Identify Two of the Four Major Elements of Organisation Culture

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The Answer is Organisation culture is defined as the pattern of artefacts, norms, values and basic assumptions about how to solve problems that works well enough to be taught to others.Culture is a process of social learning; it is the outcome of prior choices about and experiences with strategy and organisation design.It is also a foundation for change that can either facilitate or hinder organisation transformation.
Artefacts: Artefacts are the highest level of cultural manifestation.They are the visible symbols of the deeper levels of culture, such as norms, values and basic assumptions.Artefacts include members' behaviours, clothing and language, and the organisation's structures, systems, procedures and physical aspects, such as decor, space arrangements and noise levels.At Nordstrom, a high-end retail department store in the United States, the policy and procedure manual is rumoured to be one sentence, 'Do whatever you think is right.' In addition, stores promote from within, pay commissions on sales to link effort and compensation, provide stationery for salespeople to write personal notes to customers, and expect buyers to work as salespeople to better understand the customer's expectations.By themselves, artefacts can provide a great deal of information about the real culture of the organisation because they often represent the deeper assumptions.The difficulty in their use during cultural analysis is interpretation; an outsider (and even some insiders) has no way of knowing what the artefacts represent, if anything.
Norms.Just below the surface of cultural awareness are norms guiding how members should behave in particular situations.These represent unwritten rules of behaviour.Norms generally are inferred from observing how members behave and interact with each other.At Nordstrom, norms dictate that it's okay for members to go the extra mile to satisfy customer requests and it's not okay for salespeople to process customers who were working with another salesperson.
Values.The next-deeper level of awareness includes values about what ought to be in organisations.Values tell members what is important in the organisation and what deserves their attention.Because Nordstrom values customer service, the sales representatives pay strong attention to how well the customer is treated.Obviously, this value is supported by the norms and artefacts.
Basic assumptions.At the deepest level of cultural awareness are the taken-for-granted assumptions about how organisational problems should be solved.These basic assumptions tell members how to perceive, think and feel about things.They are non-confrontable and non-debatable assumptions about relating to the environment and about human nature, human activity and human relationships.For example, a basic assumption at Nordstrom is the belief in the fundamental dignity of people; it is morally right to treat customers with extraordinary service so that they will become loyal and frequent shoppers.
Students will need to identify examples of the particular elements in the case study organisation and assess the extent to which these elements facilitate or hinder organisation transformation.Where the organisation may not have undergone significant change, students can hypothesise drawing on the available literature.

Identify Two of the Four Major Elements of Organisation Culture

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