StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Organisational Culture: Life or Death - Case Study Example

Cite this document
Summary
Organisational Culture: Life or Death Rueben Choi Webster University Organisational Culture: Life or Death The essay seeks to critically analyse the given case study entitled, “Organisational culture: Life or death.” The analysis of this paper is divided into two categories and the first part will focus on the values that appear to be driving the doctors and nurses in hospitals to treat heart attack patients…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.8% of users find it useful
Organisational Culture: Life or Death
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Organisational Culture: Life or Death"

Organisational Culture: Life or Death Rueben Choi Webster Organisational Culture: Life or Death The essay seeks to critically analyse the given case study entitled, “Organisational culture: Life or death.” The analysis of this paper is divided into two categories and the first part will focus on the values that appear to be driving the doctors and nurses in hospitals to treat heart attack patients. The second part seeks to critically analyse the reason why a person’s work habits have to match the team culture in the hospitals portrayed in the case study.

A summary of the main points discussed in the paper will be given in the conclusion at the end. Values driving health staff to treat heart attack patients In order to outline and explain the values that appear to be driving the doctors and nurses to treat heart attack patients, it is imperative to begin by defining the meaning of values in order to gain a full understanding of the whole concept. Ivancevich, Konopake & Matteson (2011, p. 36), define values “guidelines and beliefs that a person uses when confronted with a situation in which a choice must be made.

” Basically, the values guide a person to behave in a consistent manner across different situations and they enable that person to delineate the difference between something that is right or wrong. Thus, in the given case study, it has been observed that research conducted in eleven different hospitals showed that rapid, efficient and top quality treatment is important and crucial for survival. The shared value systems by the nurses and doctors in the hospitals mentioned in the case study are the major forces driving them to treat heart attack patients.

Basically, values are important because they generally influence attitudes and behaviour of the people in an organisation (Robbinson, 1993). In most cases, people in an organisation have shared values and beliefs as stated by their culture. Thus, in this particular case, the realization that heart attacks are life threatening is the main force driving health staff to treat cases that are related to heart attacks. Their values are based on the notion that life is crucial and it has to be saved and this notion is also supported by the culture which rewards quality improvement in the healthcare delivery service.

In this case, the value systems of the hospitals mentioned above play a pivotal role in shaping the behaviour of the staff to respond positively to life threatening situations such as heart attacks. It can be noted that the values lay the foundation for understanding of the attitudes which shape the perceptions of the members of staff to be in a position to make interpretations of right and wrong. In this particular case, it is generally perceived that saving life is a right decision by the doctors and nurses operating in the above mentioned hospitals.

Reasons why a person’s work habits have to match team culture It is widely believed that a person’s behaviour and performance in an organisation are shaped by organisational culture (Schultz, 2003). Therefore, it is important to define the meaning of team or organisational culture in order to understand how it impacts on behaviour and ultimately performance of the employees. Basically, organisational culture is defined as “a system of shared assumptions held by members of the same company which distinguishes one organisation from the other,” (Werner, 2003, p. 25). Whilst every person comes from a different background that is characterised by different values and cultures, research has shown that each individual’s work habits must match team culture such as the one depicted in the hospitals shown in the given case study.

Organisational culture is primarily concerned with portraying shared understanding among the employees within the same organisation which is based on shared values. There are likely chances that a person sharing the same values with the organisation is likely to share its same vision as well. Given such a scenario, it can be noted that all efforts will be driven towards the attainment of the same goals. This in turn leads to improvement of employee performance as well as the organisation as a whole.

The concept of organisational culture is mainly concerned with inferring shared meanings in an organisation that manifest themselves in behaviour, feelings, artefacts and language (Shein, 1985 as cited in Wener, 2003, p. 36). Such knowledge generated from shared meanings is acquired through the socialisation process which is used to support the goals of the organisation. Every organisation is characterised by its own culture which is used to design its policies, employee support structures as well as the code of conduct which is why organisations ought to implement their desired organisational cultures which can guide their operations.

Whilst people come from different backgrounds with different cultural values, these have to be merged into one team culture that can give them an identity. Thus, individual work habits have to match the team culture in hospitals depicted above in order to attain the same goals based on shared understanding of the cultural values. Conclusion Over and above, it can be concluded that the concept of cultural values is very important in the operations of every organisation. The behaviour of the employees in any given organisation is shaped by its cultural values which in turn impact on their performance.

