Organisational Culture
Organisation Culture as there are many ways in which you can define the subject my interpretation of it is that it is structure of shared meaning which is held by members that differentiate the organisation from other organisations. Culture has its origin in the organisational interaction.
The model put forward by Schein (1985)
Schein divides organisational culture into three levels:
Outer layer: These outer layers are at the surface, those aspects (such as dress) which can be easily recognised, yet are hard to understand;
Values and beliefs: beneath the outer layer are “values & beliefs" which are conscious strategies, goals and philosophies Basic Assumptions and Values: The middle, the culture is represented by the basic underlying assumptions and values, which are difficult to recognise because they exist at a largely unconscious level. Yet they provide the key to understanding why things happen the way they do. These basic assumptions form around deeper dimensions of human existence such as the nature of humans, human relationships and activity, reality and truth.
The Organisational Iceberg
Concept of organisational iceberg
This is described by French and Bell, in which formal aspects are overt, and informal aspects are covert or hidden. The formal aspects are relating to the hard element of culture, namely goals, structure, policies and procedures and financial resources.
The informal aspects are the soft element of culture, namely perceptions, attitudes, feelings, values, informal interactions and group normal.
For an organisation to be effective it needs to combine the hard elements and soft elements. Often it is the soft elements that really drive organisational performance and effectiveness.
Visible aspects at WHSmith
Working at WHSmith I can see all visible aspects of the company, the uniform is one that stands out first due to the fact there are two colours which are bright purple and light blue,
The model put forward by Schein (1985)
Schein divides organisational culture into three levels:
Outer layer: These outer layers are at the surface, those aspects (such as dress) which can be easily recognised, yet are hard to understand;
Values and beliefs: beneath the outer layer are “values & beliefs" which are conscious strategies, goals and philosophies Basic Assumptions and Values: The middle, the culture is represented by the basic underlying assumptions and values, which are difficult to recognise because they exist at a largely unconscious level. Yet they provide the key to understanding why things happen the way they do. These basic assumptions form around deeper dimensions of human existence such as the nature of humans, human relationships and activity, reality and truth.
The Organisational Iceberg
Concept of organisational iceberg
This is described by French and Bell, in which formal aspects are overt, and informal aspects are covert or hidden. The formal aspects are relating to the hard element of culture, namely goals, structure, policies and procedures and financial resources.
The informal aspects are the soft element of culture, namely perceptions, attitudes, feelings, values, informal interactions and group normal.
For an organisation to be effective it needs to combine the hard elements and soft elements. Often it is the soft elements that really drive organisational performance and effectiveness.
Visible aspects at WHSmith
Working at WHSmith I can see all visible aspects of the company, the uniform is one that stands out first due to the fact there are two colours which are bright purple and light blue,