Organizational culture and its tools

“When I hear corporate leaders refer to values and cultures as soft questions, I wonder what they think is tough. In my experience, cultural beliefs are the heart and soul of all business issues. Beliefs, shared values, can be the key that unleashes the talents of all the people who work in an organization, more than heroic working hours, more than economic incentives and, of course, more than just strategy. Values can be the true foundation of success. ”

Tandall Tobias.

Culture is what identifies us as people and determines the behavior that we human beings have. Culture has had different approaches throughout history, but each of these approaches brings together the characteristics as an integrated whole.

All organizations are made up of human resources and this represents the engine of each organization, therefore, the organizational culture becomes an indispensable element for its proper functioning.

This article will analyze the organizational culture from different parts, the types of models, the functions, the levels and the elements that make up the levels. In addition, a model will be shown to evaluate culture and a series of procedures to create and change it, without leaving aside changes and the relationship with business strategies.

CULTURE

Culture is the set of explicit and implicit patterns that mark a behavior that identifies a set of individuals who belong to an organization who in turn are governed by norms, laws and behaviors, for example language, marriage, religion or art (see Illustration 1).

Examples of person from different cultures

Over the years, the concept of culture has evolved in tandem with intellectual knowledge, which is why John H. Bodley (BODLEY, nd) brings together each of the approaches to culture and subdivides them into:

Topic: Culture consists of a list of topics or categories, such as social organization, religion, or economy.History: Culture is the social heritage, or tradition, that is passed on to future generations. Behavioral: Culture is the Shared and learned human behavior, a way of life Normative: Culture are ideals, values, or rules for living Functional: Culture is the way that human beings solve problems of adaptation to the environment or life in common, Mental: Culture It is a complex of ideas, or learned habits, that inhibit impulses and distinguish people from animals. Structural: Culture consists of ideas, symbols, or behaviors, modeled or patterned and interrelated. Symbolic:culture is based on arbitrarily assigned meanings that are shared by a society.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Some definitions of organizational culture are:

It is the set of values (what is important), beliefs (how things work) and thoughts (individual beliefs) that the members of an organization have in common (MÉNDEZ, 2011).

It is the union of norms, habits and values that in one way or another are shared by the people and / or groups that shape an institution, and who in turn are capable of controlling the way in which they interact with their own. environment and among themselves (DIAZ, 2013).

The organizational culture will be the DNA of the company and will show the behavior of its members, in addition, it will always guide decision-making and future activities of the participants in the organization.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE MODELS

Improven consultants (IMPROVEN, 2004) define four types of cultural orientations based on the objectives pursued by the company and the values associated with each of them, which will give rise to specific cultural guidelines (see Illustration 2). In this model, four profiles of organizations are defined according to their culture:

Power-oriented organizations, whose objective is competitiveness in which the values associated with this orientation will be all those that reinforce the positions of power within it, those that favor centralized decision-making and control over people.

Type of cultural orientations depending on their objectives.

Standards-oriented organizations whose goal is security and stability. Complying strictly with the norm, assuring responsibilities and observing the strict order in the procedures, will be the values associated with this type of orientation. Results-oriented organizations, identified with the objectives of efficiency and optimization of resources. The company's structure, functions and activities are all valued in terms of their contribution to the objective. People-oriented organizations. Its objective is the development and satisfaction of its members. It will therefore be associated with values related to personal fulfillment.

FUNCTIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Several ways that administrators use culture:

Provide an identity to its members. Facilitate collective commitment.  Promote the stability of the social system.  Normalize the behavior of individuals.

FACTORS THAT MODEL ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Culture is created over time from a series of factors that shape it (CARRIÓN, 2007), these are 3:

External factors: the country's culture, religion, sector (level of competition, regulation, type of dominant professional) and the professional characteristics of the people who work in the company (training and experiences).Internal factors: leaders and managers (leadership styles, communication, values and behaviors) own strategy, organizational structure, human resources policies (selection, training and development, performance evaluation, remuneration, relations with workers) information systems, union movements. Historical factors: founders, crises, heroes and myths.