Therefore, it is important for every member in the organisation to match individual habits with team culture so as to be in a position to share the same identity. It has been noted that doctors and nurses portrayed in the case given above are driven by the organisational values that are supportive to initiatives meant to give quality treatment to heart attack patients. References Ivancevich, J.M., Konopaske, R. & Matteson, M.T. (2011). Organisational behaviour and management. 9th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Irwin.

Pfeffer, J. (1998). The Human equation: Building profits by putting people first. Boston MA: Harvard Business School Press. Robbins, S.P. (1993). Organisational behaviour: Concepts, controversies and applications. 6th Edition. NJ: Prentice Hall. Schultz et al 2003. Organisational behaviour. CT. Van Schaik Publishers Werner, A. (2007). Organisational behaviour. 2nd Edition. CT. Van Schaik Publishers.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Organisational Culture: Life or Death Case Study”, n.d.)
Organisational Culture: Life or Death Case Study. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/management/1445895-week
(Organisational Culture: Life or Death Case Study)
Organisational Culture: Life or Death Case Study. https://studentshare.org/management/1445895-week.
“Organisational Culture: Life or Death Case Study”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/management/1445895-week.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Organisational Culture: Life or Death

Relationship between Organizational Culture, Leadership Behaviour and Job Satisfaction

Cultural Differences and People Management Table of Contents Approaches to Research 3 A Glimpse of Chinese culture 6 Relationship between culture and Leadership 7 Management Development and Cultural Difference 10 The lecturer's brief introduction, upon the module concerning cultural differences and people management, strongly motivated me to follow and indulge into my present and future career prospects gaining a deep understanding regarding my cultural background....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Root Metaphors in Understanding Organisational Behavior

Some of the metaphors that have been used over time in reference to organizational behavior include organism, culture, machine and political systems.... Organizations as Cultures culture refers to a way of a people hence organizational culture denotes a pattern of basic assumptions adopted within a group.... In analyzing organizations as cultures, the Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory proposes that organizations adopt a culture as determined by the region they are located in (Hofstede, 1991, p....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

Organisational culture and competitive advantage: is there a link Discuss

organisational culture and Competitive Advantage College Date organisational culture and Competitive Advantage In the recent past, organisations have been drafting varying cultural models that link the organisation's mission, vision, and objectives to its overall approach in its daily operations.... hellip; This follows a widely raging belief that organisational culture has an active role in shaping the behaviour of all employees in an organisation, aligning all behaviours towards a common goal of realising the objectives of the company....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

The Function of HRM in Business Organizations

hellip; Added to that, while the HRM model operative within an organisation is largely determined by the intra- and extra-environmental cultures, HRM tools and strategies can directly influence organisational culture and, indeed, may affect a transformation within it.... In other words, while one cannot deny the fundamental role which compensation plays in affecting employee motivation levels, enhancing organisational commitment and, ultimately, transforming the dominant organisational culture, it would be fallacious and, consequently, indefensible to ignore a host of other HRM practices which, taken as a collectivity, effectively modify organisational culture and increase employees' commitment....
15 Pages (3750 words) Essay

The correlation between organisational culture and security

organisational culture, defined as "A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way you perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems (Schein,1992, p.... hellip; The rationale behind the theoretical postulates for the existence of a symbiotic relationship between organisational culture and the security environment at large is the basis of this paper....
16 Pages (4000 words) Essay

Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions model in relation to Jordanian culture

The study aims to assess the validity of Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions model in relation to Jordanian National culture and the implications the current national culture carries for key HRM practices.... his section of the study of areas such as theories on culture, the country profile of Jordan....
22 Pages (5500 words) Essay

Culture in Organisational Literature

It evolves and grows in an environment of the organisational culture (Heaphy, 2007).... The discomfort associated with this disruption creates… However, changing organisational culture is difficult if not impossible and requires a different approach to other types of change initiatives. During the 1980s and more recently, private consultants advanced the role In-depth study of culture change in the corporate and organisational literature reveals it to be centered on human relations management for higher productivity....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

Strategic Management: Organisational Culture

organisational culture as a concept is an abstraction.... This research is being carried out to evaluate notions of organizational culture and importance of organizational culture, to explore the organizational culture and competitive advantage, and to discuss organizational change management.... hellip; The researcher states that culture is a dynamic phenomenon and a coercive background that has a multiplicity of ways of influencing organisations....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us