and actions throughout the entire organization (Tharp, 2009). It is:
- shared assumptions
- values
- beliefs
The organizational culture affects problems and opportunities internally and externally.
You can observe the organizational culture by (University of Graz Karl-Franzens, 2013):
- looking at the physical structure of the organization
- the language used
- attire
- values
- assumptions.
Leadership defines desired values.
Employees guide shared assumptions and beliefs.
Organizational culture artifacts are often things that can be seen, such as:
- the physical surroundings
- products
- technologies
- art
- employee attire
- publications
- language
- stories
- practices
- and more
Strategies can be used to help create an intellectual and diverse team to encourage innovation and problem solving (Holden, 2007; Schoo, 2008).
- performance rewards
- socialization events
- emotional intelligence training
- encouraging risk
References
Holden, D. (2007, September). Team development: A search for elegance. Industrial Management, 49(5), 20-25.
Schoo, A. (2008, Spring). Leaders and their teams: Learning to improve performance with emotional intelligence and using choice theory. International Journal of Reality Therapy, 27(2), 40-45.
Tharp, B. M. (2009, April). Defining “Culture” and “Organizational Culture”: From anthropology to the office. Interpretation a Journal of Bible and Theology, Harworth.Retrieved from http://www.haworth.com/docs/default-source/white-papers/defining-culture-and-organizationa-culture_51-pdf-28527.pdf?sfvrsn=6.
University of Graz Karl-Franzens. (2013). Organizational Culture. Retrieved from http://www.uni-graz.at/iimwww/iimwww/orgculture.pdf.