ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ON EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOR CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Organizational culture is one of the major factors that study the identity, values and beliefs of individuals within an enterprise environment (Harrington, 1995).Organizational culture is considered as an important part of the organization structure and also considered as a social reality that will shaped based on the members relations and it is not just a simple variable but it is the development of the members dynamic mental processes (Smirch, 1983). Organizational culture can be described as a pattern of shared values and beliefs that help members to gain understanding of organizational practices and formed some behavior norms for the organization personnel (Dyer et al, 2003). The origin of organizational culture from a national culture point of view is based, among others, on the work of Deal and Kennedy (1982). According to this view organizational culture is seen as being central to organizational success rather than factors such as structure, strategy or politics.

    According to Coopey (1990) Culture can affect business outcomes in a number of ways, both positive and negative. For example, cultures that assure not aligned with corporate strategy can lead to decrease loyalty, a lack of motivation, and high employee turnover. Healthy cultures, however, communicate pleasure and a sense of purpose to employees, leading to increased productivity and a greater understanding of corporate goals, as with the employee at the car manufacturing plant.  Strategy, operational performance, and culture are all strongly related. High-performing companies often view culture as an enabler of strategy and performance, and want to create a culture that will support and enable employees in achieving those goals.

     Organizational cultural issues are fast becoming increasingly very important to consider the ever - changing, competitive global environment.  Due to different cultural backgrounds that people possess, every organization is composed of different people/employees with different mindsets, values and beliefs. It is very important to consider those different values and beliefs into encouraging employees to better performance. Every organization has its own unique culture, which functions differently from others. The basic notion of organizational culture is to try to control the behavior of employees within the organization.  Effective employee behavior is said to be matching with the employees’ commitment in the organization, which is believed to result in the acceptance of organizational goals and   values; because commitment has been found to be positively related to employee performance in a number of studies (Martins sand Martin , 2002:61).

    In Africa, a study was undertaken in that finds out organizational culture has significance effect on employee work behavior and attitude.  Organizational culture should improve attitude and behavior, contribute corporate success and achieve win-win situation. A strong ownership culture can increase employees’ satisfaction with their jobs, improve labor management relations, and encourage commitment to the company. Organizational members are intentionally acculturated into the assumptions and belief systems of their companies’ culture. One method of transmitting cultural values and beliefs is through group norms. Norms help to shape the behavior of group members so that it is in agreement with the values and beliefs of the organization's culture. Culture, acting through institutionalized belief systems and group norms, can be a very effective means of directing the behavior of organizational members toward activities deemed important to the goals of the organization (ZHENG DAN, 2000).

     McClelland’s motivational theory developed in 1962, considers three needs, namely a need for affiliation, a need for power and a need for achievement. People with a strong need for affiliation will aim their behavior at fostering interpersonal relations, while people with a strong need for power try to influence the behavior of others. McClelland distinguished between two types of power, namely social power and personalized power. Social power is aimed at inspiring and influencing employees to achieve goals, while personalized power is exercised to control and exploit people.

     Organizational culture or corporate culture includes the attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values of an organization. It has been defined as ‘the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization. The word “culture” is used with many different meanings in everyday spoken language and in scholarly literature. Organizational culture evolves from the social practices of members of the organization; therefore, it’s a socially created reality that exists in the heads and minds of members of the organization as well as in the formal rules, policies, and procedures of organizational structures. Culture is an ongoing process of reality construction, providing a pattern of understanding that helps members of organizations to interpret events and to give meaning to their working worlds. Thus, culture is an evolutionary and dynamic process that incorporates changing values, beliefs, and underlying assumptions regarding the organization (Kropp, 2000).

       Daulatram (2003:219)  Employee behavior states that the perverseness of an organization’s culture requires  that  management recognize the fundamental dimensions of their corporate culture and its impact  on employee behavioral variables such as job satisfaction, commitment, and group - work  cohesion performance.

Therefore, the definition adopted this study was concept of specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with other people in the workplace.

      Organizational culture directly affects the development of an organization as well as its members. Organizational culture is basically defined as the way an organization does things, the manner of communication, interaction, rules, regulations and good manners. Organizational culture consists of many factors, including the societal culture in which the organization resides, its technologies, markets and competitors. Related terms and concepts are defined, e.g. organizational performance and employees’ behavior (Megginson  and McCann. 1965. p. 26).

    Organizational culture is a system of shared meaning held by members, distinguishing the organization from other organizations.

In Somalia, according to our best knowledge as team researchers, it seems to be this study might not conducted literature before. Therefore, this study want to investigate impact of organizational culture on employee behavior in some selected Telecommunication companies of Mogadishu-Somalia.