Business Studies

By Author: Henry Ford
Total Articles: 189
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With reference to the recent revolutions and developments in the corporate world, the issue of organizational culture has received significant attention. Different scholars and researchers addressing the topic on corporate governance and management have put much emphasis on the role of organizational culture in corporate excellence. In light to the ideas of Larson & Gray (2011), organizational culture is a set of shared beliefs and values that guide human behaviors within an organization. The efficiency and sustainability of any business or human organization has been closely associated with the strength of the cultural framework. In case of this paper, the organizational culture of British Petroleum (BP) will be addressed.
Over the last 30years, BP has been demonstrating organizational excellence in the petroleum oil and gas industry. This has been closely attributed to the strong and sustainable organizational culture adopted by the company. The culture of safety and integrity management are the main elements in BP’s organizational culture (Aschwege, 2010). Since its inception, BP has widely been committed in ensuring ...
... adherence to the aspects of safety and integrity in its operations. This has been adequately exhibited among all members of the organization. The element of safety is sufficiently incorporated in the daily operations, whereby all members of the organization are expected to adhere to this value. Alongside safety in the internal operations of the company, protection of the environment is also a core value of the company. This is demonstrated by the company’s conscious operations that are aimed at protecting the environment (Aschwege, 2010). The management of the organization has strongly supported this culture through financial support on safety gadgets as well as training sessions on members and the surrounding community.
The culture of integrity management has also been evident in the company since its inception. All members of the company are expected to abide to this value in all their undertaking and operations in the company. Integrity is adequately addressed in recruitment of new members, whereby only candidates of high moral values are selected. It has also been noted that regular screening of employees and managers is undertaken in the company to ensure all members adhere to this value (Aschwege, 2010).
The execution of projects in the company has been strongly influenced by the culture of team work and responsibility. Members of the organization are advised to work like one team so as to attain best results. The value of team work has been facilitated through efficient management and leadership values, whereby members are engaged in leadership and integrity sessions (Aschwege, 2010). This ensures that each member of the project team gets to know his or her responsibility. With this in mind, executions of projects in the company are facilitated. From a personal perspective, the culture of integrity and responsibility has been the guiding principles in executing various tasks (Larson & Gray, 2011). This principle gives a focus on what is expected as well as the need to be pro-active in demonstrating integrity and responsibility.

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Part 1: Organizational and team culture
The concept of organizational culture stands to be a vital element in the success and sustainability of any human endeavor, whereby project management is not exempted. As outlined by Larson & Gray (2011), organizational cultures refers to a system of shared beliefs, assumptions, values and norms that bound people together, thus creating a sense of meaning. In the organizational context, the concept of culture is very crucial in that it manifests the customs, values and habits governing the operations within the organization. Anderson (2003) postulated that organizational culture is a set of shared mental assumptions that dictate the actions of each individual member of the organization. In regards to this phenomenon, the success or failure of the organization is closely influenced by the organizational culture. It’s worth noting that organizational culture is a holistic term referring to all aspects of organizational behavior among the various members of the organization (O’reilly, 1991). Nevertheless, the concept of individual cultures is also evident within organizational context, whereby it stands to be controversial regarding its impacts on the organizational operations.
According to Kendra & Taplin (2004), different cultures within an organization are of great importance in the execution of an organizational tasks or projects. Hofstede (1998) indicated that cultural diversity within an organization is vital for enhancing performance and sustainability of the organization. This is as a result of knowledge and skills diversity that are generated as a product of varied cultures. Different ways and methodologies of approaching various tasks within the organization are made into practice (Schein, 2010). This helps in boosting efficiency and effectiveness in the execution of organizational tasks. On the other hand, existence of cultural diversity within an organization enhances self esteem among employees. This is very crucial in facilitating autonomy as well as accommodating individual differences. As a result of this scenario, inefficiencies and conflicts that might have erupted from adopting one culture are avoided Hofstede (1998). It is important to note that cultural diversity within the organization enhances management. This is so because admirable cultural values from the individual cultures are manifested in the individual behavior.
Nevertheless, individual cultures within an organization are a serious threat to the success and sustainability of the organization. As indicated by Hofstede (1998), cultural diversity weakens cooperation and project team. This is in relation to the degree of member identity, whereby each individual may tend to identify himself in relation to his culture rather than the organization (Schein, 2010). As a result of this scenario, serious conflicts of interest may arise in the organization that may increase inefficiencies in executing the organizations projects. Team emphasis is also jeopardized as individualism takes charge at the expense of the organization’s prospects. Kendra & Taplin (2004) indicated that cultural diversity within an organization is a big threat to the management process. The formulation and execution of decisions within the organization is inhibited due to the individual cultural values.
Research by Kendra & Taplin (2004) outlined that cultural diversity within an organization jeopardizes unit integration among the members. Cultural diversity enhances interdependency and disintegration among various groups thus creating avenues for divisions and inefficiencies. It is also worth noting that individual cultures within an organization enhance conflict tolerance (O’reilly, 1991). By enhancing individual cultures within an organization, employees gain the freedom to air out criticisms and conflicts openly. This is very harmful to the smooth running of the organization in that negative ethnicity and conflicts may take dominance. Reward criteria in the organization are also negatively impacted by the existence of individual cultures (Kendra & Taplin, 2004). For instance, the aspects of nonperformance factors, seniority, and favoritism may dominate reward criteria rather than going by employee performance. Based on this analysis, it is evident that individual cultures within an organization are of more harm than good.
The concept of organizational and team culture has been adequately addressed in the article ‘Organizational Culture and Leadership by Edgar Schein. In this article, the significance of strong organizational culture in business organization has been identified. Edgar has demonstrated the inevitable role of organizational culture in an organization’s success (Schein, 2010). On the other hand, the article, ‘people and organizational culture by Charles O’reilly has also emphasized on the importance of strong organizational culture (O’reilly, 1991). O’reilly postulates that culture is potential of joining and guiding all elements within an organization thus being able to bring success.
Part 2: Implementing Change
With reference to the value and worth amounted to organizational culture; there is every need for an organization to ensure it has the best culture. This phenomenon calls for the adoption of organizational culture change that will help in developing and establishing a favorable and sustainable culture. As indicated by Larson & Gray (2011), organizational culture change is the toughest task ever undertaken within an organizational setting. This is in relation to the many years consumed in the formation of the current culture through interaction between the different participants in the organization (Sterns et al, 2010). Despite the fact that organizational culture develops and grows over time, it frequently initiated and planned by the organizational management. This is in relation to new expectations by the management team among other stakeholders within the organization (Larson & Gray, 2011). In order to efficiently and effectively implement organizational culture change, there is every need for the undertaking of a comprehensive planning for the culture change.

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