Organizational Culture

The places we work have a “culture”. It is affected by lots of variables like, who our “customers” are, what skills are needed to work there, what kind of work is it, what kind of people are there and who is the boss. Job satisfaction comes from doing what you love, but where you work is important. Physical and sales work brings a rowdier crowd than sedentary detailed office work.  Friendships blossom in good companies, because the employees are usually “birds of a feather”.

It is possible to find a boss you like and co-workers you like if the hiring managers understand who can fit in. Owners and bosses love it when everybody is happy and working well and shouldn’t let problems fester if they can intervene.

All organizations have a culture. Some are good and some are bad. This results from several factors.

To have a good culture, organizations need to have a common vision that addresses how they should operate and it needs to be based on what’s good for customers that can be delivered by the organization. The organization needs to operate to ensure profitable growth. Organizations need to make good decisions and pursue opportunities that are real and solid.

The leaders in these organizations need to avoid costly mistakes. The employees in these organizations need to be able to get jobs elsewhere when they are unhappy or insecure in their current jobs.

Organizations that are susceptible to overspending, wasteful practices, scams, wishful thinking, short-lived fads and group-think are likely to fail. Those organizations that perpetrate scams are also likely to fail.

Employees should be wary of wasteful practices and should discuss their concerns with their leaders. Many employees leave their organizations because they lose confidence in their leaders decisions.  Many employees leave to find jobs that are a better fit to what they want to do.

Assessing the culture of an organization needs to start with finding out what their customers, past employees and current employees have to say. Their perceptions will give you some insight to the organization’s strengths and weaknesses. 

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader