What Is Meant by the Term Organisational Culture Essay Example for Free

What Is Meant by the Term Organisational Culture Essay The late twentieth century saw an emergence in industry competition and in order to continually achieve success, organisational behavior had to evolve into something new. Organisational culture is one form of organisational behavior that is focused on the shared values and beliefs which members and employees of a specific organisation believe to be the right way to act in a particular situation (Vecchio, 2000). Just like other theories of organisational behavior, the purpose of culture theory is to gain knowledge of employee attitudes so that organisations can reduce cost and improve production (Stanford, 2010). The aim of this essay is to show the rise of culture belief in organisations, and why it can play an important role in organisational performance. First it will provide a history of the literature, then present different concepts that can be seen, such as has and is theory strong and weak cultures. Finally it will identify positive effects it can have on organisations and employees. The rise of Humanistic theories From the 1920s to the early 1970s Scientific Management was widely adopted by Western companies because it was an easy structure to implement by managers in an organisation to achieve success and control over employees (Burnes, 1996). However with the oil crises in 1973 interest in the Japanese model of production spread to the World (Brown and Williams, 2012). This happened because the Japanese were achieving what no other organisation had ever achieved; in addition they were contradicting every previous concept of production (Vecchio, 2000). When organisations around the World were practicing mass production, the Japanese were developing the just-in-time approach. This is when the raw material would only be ordered just-in-time to be produced, and production would only start just-in-time to be delivered to the costumer, avoiding waste and contributing towards a more effective cash flow; additionally they were practicing team work (Brown and Williams, 2012). Employees were involved in decision making and projects would be integrated at different levels from the marketing and finance department to the shop floor (Vecchio, 2000). This reduced alienation and empowered employees, the results were considerable and were seen as a miracle by Western organisations. Therefore, as a response to the Japaneses new challenging approach, western organisations began to explore different models of behavior (Burnes, 1996). That is when the theories that were more humanistic (Human Resource Management, Culture theory and Contingency approach) were rediscovered and adopted. In 1982 Peters and Waterman (1982) suggested that the key to the recovery of Western companies was the implementation of organisational culture. In their study they analysed several different organisations from the USA and identified a list of eight common beliefs that according to them were the reasons for their success (Mullins, 2011). Thus, if a company wishes to achieve ‘excellence’ they should embrace those beliefs. Customer orientation, respectful treatment beyond different level of employees and a set of values through a clear organisation philosophy were a few of those common attributes (Burnes, 1996). They argue that when employees have organisational values integrated within their actions, there is no need for close supervision, reducing organisation cost and empowering employees (ibid). Therefore, managers should adopt a system where employees have more freedom, nevertheless managers would still have some kind of control (Brewis and Willmott, 2012). It was this study in the 80’s that made famous among managers culture theory as a recipe for success (ibid). Peter and Waterman sent their message to the world as the one best way to be successful. Concepts of Culture Most writers (including Peter and Waterman cited above) that are concerned with culture theory believe that managers can implement and manipulate culture in order to improve organisational success (Brewis and Willmott, 2012). This assumption that culture is a variable and can be changed is explained by Smircich (1983) as culture being something that an organisation ‘has’. For instance, managers could build a value into an organisation and its employee, such as, customer satisfaction and team work to increase productivity. According to Brewis and Willmott (2012) in the has theory, culture can be seen as functional and technical. It is functional because it establishes an order in an organisation, it will lead all employees in the same direction. Additionally work is meaningful to them, which may be seen as empowerment. It is technical because managers can continually administrate core values of a company to achieve better outcome (Brewis and Willmott, 2012). Indeed that m ay be the reason why the subject is so popular today; it is connected with better performance. Has theory can also be associated with strong culture. Deal and Kennedy (1982) believe that in order to achieve success an organisation should implement a clear and consistent set of values, which enable employees to assume how to behave as the way to do things here. If employees feel for the company, if it touches them in some way, they will follow its leaders anywhere because they value, even idolize, everything it stands for (Linstead, 2012, p.197). This approach is supposed to increase employee loyalty and to trigger strong emotions, such as, aspiration, devotion and love (Linstead, 2012). However it is also argued that strong culture may lead to a predictable