Pages

Sunday 14 August 2011

Four different Cultural Traits in an Organizations

Using data from 764 organizations, Denison and colleagues showed that four different cultural traits (mission, consistency, adaptability and involvement) were related to different criteria of effectiveness. Their research found that the traits of mission and consistency were the best predictors of profitability, the traits of involvement and adaptability were the best predictors of innovation, and the traits of adaptability and mission were the best predictors of sales growth.


The Denison model is based on four cultural traits of effective organizations that are described below.

1.    Involvement

Effective organizations empower their people,build their organizations around teams, and develop human capability at all levels. Executives, managers, and employees are committed to their work and feel that they own a piece of the organization. People at all levels feel that they have at least some input into decisions that will affect their work, and that their work is directly connected to the goals of the organization.


2.    Consistency

Organizations tend to be effective because they have ‘‘strong’’ cultures that are highly consistent, well coordinated, and well integrated. Behavior is rooted in a set of core values, and leaders and followers are skilled at reaching agreement even when there are diverse points of view. This type of consistency is a powerful source of stability and internal integration that results from a common mindset and a high degree of conformity.

3.    Adaptability

Ironically, organizations that are well integrated are often the most difficult ones to change. Internal integration and external adaptation can often be at odds. Adaptable organizations are driven by their customers, take risks and learn from their mistakes, and have capability and experience at creating change. They are continuously changing the system so that they are improving the organizations’ collective abilities to provide value for their customers.


4.    Mission

Successful organizations have a clear sense of purpose and direction that defines organizational goals and strategic objectives and expresses a vision of how the organization will look in the future. When an organization’s underlying mission changes, changes also occur in other aspects of the organization’s culture.


Source: Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness: Is Asia Different From the Rest of the World? Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 98–109, 2004

No comments:

Post a Comment