National Culture and Organizational Culture
Culture refers to the norms and social behavior that exists in the societies of humans. It also includes the beliefs, knowledge, laws, capabilities, arts, habits, and customs of the people in particular groups. Culture is influential because it provides the members of a specific group with several economic and social benefits. Religion also plays a vital role in enhancing the life quality and increasing the well-being of both communities and people. There are several dimensions of culture that are handled differently by different cultures. These include collectivism, masculinity, individualism, femininity, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance. Some of the examples of culture include appreciating the opera, attending exhibits for art, appreciating classical music, and classic literature reading. Understanding one’s culture is essential as it helps us in avoiding the projection of our values onto others. The purpose of this paper is to establish the influence of national culture on organizational culture.
National culture
National culture gets defined as a set of values, norms, beliefs, behaviors, and customs that get shared by a sovereign nation’s population. This culture also includes the specific characteristics, like the cultural history, religion, language, racial and ethnic identity, and the traditions of the country (Edensor, 2020). National culture has various dimensions, including collectivism versus individualism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, long term orientation, femininity versus masculinity. National culture plays a significant role in influencing the styles of leadership, the managerial making of decisions, and the practices in the management of human resources. Culture is responsible for pushing people in a direction that is specific (Trompenaars, 2013). The managerial functions that national cultures influence include the design of an organization, motivation, reward systems, communication, and people’s work design expectations. The various examples of national culture include national culture is the feeling of enjoying the ballet, classical music, opera appreciation.
Organizational Culture & Organizational Climate
Organizational culture is a system of values, assumptions, and beliefs that are shared v and get used in governing the behavior of people in an organization. The organizational climate gets referred to as the patterns of behavior, feelings, and attitudes that are recurring, that characterize life in a particular organization (Walker & Bonnot, 2016). Organizational culture in an organization is often stable and deep compared to the organizational climate, which is often changing. Organizational culture is a construct that is broad that involves most of the experiences of the employees while they are at work in the organization while organizational climate gets defined narrowly in terms of sharing the perceptions the employees have of the systems of reward, practices, policies, and procedures of the organization (Lanzer, 2018). Both organizational climate and culture play a significant role in contributing to the effectiveness of an organization. For that reason, they have to be created in a way that enhances organizational performance.
There are several types of organizational culture, including cultures that are adhocracy oriented, which are entrepreneurial and dynamic and focus on doing things first, innovation, and taking of risks (Coffman & Sorensen, 2013). Another type is the culture that is hierarchy oriented, which is controlled and structured and focuses on stability, doing things, and the right way and efficiency. Cultures that are clan oriented are another type of organizational culture that focuses on nurturing, mentoring, and doing things together, which means that teamwork gets fostered. Leaders work collaboratively with the employees in achieving the goals of the organization. Another is the culture that is market-oriented, which focuses on achievement, competition, and getting the work done to achieve the results that are desired by the organization (Warrick, 2017). The type of culture that gets adopted in an organization is essential in fostering the commitment of the employees, and achieving job satisfaction, enhancing the organization’s effectiveness in its processes.
Model of National Culture
Several models of national culture have been created. Still, one that resonates with me the most is Hofstede’s culture model, which entails using the six dimensions of national culture that get used by the society in organizing itself (Riley, 2018). Hofstede’s cultural model focuses on how culture gets acquired, looking at how people behave collectively and data on the individual behavior of individuals (Hofstede, 2011). The first dimension is individualism, the extent to which people feel independent, which is opposed to having them be interdependent. Individualism is where one’s place in life gets determined socially. The second dimension is power distance, which the extent to which the members of the institutions and organizations that are powerful expect and accept that power will be equally distributed (Hofstede, 2019). Acceptance by powerful members is essential to enhance the effective running of societies today. Another dimension is masculinity, which is the extent to which force gets used in social contexts. It is about the gender roles that are expected in a society that is masculine, where men are expected to be tough.
Other dimensions in this model include uncertainty avoidance, which deals with a society’s tolerance of ambiguity and uncertainty. It is about establishing the truth when society gets faced with uncertainty that causes distrust and anxiety. Long-term orientation is another dimension of national culture that is about how society deals with change, and it provides a prediction of educational achievements, religiosity, and philosophies of life. Indulgence is a dimension that is about the good things in life, which is about doing what one’s impulses want them to do, and it is good. These dimensions are essential in the effective functioning of national culture as the nation uses them in organizing itself.
How the organization’s cultural context influences the organization’s culture
The cultural context of an organization plays a major role in influencing the culture of the organization in various ways. Several studies on culture have established that the culture of a place where the organization operates has a significant influence on the cultural system of organizations. National culture influences the styles of leadership, the decision making by managers, and the practices in the management of human resources in the organization (Schein & Schein, 2017). The cultural context of an organization has a significant influence on the cultural practices that an organization engages in as they have to be in alignment with what the context in which they operate allows. Therefore, the behavior of the organization has to fi with the behavior of the society in which it is in. A cultural context that is strong can have a significant influence on the functioning of an organization as the organization can use it in enhancing cooperation and trust among the members of the organization, it provides an identification sense that is strong with the organization. It provides a control mechanism that is strong. The culture of a society in which the organization is located lays a major role in influencing the choices in cultural practices that the organization engages in.
Conclusion
Culture is a vital aspect of every society as it dictates how people live their lives and how decisions get made in both organizations and in personal lives. The culture of a nation is essential in its organization, and for this reason, leaders must implement cultural practices that ensure the effective functioning of society. The cultural practices of national culture have a significant influence on organizational culture as organizations get guidance from the nation. The decisions that get made by an organization concerning how its employees behave gets based on the direction of the national culture. Culture is important because it is the glue that keeps people together both in organizations and the nation as a whole.
References
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