Organisation Culture

Visible aspects of culture can simply be defined as what people can see within an organisation (Schein, 1992). It usually forms the outer boundary of culture within an organisation, encircling basic assumptions (inner layer) and values and beliefs (middle layer) (Simpson, 2011). Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that, while visible aspects emerge as consequences of basic assumptions and values and beliefs, they also reinforce and further embed basic  assumptions  within the core of culture (Dooley,1995).

Outlined below are some examples of the visible aspects of culture at Next, where I am currently a part-time employee.


i)    A typical example of the visible aspects of culture in Next, is the manner in which all the staff are clothed in new season’s attire which makes them look smart and presentable to customers while offering staff a sense of pride in the products sold by the organisation at the onset of every season. All the staffs also have name tags which make it easier for customers to identify them and ask for assistance when needed.


ii)  Another example is the atmosphere experienced when shopping in Next. All the employees are well trained to use the tills available, as well as being conversant with the location of items. This is visible from the customer point of view because they feel relaxed to shop in the friendly environment provided as they receive good customer service while getting assistance from staff whenever needed in finding products. The experience of the staff in this aspect also ensures work is done at a quicker pace. I think the atmosphere is positive because we do get less complains and more compliments which is vital in moving the business forward. Furthermore, the music playing in the background in the shop also creates a friendly, tranquil and comfortable atmosphere convenient for shopping.


iii)   The general layout in the Next shop is another visible aspect of the organisation. All Departments have labels to assist customers in locating items when shopping while various signposts such as directional markings are at various spots in the shop to also guide customers familiarise themselves with each section of the shop.


A power culture: This type of culture can be described as a business culture where by one person makes and gives most decisions if not all. An example of power culture will be an independent small business like a Taxi Company such as Budget Cars. For example, the owner will make decisions on how many holidays an employee will be having, employees’ wages, breaks and hours to work as well as rate to charge for commuting passengers from one place to another. The communication cycle is usually short since the employee, in the case of the Taxi company, the driver, has to directly report to the owner of the cab about his/her whereabouts and subsequently respond to the request of the owner or employer when called upon to pick up a passenger at a specified time.  Thus, this type of culture is characterised by a rapid decision making process considering the fact that the communication cycle is short.
Handy (1999) illustrates the power culture as a spider’s web as shown in Figure 1 below, with the all-important spider sitting in the centre.

            Figure 1: A web representation of power culture

Source: The Open University (2011)

This is because the key to the whole organisation sits in the centre, surrounded by ever-widening circles of intimates and influence.

A Role culture: Role culture is one in which a business is typified by hierarchy levels. An example will be an organisation that has different departments. At Next, for example, role culture is evident because there are different departments such as men’s, women, children wear and home wares with each department having their own manager to report any issues or concern. Each department has its own hierarchical level. For example, the hierarchy at the women’s wear department is made up of the Sales manager, Supervisors, Merit Staff and Sales Assistant. Even though there are different positions, it is the Sales Manager who controls the entire sale floor housing women’s wear and assigns job description to the other staff in the Department. Additionally, each department operates by specific rules and regulations due to the differing products they offer to customers. Unlike power culture, the decision making process in role culture can be slow depending on the level of hierarchy. Therefore, role culture can be illustrated as a building supported by columns and beams (see Figure 2 below): each column and beam has a specific role to playing keeping up the building; individuals are role occupants but the role continues even if the individual leaves.

Figure 2: The building representation of role culture

Source: The Open University (2011)

A Task culture: Task culture is based on working as a team in order to complete an activity. In other words, task culture is exemplified by a team or group of people working together in order to achieve a specific or common purpose rather than working as individuals. The theory behind task culture is to have the same belief and to integrate together. A typical example of task culture is shown by a sport team such as the Arsenal Football Club whereby eleven players are going to be on the pitch and they all have to work hard together in order to defend their club and score a goal to win trophies. The main component of task culture is to get the task done by providing a great deal of freedom and innovation from individuals to accomplish the set mission.

The culture is represented best by a net or lattice work (Sherwin, 2009) as depicted in Figure 3.