staff outcome, discouraging new ideas (Brewis and Willmott, 2012). Nevertheless, a considerable number of managers confirm that the structure that culture provides to an organisation has a direct link with its prosperity (Mullins, 2011). On the other hand, some writers view culture as something an organisation is (Smircich, 1983). It is suggested that just like in life where humans develop a behavior that it is a result of their local surrounding, in organisations employees too develop a behavior on a daily bases (Brewis and Willmott 2012). It is created organically and difficult to understand where the roots of it came from, hence hard to manage and change (Stanford, 2010). Is theory sympathises with what literature calls a weak culture. Here the subject is treated more flexible, giving more room for scope, and creativity (Linstead, 2012). It is a debate whether an organisation should adopt strong or weak cultural values; strong cultures may be inflexible and as consequence can react slower to external and internal changes (Stanford, 2010). The link between culture and empowerment According to Stanford (2010) an effective culture would be when employees believe that there are more reasons to work than to just make money, when work is meaningful to them. In addition she believes that the employee should feel engaged within the job, without breaching ethical issues (Stanford, 2010). It should be noted that organisational culture enable human resource management to affiliate organisational values with new employee values, and when both share common beliefs the results can be beneficial for either side. Employees feel fulfillment and managers benefit from this in terms of a more efficient production (Vecchio, 2000). This suggests that managers are paying attention to organisational culture because it empowers employees and as a result boosts productivity. Therefore it can be argued that ‘culture theory seems to achieve what a range of studies have tried to understand for decades, that is how to reward and empower individuals at work in order to improve organisational performance. Hawthornes study in the 1920s draws attention to the fact that humans are not only driven by monetary incentives as stated by Taylor, instead it shows that there is a desire for recognition (Linstead, 2012). Employees need to feel that they are being valued. However at the time it did not demonstrate clear enough how to measure these concepts in organisational practice (Burnes, 1996). Culture theory developed those assumptions in more detail, making it easier for managers to manipulate and implement. Certainly the approaches created by culture theory reaffirm what numerous studies such as Job design, Theory Y and Maslow already said, however it appears that it glued several ideas from those studies into a clear module for organisation practices. In spite of that, culture theory has been criticised to manipulate and control employees in a way that could be seen as unethical (Linstead, 2012). It should be noted that there is an element of control; just like in life, organisations need a mechanism for social order. For Marxists, organisation culture tries to control employees’ emotions and that is a form of exploitation and inevitably will lead to alienation (ibid). Nevertheless, it can be argued that most employees dont feel controlled, and they actually approve of the methodology (ibid). Conclusion Organisation behavior has developed from Scientific Management into a wide school of thoughts, and it will continue to evolve in response to challenging business environments. This essay has given reasons for the widespread use of organisation culture since 1982. It has demonstrated through different concepts why managers are attracted to the topic and it can be concluded that what provokes manager’s interest is the idea that culture is something an organisation has. In this approach, culture can be manipulated to integrate all employees toward the same direction and achieve organisational goals. In addition it can be assumed that when employee values are aligned with company values it results in better organisation performance. For that reason, it is suggested that there is a link between organisation performance and employee empowerment. Culture is seen as the commodity that holds an organisation together. It seems then, that culture, despite its criticism, will probably continue to develop as the demand for it endures on. References Brewis, J. and Willmott, H. Culture. In Knights, D. and Willmott, H. eds. (2012) Introducing Organizational Behaviour and Management. 2th ed. Andover: Cengage Learning. Brown, G. and Hookham Williams, C. (2013) ULMS151 Organisations and Management Custom Text. Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Burnes, B. (1996) Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics. 2th ed. London: Pitman Publishing. Deal, T.E. and Kennedy, A.A. (1982) Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. Linstead, S. Managing Culture. In Worthington, F. ed. (2013) ULMS157 Introdution to HRM Custom Text. Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Mullins, L.J. (2011) Essentials of Organisational Behaviour. 3th ed. Harlow: FT/ Prentice Hall. Peters, T.J. and Waterman, R.H. (1982) In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best – run Companies. New York: Harper. Smircich, L. (1983) Concepts of Culture and Organizational Analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 28(3), 339-358. Stanford, N. (2010) Organisation Culture: Getting it right. London: Profile Books. Vecchio, R.P. (2000) Organizational Behavior: core concepts. 4th ed. Fort Worth: Dryden Press.

