Introduction
Every organization has its own competitive strategies. However, these strategies cannot work without a strong organizational culture. Organizational culture has the advantage of increasing employee commitment to the firm. In addition, it enables the organization to define its strategies effectively.
This is essential as it ensures successful execution of activities necessary for achievement of organizational goals. Organizational culture is also important in maximizing production through employee motivation. This is particularly significant to human capital whose value is maximized by the right organizational culture.
In essence, organizational culture forms an integral part of management competency. While these attributes can be achieved through implementation of the right organizational culture, determining an effective culture is quite difficult.
This paper will explore corporate culture, its roles in organizations and the factors that influence its implementation (Senge, 2006, p. 55).
Organizational culture encompasses concepts such as assumptions, values, beliefs, artifacts and behaviors, among others. It, therefore, works to reduce variability in the workforce. This allows for easier control and shaping of staff behavior.
In essence, it defines the distinct character of an organization since it varies from one organization to another. Culture, therefore, plays a crucial role in organizational setup. Organizational culture connects employees together and ensures efficiency in execution of activities.
Moreover, communication is essential for implementing the right culture. In addition, when the right culture is implemented, employees are usually motivated to maximize production.
In this regard, it is necessary that the right communication framework is put in place to achieve desired objectives. Furthermore, motivation is a central factor in determining an organization’s competitiveness (Andreas, 2006, p. 159-172.)
Motivation
Motivation can be defined as the urge to do something. For instance, organizations with motivated staff enjoy their work. This improves both efficiency and quality of production. Moreover, it saves time and creates opportunity for innovations. Motivation is essential to every organization.
In fact, when employees are motivated, they are able to create as well as implement inventive ideas. Strong identification is important in enabling employees to be part of the organization. This gives them a sense of belonging, which is significant in entrenching spirit of unity in the team.
Besides, their sense of innovation can only be achieved if the organization embraces innovative norms. Interestingly, these norms can only be achieved through implementation of strong organizational culture. Motivation is usually derived from effective organizational culture.
Organizational culture is essential in creating commitment among employees. This strengthens their motivation to achieve organizational goals. Motivation is a very significant factor in organizations because it affects returns.
When employees are not motivated then organizational objectives cannot be achieved. Moreover, it is important that employees enjoy their working conditions. This helps in influencing on the team spirit as well as motivation. Corporate culture reinforces shared and individual beliefs.
This is then allowed to develop as employees share the same values. Organizational culture is thus significant in driving employee motivation. However, it is necessary to note that some organization cultures are uninspiring.
Such organizations face such issues as lowered standards of performance. Motivation is thus a vital factor in corporate culture (Bisel, Messersmith & Keyton, 2011, p. 564-585).
High preforming companies have defined goals and ways to reach them. In fact, they thrive in motivating their employees for the same course. In order to maintain such high standards, the company must envisage a long lasting motivation. Some companies have done this through incentives that may be in form of cash or not.
However, it has been found that non-cash incentives work best for companies. Employees who feel valued tend to work with a common purpose. In this regard, it is important that companies involve their employees in creating organizational culture which is essential in providing motivation for work.
Moreover, value-creating companies such as Proctor and Gamble, among others have managed this through implementation of effective organizational culture. This has proved to influence attainment of goals within desired periods. Motivation influences employees’ behavior through self-control.
This enables them to explore their needs within the firm and achieve them by helping the company. In fact, motivated employees take full responsibility for their actions which is important for accountability. Motivation catalyzes employees’ desire to perform.
When this is cultivated within the company, then new entrants come into the culture of that company. This is very important in keeping focus on goals and competency (Keyton, 2004, p. 215).
Leadership is crucial in any organization. Moreover, a leader must understand that company’s organizational culture. This is important in reflecting its objectives and encouraging employee motivation. Leaders should enshrine company policies and mission to influence motivation in employees.
Moreover, the leader should ensure that corporate culture gives employees a sense of belonging as well as pride. This will motivate them to work hard in order to maintain such status. Leaders should look to integrate culture levels from departmental subcultures to corporate assumptions into motivation.
