The importance of understanding organizational culture

An Article by Debbie Schachter

When I was an MBA student, as part of a management course I had the opportunity to conduct a "culture assessment" at the organization where I was working. The organization was somewhat new to me--I had been hired as a senior manager only a year before--and the ability to quantify and analyze the organizational culture was a new concept to me.

As an employee in any type of organization can attest, organizational culture is as prevalent and as varied as individuals themselves. Organizational culture is enduring and complex, and may have both a positive and a negative effect on the staff and the workplace. In many ways culture will determine the survival of an organization over the long term, especially in volatile industries.

Cultures that can be a liability to an organization include those that create barriers to change, create barriers to diversity or barriers to mergers and acquisitions. (Stephen P. Robbins. Organizational Behavior, 8th ed., 602-603.)

Understanding the organizational culture can help you to understand why change does not take place, or why a project fails. It will also help you to determine where to strive to make changes to the culture.

As managers and library leaders, why do we need to get a sense of the prevailing organizational culture? It is essential to understand the organizational culture if you want to make changes to how work is done, what type of work is being done, or at the broadest level, to affect the organization's standing in its industry. Understanding the culture and, as required, changing it, can mean the difference between attracting and retaining good employees and driving away the best employees with an environment that doesn't encourage, challenge, or reward them.

The organizational culture assessment that I participated in didn't provide any surprises regarding the existing culture--most people with any level of sensitivity can get a sense of what type of culture is prevalent in an organization. What was surprising were the results from the survey to determine what type of culture staff would prefer to see the organization develop.

As background, the organization had just gone through a major change. The executive director had departed after 20 years; there had been a period of several months with an acting ED followed by a new, external ED appointment. The assessment took place only a month after the new ED was in position.

Types of Culture

The assessment we used to assess the organization's culture used questions that sought to determine and enumerate such organizational traits as symbols (such as images, things, events), organizational-espoused values and beliefs (for example, the mission statement, constitution, espoused goals of the ED, slogans). Then the espoused beliefs and values were compared with the symbols and culture identified through the written survey and staff interviews.

The written survey asked staff to answer questions related to the current culture and then asked how they would like to see the culture change. Responses were tabulated to determine which type of culture existed among the four metrics of organizational culture: hierarchy, adhocracy, clan, and market.

The hierarchy aspect of an organization refers to how structured, inflexible, and process-driven an organization is in the way it operates. At the opposite end of the scale, adhocracy refers to how flexible, informal, innovative, and dynamic an organization is. A clan culture supports a very friendly and social environment in which to work, while a market culture is often found in organizations that are results-oriented and sales-driven.

The assessment determined that the existing culture was very hierarchical and quite clannish. The staff also indicated, through the anonymous written survey, that they would prefer the culture to be more adhocratic and less hierarchical, while at the same time being slightly more market culture and clannish. This showed the positive and optimistic view of the staff towards change.

The process I used for assessing the culture involved conducting group employee interviews and written staff surveys, followed by analysis of the information. Staff responded to a series of prompts and questions regarding organizational symbols, organizational-espoused values, and beliefs. These responses were analyzed, creating a pattern showing comparisons between espoused belief/values (in the form of phrases or statements) with their associated symbols (both positive and negative), and related culture types (hierarchy, adhocracy, clan, and market).

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For a new leader or manager, understanding the organizational culture that is in place is essential for success in providing direction, especially when the direction is different from what has come before. Are staff willing and eager to take on new challenges and to follow a new direction, or will they provide passive or active resistance to any changes? What is important to people today, based on their view of where the organization is and where it should be? Where are there disconnects between espoused values, such as the mission statement, and the over symbols and culture type?

The meaning of the Teacher's Professionalism in the eyes of Siswa

The achievement of the teacher at this time was busy is highlighted, both his connection with his appropriateness teach, his professionalism attitude, and certification that lately always become the warm discourse that often is discussed.
SOMEONE that decide to be professional the teacher can it was demanded formulate various available elements in himself, his environment as well as the side of his piety to one unity penunjang in the life of his profession.
Badudu-zain in the Big Dictionary Indonesian defines "professional" words as the person that that have the expertise and skills.
Because, education and training, mean professionalism of a teacher must be born berbarengan when he decides to become a teacher.
That become the problem am the existence of the opinion of the student's public that classifies the teacher into two groups characteristically that is different.
Still am in our memory when still in the school bench previously, about the teacher who be good and is not glad in teach.
Why can this matter happen in fact skills and the expertise has they have?
The student's view about professionalism of a teacher is them who can combine his scientific skill with skills send lesson material that will be given, so as whether that it was hoped from the activity studying-teach exact the target, effective and efficient.
Consider professionalism of a teacher should be not only focussed in one point of view, that is seen from the side of the appropriateness teach and certification.
Indeed two that the indispensable condition that must be owned, but on the other hand, the student's point of view would the teacher's professionalism then only don't be is gazed at an eye, they are the second side that feels directly his influence.
The professional teacher in the eyes of the student is them who can send lesson material by means of that is unique, attract, do not bore, can stimulate the motivation to study the student, to want to gaze at the student as the friend and to be able to touch their psychological aspect.
Intelligence of a teacher is then tested.
In this case, like how the teacher's capacity in reading the atmosphere of the class before the studying process takes place, read mood the student towards the lesson so as to know the "step" and the trick what will be used(sumber:Yusuf Wibisono)