Software Piracy Essay -- Illegal Computer Software Program Distributio

Software Piracy Software piracy is the illegal reproduction and distribution of software applications, whether it is for personal use or business. In society today, Internet users are obtaining millions of dollars in software illegally. Piracy includes the illegal copying of programs, counterfeiting and distributing software, and even sharing a program with a friend. Software has become such an important productivity tool, the illegal copying and distribution of software piracy persists globally. In fact, in the United States is one in four software programs that is unlicensed. According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), more than 800,000 web sites illegally sell or distribute software (Microsoft.com). There are many types of software piracy such as uploading and downloading, softlifting, counterfeiting, OEM bundling, hard disk loading and renting. By having familiarity with them can protect you from any connection. Softlifting is purchasing a licensed copy of software and uploading it on several computers against the license terms. Some examples of softlifting are sharing software with friends, co-workers and others. Uploading and downloading is another form of piracy, such as when making unauthorized copies of copyrighted software available to end users connected by a modem to online service providers and or the Internet. Another one is software counterfeiting which is illegal duplicating and selling copyrighted software and a form designed to make it appear legitimate. OEM bundling is selling stand alone software that was intended to be bundled with specific accompanying hardware. Hard disk loading is installing unauthorized copies of software onto the hard disks of personal com puters, often as an incentive for th... ...t the economic implications of software piracy and software copyrights. Other analysts feel that copyright enforcement should be increased by implementing more efforts to prosecute pirates ( Parsons 165). Survey about Software Piracy Survey questions on Software Piracy YES NO 1. Do you know what software piracy actually is? 15 10 2. Do you know the negative effects of software piracy? 8 12 3. Do you even care about software piracy? 16 9 4. Do you feel that the media discusses the issue of software piracy? 7 13 Works Cited www.microsoft.com www.aladdin.com Computer Concepts. New Perspectives. June Parsons. Course Technology. 5 Feb 2003.