LEVELS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

One of the models to analyze organizational culture is the three-level model (GORDON, 1997), which is composed (see Illustration 3) of:

Artifacts: are the audible and visible patterns of behavior, technology and art. Values: is the personal interpretation of the level 1 patterns. Assumptions: what are personal ideas and assumptions that affect behavior.

Organizational culture levels.

A more recent model describes the culture of the organization as something dynamic, because assumptions, values, artifacts, and symbols interact in four cultural processes:

Manifestation: Cultural assumptions are revealed in the perceptions, knowledge, and emotions of members of the organization. The realization: Perceptions, knowledge, and emotions are transformed into tangible artifacts. Artifacts can include rites, rituals, myths, and stories. Symbolism: Concrete artifacts take on symbolic meaning. Interpretation: The meaning of symbolism processes is determined by people inside and outside the organization.

ARTIFACTS

Most of the time we observe culture through its artifacts, at this level the components of an organization's culture influence the mission statement heroes and heroines myths and stories rituals and ceremonies as well as provisions physical (GORDON, 1997).

THE MISSION STATEMENT

A company's culture reflects the basic organizational philosophy of its leaders. This philosophy, as well as the most basic values, beliefs and assumptions that support the culture of the organization, are usually expressed in the company's mission (See Illustration 4).

The mission of an organization represents organizational philosophy

HEROES AND HEROINS

They are those people who transmit the culture because they embody the values of the company. The leader who is considered a hero or heroine reinforces the basic values of the organization's culture. The role of these heroic figures act as role models and are symbols and, therefore, representatives of the organization to the outside world, preserve the special qualities of the organization, establish performance parameters, motivate employees and make the success is achievable and humane.

MYTHS AND STORIES

Myths are the stories of the heroes and heroines of the company that serves to transmit and take root in culture. These are insistently reported on spectacular cases of promotion.

RITUALS AND CEREMONIES

Rituals, such as showcasing a team's achievements or end-of-the-year results and ceremony, such as farewell dinners or employee of the month awards, contribute to the company's culture by highlighting the values basic of the organization. The award of a badge for 25 years of service for example reflects a company that awards loyalty value. These events, which are usually linked to a corresponding organizational account of the merits of years of service than in the company, which are usually linked to a corresponding organizational account of the merits of years of service in the company, may explain new patterns. behavior or reinforce existing ones.

PHYSICAL PROVISIONS

The selection and arrangement of offices and furniture often reveal important information about the company's culture and its underlying values.

EVALUATION AND MEASUREMENT TOOLS

In order to generate a diagnosis, we proceed to follow the staggered methodology (CEBALLOS, K, & P) to measure the culture in an organization:

1) Initial contact:

It must be determined that what is needed is a study of the organizational culture. It is the consultant who, realizing the dimensions, content and characteristics of the situation, discovers that what is required is a study of this type.

The consultant must request all the existing printed information in the organization:

Organizational charts Slogans Official histories Beliefs Awards Awards Definitions of important dates, etc. Examination of cultural artifacts

A study of the different writings of the organization must be carried out at this stage, what is printed in these documents is not the entire organizational culture, but its official aspects, those that are recognized as valid and convenient for the formal instances of the organization.

An example of a checklist that can be used to evaluate artifacts within an organization is in Illustration 5.

Interview with qualified informants:

The selection to choose the informants must be made according to the criteria of representation of the main groups that could be estimated.

This interview should be semi-structured and address the reconstitution of the history of the organization, its main moments and milestones, memory of notable people "heroes" and "villains" who have been recorded in the organizational memory, their most outstanding events and their characteristics central.

Some of the questions that can be asked are:

What does being a member of this organization mean to you? What considerations are taken into account in deciding to hire and fire people? What do the rest of the members of this organization think about working in it? How shared is the philosophy of this organization?

