12. Organisational Culture

Organisational culture is a collection of values, beliefs, policies, traditions and attitude that are shared by people and groups in the organisation which constitutes a greater part of what they do (Mullins, 2002). The most dominant cultural style in the organisation is the tough-guy, macho culture. This means, individuals in the organisation take high risks in what they do and get quick feedback on their results (Mullins, 2002). This encourages individuals to be creative and innovative. The organisation’s culture is shifted to collectivism rather than individualism. This means that team members work together and share ideas in order to achieve company goals. Culture is highly important to an organisation because it provides consistency in values and outlook, and also reduces complexity and uncertainty (Mullins, 2002). It is important for organisational performance, decision making and control (Mullins, 2002).

Work behaviour of employees is influenced by the team’s norms and values. Values are those conditions or characteristics that members of a group regard as valuable and important (Mullins, 2007). Norms are specific rules set to handle specific situations in the team while values are more general.

Differences in culture and values can occur between individuals, and also between the organisation and an individual. Cultural differences between individuals can be resolved by listening: getting each of the individuals to listen to the other person and learn from what ever they have to offer. Persistence in differences can lead to mediation between parties. Conflicts between the organisation and the individual might be resolved by asking the individual to go through the organisation’s goals and objectives to know what directions can be taken.

The organisation should be aware of the environment where they live. Environmental awareness is one of the most talked about topics these days. Getting involved in activities that will help save the environment and also helping the citizens in the area where the company operates is a good ethical policy and a good promotional tool too.

13. Effective meeting for Managers

Before the meeting, managers need to ring up or send emails to every member of the team or those attending the meeting to find out if they are going to be present or not. Managers have to go over the last minutes taken and write out the agenda for the upcoming meeting. This agenda shows all that will be discussed in the meeting and how long each topic is going to take. The purpose of the agenda in this case is to talk about the need for training.

Minutes are taken during meetings to give an overview of what was going on in the meeting by recording the number of people present and the case and responses of the agenda in front of participants.

The role of a chairperson is to carry out the reading of the agenda and decide for how long a particular topic will last (Mullins, 2002). The ‘chair’ is responsible for maintaining order in the meeting in a disinterested manner, and is selected by the team to preside over meetings (Mullins, 2002).

The secretary in a meeting is responsible for typing out the minutes that show what has been discussed. The role of the secretary is very important for recalling what has been discussed and also recording what has been said as evidence.

Every meeting begins with a welcome speech which is then followed by reading the minutes for the last meeting. This is to remind individuals about what was discussed previously. The agenda is then read to the other individuals who can then suggest ideas to meet the objective of the goal set in the agenda. The agenda only gives focus to the team and does not provide the complete solution. Minutes are taken in a meeting to remind the team of what important points were written.

The success of the meeting is measured by knowing how many people commented on the agenda and are willing to move it forward.