This is essential in integrating shared vision for all employees in the company. Moreover, observable culture should be in line with objectives of the company as this determines levels of motivation for employees.
In essence, effective leaders must understand cultural influences on organizations in order to come up with one that would influence motivation. In addition, the leader should involve all stakeholders in determining best corporate culture for the company (Nayak, Padhi, Barik, Mohanty & Pradhan, 2011, p. 323-334.)
Communication
Communication is essential in any organization. It can be defined as the transfer of information between departments. Communication as a factor in organizational culture is quite essential since it determines the manner in which information is received and decoded.
Communication is utilized to diffuse tensions that could arise due to complex organizational structures. Moreover, it is a source of constraint and creativity. This makes it vital for organizational culture. Multinational companies employ workers from different parts of the world.
Moreover, they have branches in various parts of the globe. It is therefore central that effective communication is employed to achieve desired results. This can only be achieved if communication is integrated to conform to organizational culture.
Employees in a company should speak in one language, that is, the company language, which is in accordance with its corporate culture. This ensures that the right information is sent and received.
Barriers such as beliefs and norms that differ from one community to another would be of negligible effect when the company entrenches organizational culture. Moreover, employees would speak in one language that is unique to the company.
In essence, communication is so vital to organizational culture that it cannot be ignored at any cost. In fact, due to the ever-changing trends, it is important that such changes are observed and worked on to establish the best mode of communication (Guide to Communication and Corporate Culture, 2008, p. 1).
Effective communication is essential in every high performing company because it ensures the right chain of command is followed at the correct time. Effective communication also ensures that the right message is delivered and is acted upon as required.
In this regard, companies with good organizational cultures save time in communication. Moreover, very little misunderstandings are encountered. This is good for development of the company.
Time is important to companies as it improves efficiency and return, therefore, both horizontal and vertical communication lines are supposed to be integrated with organizational culture. This can be quite difficult at the beginning.
However, with much effort and cooperation from all stakeholders, it can also be achieved (O’Reilly, 1989, p. 9). People from different cultures have different behaviors because of their environment.
However, when they integrate into the company as well as learn its communication framework, this can change and bring about unity through organizational culture. This is essential for proper coordination and transfer of information from management to employees as well as between employees.
Companies should, therefore, shun cultural groupings between employees as this draws them away from organizational culture.
At the same time, they should embrace diversity in order to keep employees motivated and appreciated. Balancing these factors can be difficult. However, with the same organizational culture, this is practicable (Boleman & Deal, 2008, p. 11).
Leadership is essential in fronting for effective communication since culture comes from top-level management to employees. In this regard, the kind of communication entrenched by management is vital in influencing organizational culture.
Therefore, leaders have the responsibility of enshrining communication models that would integrate with the chosen organizational culture. In addition, they are supposed to have good interpersonal skills that would enable them to communicate effectively to other stakeholders.
In essence, effective organizational culture should be a benchmark to management officials. This will enable them to integrate easily with other employees and work in accordance with their objectives. Leaders have the power to influence cultural traits of their employees.
In fact, encouraging participative communication is instrumental in establishing a good communication culture in an organization. Autocratic leaders are therefore less likely to achieve effective communication and this has the propensity to harm the company’s organizational culture (Schein, 2010, p. 42).
Summary and Conclusion
Organizational culture is instrumental to every company because it works to save time, motivate employees and add to the company’s competitiveness. Given that individuals possess varying character traits, organizations also have their own norms and values.
Such values can only be strengthened if there is effective communication and motivation. In essence, motivation and effective communication work to fortify organizational culture. This is essential in maintaining healthy operations in the company.
However, if motivation and communication are not ensured then the company stands to lose. It is therefore important for effective leaders to enshrine good communication mechanisms and organizational culture for the progress of the company.
In addition, they should ensure that employees are motivated in order to achieve high standards of results. Leaders should also work to integrate all stakeholders in decision making to tap into creative ideas and innovations (Judge & Robbins, 2011, p. 112).
Reference List
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