Psychology First Impression Essay

The aim of the research was to carry out a similar study of Luchins(1957) which found that the first piece of information received about an individual often bears more weight ( stronger ) than information gained later so as to see whether first impression is relevant in the 21st century. The alternative hypothesis is that there will be a significant difference in the number of positive and negative ranting between the positive primacy group and the negative primacy group. Th is study was a field experiment with an independent groups design The independent variable was whether  positive primacy story or negative primacy story given to the participant and the dependant variable was the number of positive or negative rating given to the character (Bob). On 21st June 2008 at about 12:30 pm, we went to the Chester – le-street front street, an opportunity sample of 30 participants (15 participants in each groups) 16-59 years old were used. There were two groups of participants reading either positive primacy story or negative primacy story. For positive primacy story, the character (Bob) was described as extrovert first, then introvert and for negative primacy story, Bob was introvert first, then extrovert. Afterwards they were given a questionnaire to rate Bob in terms of certain personality traits. A chi square test was used to analysis the results. The Observed value of Chi squared was T = 20 and the Critical value was 3. 84 . As the observed value is higher than the critical value, the alternative hypothesis can be accepted at p less than or equal to 0. 05. Therefore, it seems from the earlier research that the order in which the information is received has an impact on impression formation. Therefore, the aim of this research is  to see whether the first impression is relevant in the 21st century (the first information received has a greater impact on impression formation than the second information). Introduction How do we form judgements and impressions of people? Within moments of meeting someone, we look at their appearance, clothing style, hair-style, language, accent or ethnicity, this makes us form an impression of a complete stranger within seconds of meeting him or her. These first impressions of others stem from the perceptions and judgements we make based on the first time we meet. Have you even experienced that if the first impression of someone is unfavourable, a subsequent smile may be seen as a sneer or as insincere? One of the first major studies into impression formation was carried out by Asch (1946), he used two lists of six adjectives describing a person ( intelligent, industrious, impulsive, critical, stubborn and envious ) ,one was arranged in the above order, another was the reversal . Participants were asked to rate the person out of 10 (where 10 means a very positive impression of the person). He found that those who read the first group of  adjectives form a more positive impression of the person. His study suggested that a primacy effect occurs because the initial traits in a sequence set the stage for the interpretation for later traits. In effect, the meaning of each new adjective was interpreted in light of the ones already received. Asch’s contention was that the total assessment would reflect a dynamic process in which the separate traits would interact to form a unitary impression. In general, his study suggested that earlier traits have a greater influence on impression formation. A study conducted by Luchins in 1957 also throws some light on how we form impressions. He aimed to see if the order of information in which they received affects their opinion. Participants were given a story to read about an imaginary person (Jim) who first appears to a cheerful character and then rather sad and lonely. A second group of participants are given the same information but in the reverse order. Afterwards all participants are asked to rate the person in the story in terms of certain personality traits. He found that the participants who hear the story with the positive  one first will rate the person more positively. Luchins suggested that impressions were strongly influenced by the order in which we receive information about people. The first information we receive is the most important and most likely to be remembered. Asch and Luchins used hypothetical people in their study. However, Jones et al (1968) used an actual person. Participants watched a video of a student solving a set of multiple choice questions with the frequency of correct answers either increasing or decreasing, but actually the student always solved 15 out of the 30 correctly, participants were asked to rate  the student ‘s intelligence, they judged the student as more intelligent when the first 15 were right (primacy effect), also, when asked to recall how many correct those who had seen student perform first 15 correct estimated 20/30 those who had seen the last 15 correct estimated 12/30. These studies provide evidence for primacy effect – the greater impact of what we first learn about someone (first impressions) and suggest that once one determines they have an acceptable understanding of the information presented to them, they will pay less attention as more  information is presented and only recall the first impression. In nowadays 21st century, many society factors have been changed, for example, internet is widely used over the world today, as well as many social networking websites e. g. Facebook and MySpace, the effect of first impression might be changed. In order to investigate whether the primacy effect still prevails in today’s society. I will be adapting Luchins research and writing my own paragraphs – story 1 & 2(see appendices 1). I will be using 11 categories for participants to choose from in order to force a bias.

The Human Brain Essay - 1189 Words

The human brain is a big, intricate—yet delicate, structure in the human body. It is the key structure in cognitive function. Any damage to the brain does not only â€Å"erase† memories but also may â€Å"deceive† the brain to erroneously remember a new object as being familiar (2010). The innovative researchers at Cambridge University investigated this phenomenon in their research on The Paradoxial False Memory for Objects after Brain Damage. The publication began by stating the widely acceptable premise that medial temporal lobe damage results in the inability to remember new experiences soon after they are learned. They indicated that the general belief is that this occurs because the ability to remember such information becomes compromised†¦show more content†¦This is followed by a testing phase in which the object is presented simultaneously with a new distinctive object. In this experiment the participant is then required to distinguish between the repeated object and the new object. The finding was that participants with temporal lobe damage have impairment in making the distinction between the repeated experience and the novel experience when both are presented side by side especially after a long delay between study and test. The indication was that the delay presents interferences which affect the perception of the experiences. It was concluded therefore that the inability to distinguish the repeated obj ect and novel object is a factor of how one object affects the other and how it is perceived. The researchers went further to test this hypothesis by using a method of assessing object recognition by â€Å"decoupling† the objects of exploration. The finding was that participants with intact brain explored the novel object more than the repeated object and those with temporal lobe injury explored both equally. 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