Organizational culture is in essence the personality of the organization. Such culture comprises the norms and values that characterize the members of the organization and their behaviors. Although the culture of an organization is difficult to be expressed distinctly, everybody can sense the same when dealing with the given organization. The culture of an organization can be judged by observing the different characteristics of an organization such as what the members wear, what they talk about, and also how the furniture is arranged in its offices. It is quite similar to judging an individual’s personality when we meet him for the first time. Organizational culture can be looked upon as a system that receives feedback from professionals, society, and its practices in dealing with clients and customers. During the last decade, there have been several attempts by way of research conducted regarding the concept of organizational culture, particularly in the context of how best to bring about changes in such culture for the betterment of the organization. Some cultures prove to become a liability for the organization in creating barriers to change and in bringing about hurdles in creating diversity within the organization as also in proving to be handicapped in affecting mergers and acquisitions. Hence it is imperative to understand the culture of the organization to understand why the required change is not happening or why given projects just don’t take off. A detailed study can thus help in finding the loopholes so that strategies can be framed to make the desired changes.
A strong organizational culture enables the attraction and retention of talent which is essential for the organization to withstand competition and market pressures. Good corporate culture will engage its people in constructive and productive activities and will create energy and momentum amongst them to enhance the attractiveness of the organization. Under such conditions, the people’s view point in going to work will be much better which will lead to excellent results for the organization. A strong culture will encourage the creation of synergy amongst all people within the organization and will result in better communication which in turn will further improve the corporate performance. Hence every corporation in the modern world strives to improve its organizational culture to stay ahead in the competition in meeting employee aspirations and expectations. A team of dedicated and like-minded people who are enthusiastic regarding the interests of the organization has to be formed to enhance the culture. This team can then work on creating a vision of the desired corporate culture keeping into consideration the present strengths and weaknesses of the organization. The entire team and organizational leadership must understand the strategic issues involved in bringing about the changes in corporate culture in keeping with the needs of the organization. In making such efforts the enthusiasm of the team has to be always kept very high because if the excitement lessens, the corporate vision cannot be achieved. The champion of such efforts has to be very passionate in creating the new culture and in bringing momentum in team efforts to achieve the desired goal. It is thus clear that the role of leadership in corporate culture is essential and requires specific skills and initiatives in understanding the culture to bring about the required transformation. Strategic leaders need to have the required perception since it is only because of their position within the organization that the cultural dynamics can be effectively realized. Leaders have the responsibility to decide what is to be changed and what is to remain unchanged because this is fundamental to bringing about strategic success.
References
Debbie Schachter, The Importance of Understanding Organizational Culture, 2005, Information Outlook.
Kevin Eikenberry, Seven Ways to Enhance organizational Culture, 2009. Web.