Cultural Assessment Essay Sample: Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd Company

Cultural assessment in any organization goes a long way in trying to identify the sources of successes of a specific organization. It is the culture of an organization which prompts the manner in which some specific ideas or changes will get implemented. For instance, determining the effectiveness of employees in carrying out their duties ( Lecturer reading 299). Also, the organizational culture has profound impacts on productivity. An organization that mistreats its employees may end up with poor services or producing defective products. With a well outlined organizational structure, good culture and the right team then there will be a promising outcome. The focus of this essay is to ascertain the nature of organizational culture in Ingvar Kamprad ElmtarydAgunnard (IKEA), a furniture manufacturing company located in Sweden.

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Organizational Culture Questions

Language, Metaphor, and Jargon

• Explain the metaphors that are used amongst peers.
• Analyze how colleagues speak one to another.
• Discuss the preferred language in the organization.
• Share if employees are at liberty to use slang within the work premises.
• What language do junior employees use when addressing their senior counterparts?

Communication

• Describe the preferred mode of conveying information from junior employees to their seniors.
• Discuss the patterns of communications in the organization. For instance, who can communicate with who?
• Share the type of information that can be shared with peers.
• Describe the media which gets predominantly utilized for conveying information.

Artifacts

• What is the furniture style of the firm?
• Describe the type of posters or pictures on the wall and what they depict.
• Share on the office arrangement for junior staff members.
• Describe the model of the office size permitted for staff at different levels.
• Analyze if there any rules are regulating who is to be in possession of what while at the office.

Stories, myths, and legends

• Does the organization have legends? Moreover, if yes, discuss what they reminiscence?
• Discuss the secrets of the success story.
• Outline some misconstrued information about that organization.
• Discuss the institution's stories that are not in the public domain.

Ceremonies, rites, rituals

• Discuss if any ceremonies held to mark a specific achievement
• Discuss the requirements for an employee to be promoted.
• Define the yearly parties to mark the successes of the organization.
• Describe some of the privileges that workers are entitled.
• Describe the process of initiating new employees to their positions.

Values, ethics, and codes

• Outline the core values of the organization.
• Discuss how do the core values resonate with the mission.
• Describe any preferred code of conduct in the institution.
• Analyze whether there be basic operational ethics within the organization.

Decision making

• Discuss specific clauses of the organization's laws that should be met before enacting any decision.
• Describe the decision-making process; who is to be consulted when making decisions, are opinions acceptable in decision making, who is responsible for the final decision making?
• Describe how decisions are communicated.
• Share decision implementation process.

Schein's six questions

• Describe the organization's existing culture, including specific examples of artifacts, rituals, and language.
• Define the organization's explicitly articulated values.
• Analyze whether the values fully explain the existence of the artifacts or whether there are underlying assumptions that amount to additional cultural values.
• Describe how the explicit or hidden values inhibit or strengthen how the organization achieves its goals.
• Share subculture differences among the teams.
• Discuss and agree on action to change the negative cultural values.

IKEA

IKEA is an international organization that deals with furniture. Since its inception, IKEA has gone ahead to venture into new markets. All these achievements are not without foundation. Success in many instances can be attributed to the culture of the workplace. Culture, in turn, determines how the general public will regard the services of a given organization.

IKEA operates in many markets that speak different languages. As an international company, IKEA trains natives from the regions they intend to venture (Blaszczyk 209). The reasoning behind this idea is that people want to identify with their people. The most common language is English since it is the most predominant language in the world. Employees at liberty to express themselves in a calm and friendly language that will work in favor of IKEA.

Communication

IKEA prides itself in that it has created an environment in which its employees can thrive. For them to thrive, horizontal and vertical information sharing is quite developed. Horizontal information sharing ensures that colleagues share ideas on how to improve their skills. On the other hand, vertical information sharing provides an opportunity for senior employees to communicate new strategies at the same time responding to the inquiries of the junior employees. Let it be known that in IKEA, all employees are free to communicate with each other (Blaszczyk 210). Emailing is the preferred mode of communication due to the vastness of the company.

