Free Essay Sample - Business Organization Culture

This is a reflection of a group podcast that was created after a group discussion. The podcast was on business organization and how the business structure affects the running of the organization. The existence of a flat organization and the culture that the local employees perceive as disorganized and their way of doing business is not right (Burke, 2017). The various topics that we will concentrate on and elaborate in this podcast are organization structure, business ethics, national culture, and corporate social responsibility. This is in relation to different theories that apply to the organization structure and organization performance. The Hofstede theory is more of a flat organization and the culture within the business. In connection with other approaches mentioned in the paper, the organization works towards achieving its goals and objectives.

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As a group, we decided to go through the theories that affect and determine the performance of a business. These different theories have to be looked at and applied efficiently to ensure that they create a positive effect on the company. The theories, are Hofstede's cultural dimensions, Trompenaars and Hamden-turners, seven dimensions of culture, and Weber's management theory. The theories were discussed in-depth, and the main contributions they play in business performance and outcomes.

Business organization structure refers to the plans, strategies, and different communication strategies applied in the organization. The leadership structure of a business determines how the authority is involved and how information is passed from the top administration to the junior employees (Tardieu, 2020). There are different structures that organizations can implement, which are either flat or hierarchical structures.

The structure of a business has a lot of impacts not only on the performance but also how employees behave and their attitude towards their work (Kreutzer,2017). Employees contribute to the performance of the organization, and the organization depends on the employees to be able to register profits.

With reference to Tanzania-based organizations, the employees receive information and directives, and without question, they have to adhere to them. This is an excellent example of a hierarchy structure, while with a flat organization, the manager and the employees are not well distinguished, and thus there is no good flow of information.

Hofstede Theory

Hofstede's theory is more of a flat organization that has employees participating by airing their ideas. This thus gives free participation of the employees to the organization's performance (Minkov, 2018). Employees are not entirely hired depending on their expertise and experiences, but other factors like flexibility are looked into. The theory recognizes and takes into concern the different cultures in which an organization is built on. This thus gives an implication that they should be respected and that every employee has different behaviors, which are a result of their culture. Employees come together with all these differences, and their main aim is to achieve the organization's goals.

Hofstede's theory of cultural dimensions clearly shows the effect of society on the organization's performance and the values of its members. It composes of four dimensions, which include, individualism-collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and masculinity-femininity. Hofstede tried to explain how the organization has to maintain these dimensions and, in the long run, achieve its set goals and objectives and have the employees satisfied. In Tanzania, organizations assume this setting and involve their employees in making decisions. This is considered as a disorganized way as it would be more effective when employees receive instructions rather than being involved in the decision-making process.

Organizations in Africa and particularly those in Tanzania, have a flat organizational structure in which employees are encouraged to be creative and give out their ideas on issues concerning the organization. With this in mind, there has been increased performance as employees relate well, and social interactions are encouraged.

The case study referred to during the discussion shows that Jones had become more tolerant of the Tanzanian way of doing business, which led to him devising new methods of achieving the objectives while implementing the project. Steinberg complained that Jones was too eager to accommodate the Tanzanian business culture, some of which were contrary to both Hofstede's organizational culture and its fundamental methods of operations in foreign countries that could lead to repercussions for the firm's project in Tanzania.

His tolerance to the Tanzanian way of doing business was also coupled with conflict of personal interest where Jones preferred to live in Tanzania and to isolate himself from expatriates, as well as tolerating other traditional activities such as tribal rituals, which is opposed to the company's founders' Christian values. This can be related to Indulgence in Hofstede's cultural dimensions, where indulgence represents an inclination to permit moderately free delight of fundamental and average human wants to be identified with enjoying life and having a good time. Its contrary, restriction, mirrors a conviction that such pleasure should be controlled and directed by rigid social standards.

Hofstede's theory ensures that the employee's concerns are well addressed and that employees feel motivated in their workplace. Having motivated employees will, in turn, lead to employees giving better results, and they will also do quality work. Employees are the key determinants of the fate of the organization as even as the manager makes and implements the decisions, they will still require the employees to be able to see results achieved and registered.

Organizational culture also involves the ethics that are to be observed by the managers and the employees; with this, the employees have a clear view of what they are required to do. Ethics gives a directive of what is right and what is wrong in the organization. By following these ethics, then the possibility of achieving the organization's goals and objectives is easy, and the employees will associate harmoniously.

The group discussion was basically on how the African organization with an example of those in Tanzanian, their structure in relation to various theories, and how ethics are upheld in the organization. The group members were more participative, and they voluntarily raised their ideas. As the group leader, every member was given a task to research prior to the meeting. This gives each and every one a chance to have a clear understanding of what the discussion was about. There were different ideas raised about the different organizations in Tanzania and more so in Africa. The discussion was based on the different theories on organizations' performance and the effect they have on the employee's performance (Jaques,2017). To have a better-performing organization, communication is key, and it should follow the right order. Employees' ideas should be considered, and it will give them importance in the organization, and they will feel encouraged and needed in the organization.

Conclusion

The business structure is a definition of how an organization is structured and how leadership is practiced. Every organization has its own choice of structure to assume and how it should be practiced. Some will assume a flat structure while others assume a hierarchical structure. These structures will then determine the performance of the employees and the organization at large. The decisions made in the organization can be managed based, or employees can be involved. Assuming a flat organization basically means that the employees are involved in decision-making, but in other issues, they are more or less involved as it will cause complications, and it will consume a lot of time.

For every organization to assume a culture, then it should consider its mission, mission, the environment it is operating in, and the employees it is dealing with. This is because not all sectors will fit in a flat structure as some will not require the employee to know all the decisions being arrived at. However, the mission and the vision is the main determinant of the structure that is assumed by an organization.

Reference

Berlandier, P.C. and Boyer, J.R., International Business Machines Corp, 2020. Hierarchical business rule model. U.S. Patent 10,540,628.

Burke, W.W., 2017. Organization change: Theory and practice. Sage publications.

Crane, A., Matten, D., Glozer, S., and Spence, L., 2019. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press, USA.

Jaques, E., 2017. Requisite organization: A total system for effective managerial organization and managerial leadership for the 21st century. Routledge.

Kreutzer, R.T., Neugebauer, T. and Pattloch, A., 2017. Digital business leadership. Digital Transformation-Geschaftsmodell-Innovation-agile Organisation-Change-Management.

Minkov, M., 2018. A revision of Hofstede's model of national culture: old evidence and new data from 56 countries. Cross-Cultural & Strategic Management.

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Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2016). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. John Wiley & Sons.

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