Potential Problems with Having a Culture that is Too Strong in Modern Organizations

Abstract

In each and every society today, culture is a very important concept for both individuals and organizations because it identifies the fundamental set of ideas, rituals, beliefs, meaning, values, norms and language, the way in which things are to be done in an organization and in the life of an individual. Therefore, organization’s culture encompasses what has been good and what has worked in the past. These practices can often be accepted within the organization by long serving members of an organization due to the fact that they have a collective interest towards building of a unified organization through shared system of beliefs, habits and traditions. In organizations there are deep-set beliefs about the way in which work should be organized, the way in which authority should be exercised and punished (Cole and Kelly, 2011). Organizational culture is not something that is written down or necessarily is easily stated. Rather, it is an intangible mixture of rules, relationships, values, custom which when taken together describe the distinctive feel of the organization. It is within this culture that individuals work and from which they learn the norms and values to which they are expected to subscribe. This is the arrangement and inter-relationship of the components parts position of an organization. Whereas culture is a hidden structure that can be seen and drawn in organization charts. Thus the organization Structure may reflect culture. This essay will describe three potential problems with having an organizational culture that is too strong.