Organizational culture concepts and applications

Organizational Culture Nursing

Organizational Culture & Characteristics: In simple terms, organizational culture is "the way we do things here," as one online site described the evolution of the idea behind what is now thought of as being the working whole of the combination of beliefs, assumptions, values and behaviors that reflect the commonality of the people who work together in a given setting (Dodek, et al., 2010:669-670). It is a system of shared meaning. But what exactly this means varies. Not all collections of employees generate a working organizational culture. As such, it is now assumed that there needs to be certain levels of stability and a history of accomplishment in order for an organizational culture to be successful. (Boan and Funderbunk, 2003:3).

Functional and Dysfunctional Effects: Success, however, has drawbacks even as it serves a purpose. In general, organizational culture is considered a good quality because it allows for the development of patterns and practices of behavior that can be seen and usually agreed upon. And that means, of course, that compliance and improvements can be measured (Dodek, 2010: 670). In such a setting it can be argued that the system that underlies the process allows for innovation, for the development of outcome and team orientations, and an attention to details. On the other hand, structure can be limiting. Some believe that organizational culture can make it difficult for introducing diversity, allowing for variation and growth in the acceptance of new ideas, and very challenging conditions when management wants to exercise control or as businesses merge or attempt to address serious financial or other struggles (Organizational Behavior, 2009; Robbins and Judge, 2012:__).

Creating and Sustaining a Culture: Generally organizational culture gets started as the creatures build on what they know, understand or trust to be true. It is these expectations that first get taught as the founders' model what is expected. Everything from formal, written rules and expectations to informal stories, rituals and even a common language then serve to sustain these expectations (Organizational Behavior, 2009; Robbins and Judge, 2012:__).

Communicating to Employees: In the best of settings, communication of good behaviors and expectations reinforces the cultural norms, though this has not been well studied in health care (Welch, 2006). But the heart of this is that communication works best when it is used to offer rewards for success and growth (Organizational Behavior, 2009; Robbins and Judge, 2012:__). The best cultures seem to build on the strengths of employees, reward those who share those experiences, and offer tools and opportunities for individuals and teams to recognize their accomplishments. Well-received and accepted communication tools can likely help improve organizational effectiveness (Welch, 2006).

Ethical Cultures in Health Care: As good as healthy organizational cultures can be, they too can get sick or lose their way. This can be seen as a form of "ethical drift" whereby employees either take for granted that certain value assumptions prevail, or lose track of them over time as they become accustom to complying with what is expected (Squazzo, 2011). Recent financial struggles in the health sector may be forcing nurses and other providers to become more aware of innovative ways to do tasks in more cost effective ways. While this is being shown to have many patient benefits, it has to be done in a way that is accepted by other employees in order to ensure that individual practices don't weaken the normative standards of the operational culture (Dodek, 2010: 673).