Organizational culture types and their influence on decision-making processes

Decision Making and Organizational Culture Speech

What is organizational culture? Basically, just like any culture, the organizational culture of a business or a nonprofit is the personality of the organization. Some personality types of organizational cultures has been identified as that of an "academy culture," where employees are highly skilled and tend to stay in the organization, while working their way up the ranks. In contrast, a "baseball team" type of organizational culture is one where employees are free agents in a fast-paced, high-risk environment. (McNamara, 1999)

Another kind of organizational culture has been defined as a "clubby" organizational culture, where the most important requirement for employees is to fit into a group, versus a "fortress" organizational culture where are many opportunities for those with timely, specialized skills n a highly competitive environment. (McNamara, 1999) The fit of the culture to the personality employees and the nature business will determine the organization's success. The military's hierarchical or club culture suits its singular mission well, while the fortress environment has benefited the competitive financial industry.

Regardless, an organization's culture affects the decision making process. In academic cultures, often experience and hierarchy dictates who makes the decisions. In more competitive organizational cultures like a 'baseball team' or a fortress environment, often who is on top in terms of sales and reputation will dominate. (BOLA, 2005) Also, the organization's time and place in its overall life cycle can determine its decision-making and an organization's culture can change over time. (Hulpke, 2005)