Organizational Culture and Sustained Competitive Advantage
Organizational culture is a defining feature of every organization. The unique culture that every organization displays has an affect on its ability to remain profitable. Culture can have either positive or negative affect on the ability of the organization to remain competitive. Much academic research up to this point has focused on theory and defining what is meant by culture and sustainable competitive advantage. This research expands theory by providing tools that can help companies manage organizational culture in such a way that it results in a greater competitive advantage. This research translates theory into practical applications that can be used by a number of organizations in various industries. The most important finding of this research is that companies can take measures to increase their competitive advantage by managing their organizational culture.
Organizational Culture and Sustained Competitive Advantage
Chapter 1: Introduction
Organizational culture is defined as a group that is separated by characteristics and features that set them apart from other groups. The characteristics of a culture can include beliefs, expectations, and norms the shape behavior (Hoecklin, 1995, p. 28). Organizational culture has a long history of being associated with competitive advantage. Bratton et al. (2010) if considered culture to be a deciding factor in the ability of the Japanese to gain a competitive advantage over their American rivals during the 1980s. Since then, organizational culture and its association with competitive advantage has been a key topic of interest among academic researchers.
Interest in the connection between culture and competitive advantage has developed into several different theoretical categories. Some of the more popular theoretical concepts in this area of study are the cognitive perspective, symbolic perspective, the structural and psychodynamic perspective. Defining culture has been a difficult task for researchers. Although there are now different camps of thought on the definition of culture, there is little disagreement that organizational culture has a significant impact on the success of the business. A literature review revealed that researchers are largely in agreement that organizational culture has a significant impact on competitive advantage. However, as with the basic definition of organizational culture itself, defining the impact of culture on competitive advantage has proven difficult.
This research will help to better define the connection between organizational culture and competitive advantage. It will explore both the tangible and intangible benefits and how organizational culture affects competitive advantage within the organization. This will provide a tool that organizations can use to help better manage organizational culture so that it results in the maximum benefits for the company. The purpose of this research will be to build consensus as to the effects of organizational culture on organizations. It will play an important role in assisting companies to leverage their organizational culture to achieve the greatest desired effect. This study will examine the cultural norms and standards within organizations using several general criteria developed through the literature review. It will then examine how managers interpret the effect of their own organizational culture on the competitiveness of their firm. It will use a combination of survey data and interviews to achieve this end.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide organizations within means to consciously manage their organizational culture so that their unique culture can be leveraged to achieve the greatest sustainable competitive advantage possible. It will provide organizations with a tool that they can use to assess the components of their corporate cultural that will best serve them in achieving competitive advantage over their competition. This project will give organizations a means to turn theory into practice in terms of how their organizational culture relates to their future success as an organization.
Aim
The aim of this study is to provide organizations with a new tool that they can utilize to improve their performance in a world that is characterized by increasing competition. This study will help organizations utilize the plethora of information that has developed on the topic of organizational culture and its relationship to sustainable competitive advantage.
Background
Researchers divide culture into several components. Artifacts are the visible part of culture that includes tangible elements of the culture. In the business setting, this includes the decoration and design of the office building, as well as how the employees dress. Language and social behavior in different settings is also a part of cultural artifacts. Cultural artifacts are tangible and easy to describe for those both inside of the work setting and for outsiders. Many of these...
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