Define what you understand by culture, discuss the various types of culture identified by Charles Handy and address the implications for organisational design

Résumé du document

Culture has always been a main element for persons. Each country, each company and son on have its own culture form and that for a long time ago.
Culture is the pattern of basic assumptions that a given group has invented, discovered and developed in learning to cope with its problem of external adaptation and integration and have worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore able to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think.

In this work, we will begin with what we can understand by culture, next we will discuss the various types of cultures identified by Charles Handy. To finish, we will take an interest about the implications for organisational design.

Extraits

[...] National cultures National culture is an important influence in culture. It is different according to the country and the region. Hofstede (1993) did five principles for that; he demonstrated that there are national and regional cultural groupings that affect the behaviour of organisations. The power distance: connection between employees and boss. Also the degree of centralisation, autocratic leadership. The uncertainly avoidance: extent to which a society accepts uncertainty and risk. There is some culture of risks. The individualism/ collectivism: individualism is the extent to which people are expected to stand up for themselves, or act predominantly as a member of the group or organisation. [...]

[...] The divisional structure Firms want branches work as autonomous units, as they were little organisations with their own making local decisions. However, they are guided by the policy decisions made at the head office. To conclude, we can say that all organisations have their own characteristics, at cultural level, structural level and design level. They try to influence their environment and try to be integrated into in the same time. Each level gets its own characteristics with positives or negatives points. [...]

[...] The various types of culture identified by Charles Handy Charles Handy is an Irish author and philosopher born in 1932 (annex number four). He is specialising in organisational behaviour and management. Handy has written some of the most influential articles and books, such as the hungry spirit, the age of unreason, gods of management, the age of paradox, understanding organisations and so on. He has identified four types of culture that we are going to see The power culture The power culture and influence come from a central source, through whom all communication, decisions and control are channelled. [...]

[...] o Worthiness is collective preference that is imposes to the group, the main beliefs (slogans, sense of corporate mission the norms that define the way of thinking and acting. Worthiness constitutes the philosophy of the company and determines its behaviour charter in the interior regulation, the description of job, the penalty/ prize system o Myths and legends stories about the past of the company. They tend to strengthen common worthiness and can be linked with personality who creates the company. [...]

[...] There is typically a form hierarchical bureaucracy (annex number five) in these organizations. Power derives from a person's position and little scope exists for expert power. It is perhaps the most readily recognised and common of all the cultural types. It is based around the job or role rather than the personalities and is personified by what we tend to think of as the traditional hierarchical structure. Problem: this culture tends to be impersonal, and by implication restrictive, suppressing individuals attempts at system improvements. [...]