Organizational Culture: Management, Gender, and Public Sector

Introduction: Defining Organizational Culture

The success of a business depends largely on the tenor set by its ownership, management, and personnel in concert with the goals of its mission and the administrative nature of its operation. This shapes what is known as a company's organizational culture — the general tone in which communication, production, and innovation are fostered, either toward the achievement or failure of desired outcomes. A positive organizational culture thrives on the strength of a shared motivation, evident team effectiveness, and a core of qualified and respected leaders. These conditions make a company both a functional business and a potentially rewarding place to work.

For employees, the opportunity to work in an environment where learning new things is essential to day-to-day business is often a significant driving force. Organizational culture is a somewhat abstract but omnipresent concept defining the behavior, expectations, and experiences of all who operate within and come into engagement with an organization. The research presented here reveals that organizational culture is impacted by a broad array of factors, including the orientation of management, the accommodation of diversity such as gender differences, and the degree to which positive rather than negative aspects of the broader culture are reflected within the organization.

Managerial Orientation and Role Delegation

First and foremost, managerial orientation plays a substantial part in defining organizational culture. As Shafritz observes, "the managerial function finds its only outlet through the members of the organization (body corporate). Whilst the other functions bring into play material and machines, the managerial function operates only on the personnel." (Shafritz, 48) Without question, this is a defining aspect of an organization's culture: managerial orientation impacts the experience of personnel, directs the activities of teams, and guides the organization through its own challenges. Moreover, the manager is the channel through which administrative goals and visions are passed to the rest of the organization, meaning that this position carries a significant degree of influence over the realization of a desired organizational culture.

One of the keys to a positive managerial orientation is the capacity to delegate responsibility while simultaneously establishing consistency within the company. This consistency is a key outcome of positive organizational culture, with roles, goals, and procedural norms defined clearly enough to reduce confusion, frustration, and disagreement. As the Shafritz text notes, "the object of division of work is to produce more and better work with the same effort. The worker always on the same part, the manager concerned always with the same matters, acquire an ability, sureness and accuracy which increase their output." (Shafritz, 48) Creating an environment where these conditions are present contributes significantly to personnel's sense that they are part of a functional entity that values their contributions and channels them toward consistent, organized ends.

Works Cited

Shafritz, J. J., Ott, S., & Jang, Y. S. (2005). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Stivers, C. (2002). Gender Images in Public Administration: Legitimacy and the Administrative State, 2nd Ed. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications.

Van Wart, M. (1998). Changing Public Sector Values. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc.