In management, culture is seen as a system of common rules, norms, and perceptions that govern day-to-day operations in an organization. It is a key aspect of both public and private, profit and non-profits organizations that guides and aids the control of human labor towards the achievement of desired goals and objectives. It determines the behaviors, time management, coordination, and efficiency of work both externally and internally. Organizations across the globe have cultures. However, the culture varies from one institution to the other. The culture variation is brought about by the modification of goals, objectives, activities, employees, and the employer’s desires. Based on my experience, the dimensions of culture in various companies across the world are primarily affected by management changes that are geared towards providing improved customer satisfaction. A plethora of other factors including economic upsurge, profit generation, and quality production have significant effects on an organization’s cultural dimensions. This essay provides insight into the dimensions of culture with a view of elaborating their relationships with organizational leadership.
The dimension of culture questionnaire mostly focuses on an evaluation of various elements such as the achievement of verse ascription, activity orientation, effectiveness versus neutral cultures, context, economic progress, the degree of power, environment and technology, face-saving and gender roles, and masculinity versus femininity (Diamond, 2013). Human nature orientation, individualism versus collectivism, instrument expressive orientation, internal versus external control of nature and international trade and communication among other elements are evaluated.
Achievement versus ascription refers to the process through which status is accorded to a group of individuals. Often, individuals attain their status through their performance in achievement-oriented cultures (Northouse, 2016). However, in the ascription society, individuals achieve their status from birth, gender, age, and/or wealth.
On the other hand, the activities orientation element refers to how businesses are valued in a certain culture. Human activities can be categorized into “doing oriented culture” and “being oriented culture” (Diamond, 2013). The former involves all measurable external actions that individuals carry out such as painting, drawing, and cooking among others while the latter describes the nature of human beings. It advocates a culture that values the virtues of people.
Culture plays a significant role in the transformation of leaders. Through culture, the leaders of organizations stick within the professional boundaries concurrently respect the workforce and organizational operations that they undertake (Diamond, 2013). It also ensures that customers benefit from resourceful services offered in a friendly environment. As a result, the company gains more fame, customers, and production.
In conclusion, every organization adopts various customs, traditions, and a common way of doing things. An understanding of the dimensions of culture equips leaders with knowledge about their external and internal environments. The strategic planning of leaders cannot take effect without the existence of a culture in the organization. Moreover, the initiation of a new culture cannot be implemented successfully especially in cases where the company has longstanding values. As a leader, it is important to understand the culture of an organization. The understanding of the values, norms, and practices that should be withheld in the organization is paramount to the accomplishment of its goals. For instance, practice, as an element of corporate culture, enables leaders to review the performance of their staff. On the other hand, values help the manager to focus on specific organizational standards with a view of encompassing an extensive range of behaviors; hence, this element affects leadership.
References
Diamond, M. (2013). Dimensions of organizational culture and beyond. Political Psychology, 12(3), 509.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.