Figure 3: The lattice work representation of Task culture

Source: Sherwin (2009)

Some of the strands of the lattice are thicker or stronger than others, and much of the power and influence is located at the interstices of the net, at the knots. Task cultures are often associated with organisations that adopt matrix or project-based structural designs. The emphasis is on getting the job done, and the culture seeks to bring together the appropriate resources and the right people at the right level in order to assemble the relevant resources for the completion of a particular project (Business Open Learning Archive, 2005). 

A Person culture: Person culture, in my own words, is simply the culture whereby individuals have the right to make their own decisions regarding a specific duty or job. In this culture the individual is the focal point; if there is a structure or an organisation, it exists only to serve and assist the individuals within it, to further their own interests without any overriding objective. The theory underpinning person culture is that, power is spread out from the group. It is usually associated with a group of specialists who work as individuals and retain their position but they share the cost of administration together. An example of person culture is evident in the work of specialists in organisations, such as computer people in a business organisation, consultants in a hospital, architects in local government and university teachers who benefit from the power of their professions. Such people are not easy to manage. Being specialists, alternative employment is often easy to obtain, and they may not acknowledge anyone as being in a position to exercise expert power greater than their own. With the central focus on individuals, there is an elimination of the hierarchy that characterises role culture.

This type of culture is illustrated by a loose cluster or a constellation of stars as illustrated in Figure 4 below.

Figure 4: The cluster representation of Person culture

Source: The Open University (2011)

In my opinion l think the main problem of trying to classify culture into the four types as described above (power, role, task and person culture) is that, some businesses might find it difficult to fit into only one type of culture due to the extent of their business. For example, Next as a company, might have one department exhibiting role culture (e.g. Promotion department), another department characterised by person culture (e.g. Account department), with yet another department portraying task culture (e.g. Production line) and a department exemplifying power culture (e.g. Human Resources department). I think as a result of business that has many different departments it would be difficult to fit specific culture into the organisation. Thus, an organisation can exhibit all the forms of culture identified above due to the dynamic nature of business.

A cooperative may strive for the person culture in organisational form, but as it develops it often becomes, at best, a task culture, or often a power or role culture. The cultures can therefore be described as not being independent of each other within an organisation.

A difficulty for examining and understanding the levels of culture in an organisation is that rarely are all three levels out in the open. Certainly the level of visible aspects is observable as above; it contains the manifestations of culture that we see around us, the things, adornments, relations, and ways of speaking and address, that characterize tangible life in an organization. But when we attempt to look beneath the visible aspects to find out why they are there, we enter a realm that is often at least partially hidden from conscious thought, even among members of the organization (Dooley, 1995).

        

In general, it seems that, different businesses have different cultures in which they operate. For example, a barrister might have a person culture because of the nature of the business. Also some businesses have stronger cultures than others so it will be difficult to compare some organisations on the same scale.

REFERENCES

Business Open Learning Archive (BOLA) (2005) Harrison: Typologies of Organisational Culture. Available at: http://www.bola.biz/culture/harrison.html (Accessed: 17 October 2011)

Dooley, J. (1995) Cultural Aspects of Systemic Change Management. Available at: http://www.well.com/user/dooley/culture.pdf (Accessed: 17 October 2011)

Handy, C. (1999) Understanding Organisations. 4th edn. London: Penguin.

Schein, E. (1992) Organizational Culture and Leadership. 2nd edn. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Sherwin, L. (2009) Managing Change Toolkit: Culture-Handy. Available

at:http://www.lindsaysherwin.co.uk/guide_managing_change/html_overview/05_culture_handy.htm  (Accessed: 20 October 2011)

Simpson, M. (2011) ‘Exploring Organisational Culture’.  Leading and managing change [Online]. Available at: http://blackboard.bucks.ac.uk (Accessed: 17 October 2011)

The Open University (2011). Management: Perspective and Practice- Handy’s four types of organisational cultures. Available at: 

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=403948&section=3.5.2 (Accessed: 18 October 2011)