International Business Management - Understanding Organizational Structure
Here is a summary of module seven on understanding organizational culture:
- Definition of Organizational Culture: Organizational culture represents the personality of a company, defining how employees interact, collaborate, and solve problems together.
- Subcultures: Different teams and departments often develop unique subcultures shaped by team objectives, leadership styles, and group dynamics. These subcultures can align with or vary significantly from the main organization, requiring leader awareness to maintain overall cohesion.
- Alignment, Diversity, and Inclusion: Alignment drives the mission forward, while championing diversity and inclusion brings a wide range of perspectives that drive innovation. A strong culture requires everyone to move in the same direction while contributing their unique strengths.
- Sources of Ethics: An organization's code of ethics comes from three distinct sources:
- Societal Ethics: Derived from the laws and norms of the operating society.
- Professional Ethics: Standards used by occupational groups to determine appropriate conduct.
- Individual Ethics: Stemming from personal values, family influence, and upbringing.
- Managerial Actions for an Ethical Environment: Managers play a key role in building and maintaining an ethical culture through specific steps:
- Lead by example.
- Clearly communicate expectations and provide training and education.
- Encourage open communication so employees feel safe speaking up.
- Establish accountability and continuously monitor and evaluate cultural health.
- Ongoing Management: Because organizational culture is dynamic and evolves as companies grow and add new people, leaders must regularly review and adjust their approach.
See also: International Business Management - Managerial Styles, International Business Management - Personal Development and Leadership, International Business Management - Managing Stakeholder Expectations
External connections: From Cogs to Collaboration - The Evolution of Management Thought — The evolution from classical hierarchies to modern decentralized structures is the organizational counterpart to this note. Company Values — Values are a core component of organizational culture, shaping how teams collaborate. Crafting Mission and Vision Statements — Mission and vision shape organizational culture and align teams across global operations. Project Management - Introduction — Covers functional, projectized, and matrix organizational structures as they apply to project management contexts.