Organizational Culture Explained in an Easy Way

We hear a lot about these days. organizational cultureHowever, many people don't actually know what it means or how important it is to an organization.

What is organizational culture?

This culture encompasses a company's behavior, moral and ethical values, as well as its beliefs, decisions, and habits.

The concept is also responsible for leading internal and external practices within the organization.

The quality of the work environment is directly influenced by how employees perceive the business, and it plays a crucial role in that.

In objective terms, this culture reflects the company's identity. We, as human beings, have personalities, values, principles, ideals, and motivations.

Knowing how to define these characteristics is essential for our development as human beings in all areas of our lives.

A company also has them, and they are represented in its organizational culture; in fact, it is extremely important for the company's development.

When a company has a well-structured culture, employees identify with it.

As a result, they work with more dedication and enthusiasm, knowing that their beliefs and values are aligned with those of the company, not only in theory but also in practice.

With an efficient culture, it's possible to feel the satisfaction of employees and customers; this contentment is felt in the relationship between employees, in the organization's conduct, and even in productivity.

It is worth highlighting that organizational culture impacts the recruitment process in various ways.

With it, it's possible to attract the best talent to the company, those whose values are aligned with those of the company and also the team.

This will bring more harmony, balance, and good communication to the work environment, and will certainly yield positive results for everyone involved.

Main types of organizational culture

A company's culture is formed by various elements and aspects. All of these tools influence the recruitment and retention of talent.

There is a complexity in accurately determining all types of organizational culture.

However, there are 4 main models used by organizations that are more comprehensive and complete.

See below:

1. Power

THE Culture of Power It is characterized by the centralization of power in a single leadership figure, usually the owner, who performs various functions within the company.

In this culture, there is a hierarchy Clear and very well defined. Among its main characteristics, we find competition, which is a consequence of the pursuit of results.

Due to the focus on delivering results and achieving objectives, in this culture, employees end up lacking autonomy, since there is a centralization of power.

This limitation can have negative impacts on the organization, such as decreased professional development, which is, in fact, one of the causes of... absenteeism.

Therefore, it is important to adopt actions that bring more flexibility to this. organizational culture and in the distribution of tasks.

For healthy competition and empathy to exist, the professional growth of the employee and the development of the company will not be affected.

2. Role Culture

According to Neil Patel, it is represented by Apollo, the god of rules and order. It is very similar to power culture because there is a well-defined and clear hierarchy.

Its main characteristic is that it is based on defining the role or work to be done, and not necessarily on people.

The organizational chart explicitly defines the role of each employee.

One of its disadvantages is that there is less creativity and flexibility, since it is guided by rules and each employee must fulfill their role.

On the other hand, there is an advantage: each person knows exactly what their role is in the company and what needs to be done.

3. Task Culture

This is one of the most interesting organizational cultures. Among its main focuses, we find, for example:

Collaboration;
Creativity;
Teamwork;
Problem solving.

In this case, the problems are identified, and then the company outlines the resources and strategies needed to solve them.

Therefore, it relies on professionals specialized in each task. Furthermore, employees work on an equal footing and have more space to express their ideas.

This ultimately encourages innovation, creativity, a sense of collaboration, and teamwork.

Therefore, the company ends up solving problems continuously and successfully.

4. People

THE People's Culture This is represented by valuing the talent already present in the company. In this case, there is room for growth.

Furthermore, there is mutual respect and encouragement for quality of life and professional growth.

One interesting point to highlight is that the company hires an employee to help it achieve its goals.

As a result of this contribution, she receives a salary.

Similarly, the company has a role to play in helping its talent achieve their goals.

This organizational culture model is currently being used by many organizations. This is because it helps retain good talent within the company.

There are several effective ways to implement this type of culture in a company, such as:

Through incentive programs;
Benefits;
Professional development programs;
Offering a welcoming, respectful, and diverse work environment.

What are the components of organizational culture?

The different types of corporate culture reflect its main elements. Generally, it is linked to three important pillars: values, mission, and vision.

However, its components certainly go far beyond these three concepts. We can highlight, for example, in addition to vision, mission, and values, the following:

Practice – which enshrines the company's value;
People – an important component in building organizational culture;
Narrative – every company has a unique story;
Place – it shapes culture.

The reference for these components was extracted from book by John ColemanThe book portrays the story of the best and brightest young business leaders.

It's worth reading!

Benefits of a well-structured organizational culture

When organizational culture is implemented with purpose, it has a powerful impact on business processes.

From a strong culture, the company reaps many benefits, such as:

More motivated and collaborative workers;
Reduction in turnover and absenteeism;
Positive organizational environment;
Diversity;
Talent retention;
Better results;
Recruitment alignment;
Brand reputation;
Productivity;
Decision-making;
Increase in revenue;
Effective leadership;
It improves the relationship between employees.

A company with this strong culture ends up being more competitive, which will bring other advantages and better business results.

A prime example of this concept is Google. Its culture is known worldwide, and millions of professionals dream of working for the company.

Among the traits of Google's corporate culture, we see how employees are treated.

The company provides free meals, interaction spaces, and other benefits that make the work environment attractive and unique.

Aside from that, in the office, we found a lot of enthusiasm and leaders, employees, trainees, and interns working as a team in shared environments.

When professionals realize they are an important part of the company's growth, they become more collaborative and motivated in its processes.

It is precisely through organizational culture that the company is able to convey these values.

Organizational challenges faced by companies today

Never before has there been so much talk about organizational culture and its importance as there is today.

The number of companies that are changing their positioning and processes in the workplace to promote this tool is growing.

However, given its importance, companies have faced some challenges in recent years: the home office and hybrid work models.

After the pandemic, these work models became common. However, the connection between the employee and the company became more difficult.

This ends up being a major obstacle to strengthening this culture in the workplace and to seeing the results.

When employees work outside the office, it ends up being more difficult to maintain a sense of community among coworkers.

Therefore, it is important for organizations to find a balance between new and old work patterns.

It is essential to develop strategies to strengthen the bonds and connections between employees and with the company.

THE organizational culture It is directly linked to the development and success of a company, whether in talent retention, results generation, or people management and optimization.

Therefore, it is essential that the corporation defines its values and implements them, encouraging actions that enable employees to understand what they mean through their behavior.

Conclusion

The subject surrounding this concept is very broad and involves other elements such as, for example, levels of organizational culture and company identification.

Therefore, don't limit your research to just this text; continue studying the subject.

If you have a company and you still don't know what its culture is, it's because it's not strong, perhaps because it's not being put into practice.

Define the company's core values, mission, and vision, observe whether they are being put into practice, and what can be done to improve them.

If you are looking for a job opportunity, be sure to learn about a company's values, vision, and mission to see if they align with your own.

Nara Sampaio

SEO writer, digital content creator, and virtual assistant. An introvert who found in writing a way to express herself and share knowledge!

March 31, 2023

Business