	ELEMENT	EXISTS	DOES NOT EXIST	OBSERVATIONS
one	Internal magazines of the organization.
two	Anecdotes published.
3	Internal and eternal advertising.
4	Slogan.
5	Memorable dates.
6	Representative character of the organization.
7	Parameters to grant recognitions and prizes.

Group interview:

An attempt is made through these to obtain additional and complementary information to that collected in the individual interviews. The dynamics of this interview will lead to different results. Topics can be presented in the form of a request for help to better understand the style of the organization and certain uses, customs, or symbols that, because they are not common, have astonished the researcher.

Activities can be generated such as generating a story, through images or creating a drawing that represents as faithfully as possible what the organization represents or means for the members of the group and therefore explain each of the elements used.

Meeting of the consulting team with the participation of internal informants:

The objective of these meetings is to analyze the information obtained, comment on interpretations and suggestions from the internal consultants. The aim is to check, for example, if the interpretations of the groups are considered valid by the internal consultants and if the interpretations of the external consultants manage to make sense from the experience of the internal consultants.

Determination of hypotheses and the main cultural items:

In this stage we proceed to establish or elaborate the hypotheses about the cultural phenomena of the organization, the main items that make up that culture and the ways in which the cultural elements are related, as well as the way of operating of the Organizational Culture. In the rest of the diagnostic work, the hypotheses developed must be tested in order to corroborate and verify the existence of such a pre-established Culture.

Presentation of the preliminary results before an internal committee:

This presentation fulfills the function of informing the contracting party of the state of progress of the investigation, which is usually required by the organization itself, which wants to know the results promptly and if they coincide with its expectations.

Feedback is of crucial importance, since it will allow the research team to know the best way to present their results, the doubts and obstacles that need to be resolved. The language in which the reports must be written and, in addition, the doubts and expectations that must be satisfied and on which it is still necessary to gather additional information.

Preparation of questionnaires:

Because the distribution is sometimes not known exactly by the members of an organization, the dissemination of cultural items is important and it is convenient to prepare questionnaires with closed questions in which it is possible to survey the entire labor group or a sample significantly high of it.

The purpose of the questionnaires is to find out how widespread are the cultural elements that have already been detected through the instruments described in the previous stages. An example of this type of questionnaire is shown in Figure 6.

	STATEMENTS	EXCELLENT	WELL	REGULAR
one	The most important thing in this organization is the well-being of the people who work for it.
two	In this organization, people have their future assured.
3	This organization remembers all the historical dates and anecdotes that have occurred since its inception.
4	The leaders of this organization take employee appreciation into account in decision making.
5	If I had the opportunity to work for another organization right now I would.

Preparation of the final report.

In this report it is important to present in a coherent and systematic way the different elements that make up the Organizational Culture and the way in which they are related, forming a whole. It should be emphasized that the culture of the organization are the premises that guide the decision-making of the organization and that they often operate in the unconscious and that once they are known and possible to carry out much more effective interventions.

HOW TO CREATE AND CHANGE THE CULTURE OF THE ORGANIZATION.

The following model suggests that five guidelines be followed to institute culture changes (GORDON, 1997):

Develop a clear vision of the future direction of the organization and the culture that is required to fulfill it. Ensure the support of the upper management. Have the upper management model the new culture before the subordinates, as a behavior that represents the values, the expectations and desired behaviors. Operate changes in the organization's structure, human resource systems, and administrative styles and practices that underpin the culture change. If an organization adopted an egalitarian, people-oriented culture, managers will encourage, measure, and reward worker participation in decision-making. If an organization adopts a more authoritative, production-oriented culture, managers will need to encourage,Measure and reward worker obedience to authority and bottom line performance. Choose and socialize newcomers to fit into the new culture. retain or fire existing employees who do not fit in. The merger of two organizations or a radical cultural chant change into a single organization will likely result in some casualties among employees.

STRATEGY-CULTURE RELATION

One of the main problems when implementing a strategy is determining whether or not the culture of the organization fits with the formulated strategy.

If the culture-strategy is ideal, implementation problems will be minimized, on the contrary, you will have to decide what to do, change your strategy or culture.

