IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE IN AN ORGANIZATION

In any organization, what each individual brings into the work environment in more ways than just their work is of great importance. A new member of staff coming into an organization will come with his/her own past experiences, personality and social habits that could affect the work environment positively or even negatively. And therefore it is very important for any administrator to select the right kind of employee who not only fits the job, but who would also fit in with the work place culture of that particular organization.

What Is Culture? Culture is the environment which the organization creates for itself and its employees. It can be likened to a human’s personality which is made up of values, beliefs and behaviours shared by a set of individuals. Culture is however greatly influenced by the founders, directors, CEO’s and managerial staff as they play an important role in decision making as well as strategic planning in an organization. Not only is it greatly influenced by the managers but also by the ones employed into the organization. There are many types of cultures that can be experienced in a working environment, and how the senior staff members balance this could prove to be of vital importance to the organization. Many classifications with regards to types of culture have been made, some of these that you may stumble upon within a working environment include: 1. Eastern Culture
Eastern culture is heavily influenced by religion. It generally refers to the beliefs, values and behaviours that originate from the Far East of Asia which include countries such as China, Japan, Vietnam and the likes. 2. Western Culture
Just as in the Eastern Culture, this is also greatly influenced by religion. Western Culture is arguably the most popular culture in the world today with its effect spread far and wide across the globe. From its work ethics, education systems to even religious ideologies. The term ‘Western Culture’ is nowadays used to refer to the European countries as well as those of the United States. 3. African culture
The African continent is broken down to two main cultures; North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Africa is made of many tribes, ethnic and social groups. The culture has its key features consisting of a large number of ethnic groups within it — some countries having up to 40 or more — as well as the diversity of beliefs.
Northwest Africa has strong ties to European and South-western Asia. The area is heavily influenced by Islam and is a major player in the Arab world. The harsh environment has provided an opportunity to many in the development of Sub-Saharan Africa culture, due the number of languages and other factors that have sprung up among the population.
Why Is It Important? Bringing together different ethnicities, religions and behaviours will end up shaping your work environment. Cultures are more or less unwritten laws that govern the work environment. And though you cannot exactly see culture you can quite easily feel its effect the moment you step into the organization in areas such as the language spoken and daily work practices. If culture is not respected, consequences are bound to occur: 1. Efficiency and Ideas In many countries today that are largely populated by immigrants, it’s very easy to spot the fact the country has been influenced by a lot of outside culture. With that scenario, you find many countries passing laws such as the freedom to worship, so as to make the citizens/immigrants feel welcomed and not feel like outcasts. At the end of the day, when this respected, both parties will profit from it; immigrants offer diversity, fresh ideas and new norms, into the country brought from where they once lived. In the same way, if an organization fails to make room for an employee’s culture, they may end up being the losers in this case. A happy employee is an efficient employee. So it’s critically important for an organization to allow each individuals to work in their own preferred setting up to a certain extent, so as to ensure that they work to their full potential. 2. Employee-Manager Relations
Culture flows from the top; from the decision makers of the company. When a manager chooses to respect an employee’s culture, not only will the employee be motivated to work better, but he/she will feel appreciated which will in turn draw respect towards the senior staff members. For example, take the case of a Muslim CEO, employing a Christian to his firm. If the CEO refuses to respect the employees religion, by allowing him to enjoy holidays such as Easter, it could bring a lot of friction into the company especially between the two and end up making the employee feel out of place. 3. Co-Worker Relations
Whenever staff recruitment and selection is in the process, the HR department must be very careful not bring into the organization a set of individuals with a great contrast in culture. Things such as language, should be acknowledged by the department or else they may cause a communication lapse in the organization.

The importance of culture cannot in an organization cannot be measured, it may not even be able to be exhausted. But the truth of the matter is, if it is not acknowledged and given room for in any organization, then the working environment may easily turn into a very dull place. The culture of the organization can be spotted the moment a person comes into the workplace, from how people speak to even how they dress. So before bringing in new staff members, an administrator must first him/herself these two major questions; what is the culture of my organization? Will the person I’m about to employ fell out of place, or will he/she fit just right? If an employer can answer these two questions well, then he is on his way to having a well-motivated, efficient and — if selected well— diverse workforce.