Artifacts

IKEA is a leading dealer of furniture in the world. Over the years, the company has insisted on quality over quantity. The company produces customized products that are in line with customer preferences (Blaszczyk 209). Besides as it is the culture of different countries, there is a need of keeping a portrait of the present in their wall. IKEA admonishes open office plan for its junior staff while those in management have closed-door offices.

Stories, Myths, and Legends

All employees who have worked in IKEA are legends in every perspective; It is through their efforts that IKEA has developed to what it is now. This move is to encourage junior employees to be determined in their assignments (Vinay 20). Probably, what the public is not aware of is the nature in which IKEA operates. There is a popular opinion that the organization overworks its employees. This information is not true since IKEA compensates their workers with the hours they dedicate to work. IKEA trains its employees after they meet the prerequisite requirements.

Ceremonies

IKEA as a world leader holds parties every year to celebrate the past year and to motivate its employees for the coming year. Besides, employees get a chance to travel to a destination chosen by the top management to enjoy themselves. Employees get promoted purely on merit (Vinay 24). Workshops are organized every quarter help to furnish employees with relevant skills. IKEA has a policy of training its employees overseas where they have their headquarters. After successful training, the employees are posted to a workplace different from their home country.

Values, Ethics, and Codes

IKEA derived its name from coiling their prices to their quality. Value for customers' money is highly valued. One of its former leaders remarked that it did not matter where they had operations since all their clients get the same quality products from the "one design-suits-all." The IKEA way which facilitates its international expansion is a combination of sound business principle, characteristic leadership, and vision (Garvey 20). This culture is adopted from the Jewish culture. Among other values, the product range which is their identity, the IKEA spirit, doing business differently, profit gives IKEA resources, using the small available means to reach good results, being simple, taking responsibility and being optimistic that there is a glorious future are some of the other values.

To censure their "unique culture," the company usually trains managers whom they send to their branches to act as ambassadors. There is also a code of conduct where employees often wear the same uniform or casual dress in place of suits. Employees also refer to one another as co-workers to divert attention from the senior employees as well as to encourage the junior employees in their work (Garvey 24). When individuals feel that they have different abilities they are always given a chance to explore and try their talents.

Generally, IKEA encourages diversity from their many employees. Each employee is expected to retain their individuality and at the same time conforming to the requirements of the firm (Blaszczyk 210). Entrepreneurial minds are highly encouraged as well as the willingness to learn new techniques. Finally, all employees are encouraged to develop a spirit of togetherness since each adds value to his or her team.

Conclusion

IKEA has managed to thrive over the years due to its unique organizational culture all over the world. The value attached to their employees helps them to develop a desire to do their best. The company utilizes standardized production policies that ensure the maintenance of the company reputable brand. Although the practice mostly horizontal communication, their strategic decisions are enacted from their top management.

Issues of language, law, and culture are well taken care of through the excellent communication skills that they encourage their employees to exercise. To IKEA, good communication skills and organizational ethics are given preference over academic qualifications (Ashkan, 2010). They finally promote their workforce to be humble, simple and treat each other as an equal.

Good culture in any company will always lure clients to that company. Besides the quality of products, clients desire to be appreciated for choosing to shop from a given company. Treating customers right is among the surest ways of keeping them.

References

Blaszczyk, Regina. Design by IKEA: A Cultural History. 2016, pp. 209-210.

Lecturer Readings, Whole Organization and Multiple Organization interventions pp. 299-303.

Garvey, Pauline. Unpacking IKEA: Swedish Design for the Purchasing Masses. Routledge, 2017. Pp. 20-50.

Vinay, Ashmita. IKEA: The Furniture Guru-An Exploratory Study. 2017, pp. 20-25.