Starting from the premise of changing the strategy or culture, four basic options can be considered (CARRIÓN, 2007).

Ignoring culture: it is a dangerous alternative, but it can be effective in the short term in extreme cases such as the survival of the organization. Bordering cultural barriers: identifying cultural barriers and skirting them, but without changing the strategy to be followed. make the necessary cultural change so that the strategy can be executed. This option is time consuming. Change strategy: structure a new strategy and adapt it to the culture.

In order to make a decision, it can be made based on the cultic change level strategy criticality matrix shown in Figure 7.

Quadrant 1: high strategic criticality and low level of cultural change. In this case, the short-term recommendation is to ignore the culture (business survival may be at stake and traumatic cultural changes are not required).

If necessary, in the short term the necessary barriers will be skirted to subsequently carry out the small cultural change that is required. If it is not necessary to border barriers, quickly today even in parallel to the execution, attempts will be made to change the culture.

Quadrant 2: high strategic criticality and high level of cultural change. In this situation, it is difficult to ignore the culture, so if the execution of the strategy is critical for the survival and competitiveness of the business, attempts will be made to skirt the cultural barriers in the short term and then the necessary cultural changes will be introduced for the lace.

Quadrant 3: low strategic criticality and low level of cultural change. In these cases, there is time to make the cultural change necessary to execute the strategy, and it is also not particularly traumatic.

Quadrant 4: low strategic criticality and high level of cultural change. In these situations, the strategy must be changed in the short term (time is available) and the organization must be prepared for the upcoming strategic change.

Strategic criticality matrix - cultural level

CHANGES WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS

Depending on the nature of the change and the role it plays in management, we can differentiate four types of change within organizations (CARRIÓN, 2007):

Harmonization: occurs when the change is gradual and the organization manages to be proactive (anticipate) Adaptation: since they cannot anticipate the changes, most organizations are forced to adapt to the pressures of the environment reactively but gradually. It involves changing the mental models of people and the processes, structures, and systems of the organization itself. Forced transformations: it occurs when the organization generates some type of serious strategic problem, possibly the managers are forced to transform the company. Planned transformation: occurs when managers anticipate the need to transform the organization before the pressures of the environment are evident.

Matrix of changes within the organization

CONCLUSION

"People do not dislike change, but being changed" Paul Evans

Organizational culture is a concept that is aimed at improving performance within an organization, through the active participation of its members.

Without a doubt, a strong organizational culture will allow the active participation of the collaborators, because they will have a feeling of commitment and belonging to the organization.

Organizational culture can be reflected inside and outside the organization creating tangible and intangible benefits.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BODLEY, J. (sf). Retrieved on March 12, 2015, from https://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~janzb/courses/phi4804/bodley1.htmCARRIÓN, MJ (2007). VISION TO ACTION STRATEGY (2 ed.). JULIO: ESIC.CEBALLOS, D., K, H., & P, O. (sf). Retrieved on MAY 21, 2015, from CULTACIONAL.BLOGSPOT: http://cultacional.blogspot.mx/2007/11/evaluacin-y-medicin-de-lacultura.htmlDIAZ, J. (APRIL 26, 2013). EMPRENDICES. Obtained from http://www.emprendices.co/que-es-la-cultura-organizacional-de-unaempresa/GORDON, J. (1997). ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR (5 ed.). MEXICO: PRENTICE-HALL INC. IMPROVEN, C. (APRIL 14, 2004). GESTIOPOLIS. Obtained from http://www.gestiopolis.com/tipos-cultura-organizacional/KOONTZ, H., & WEIHRICH, H. (1993). ADMINISTRATION (9 ed.). DF: MCGRAW HILL.MÉNDEZ, M. (AUGUST 30, 2011). GESTIOPOLIS. Obtained from http: // www.gestiopolis.com/la-cultura-organizacional-en-el-modelosinergico-de-administracion/RONDA, P. (JUNE 11, 2001) GESTIOPOLIS. Obtained from

The illustrations presented in this document were taken from Google images.

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