Organizational Culture Impact

Introduction

Organizational culture is a set of key values, assumptions, and beliefs that are shared by an organization's members. The combined key values create a custom attitude or culture that is followed by the organization's members. The culture represents the "personality of the organization" (McNamara, 1999). Through the observation of employee behavior one can help predict an organization's culture that influences its business attitude. Organizational culture can also help distinguish two companies from each other. One company may have an aggressive culture while the other a more conservative culture. Most importantly, organizational culture is a key element that helps define, support and reinforces the standard for appropriate behavior within the organization (Gray-Larson, 2005).

The influence of organizational culture

Project managers are thrust into daily situations with various other organizations such as suppliers, vendors, subcontractors, government and regulatory agencies and in some cases community groups. As one may expect, different organizations may have different cultures. It is important for a project manager to understand these differences in order to form successful partnerships.

Can culture influence sponsorship? The answer is yes. The dictionary defines sponsor "as an individual or organization who assumes responsibility for some other person or thing --- a person or an organization that pays for or plans and carries out a project or activity" (Dictionary). The literature suggests that an organization culture is successful only when top management; team members and middle managers actively support the defined cultural direction; therefore, if an organization expects to grow and prosper, a culture that supports growth and prosperity must be implemented and adhered to throughout the organization. Culture can influence project prioritization if the strategic goals of the organization differ from the project goals. If the culture is deeply rooted in an organization, certain projects may not be given priority as they may be perceived as not having a significant impact on the bottom line. The culture may be strong such that projects that meet or agree closely with the culture of the company are given priority.

"Ultimately, culture helps create social order within an organization. Imagine what it would be like if members didn't share similar beliefs, values, and assumptions--chaos! The customs, norms, and ideals conveyed by the culture of an organization provide the stability and predictability in behavior that is essential for an effective organization"(REF 1).

Add how org culture can create scenarioSome companies encourage its senior executives to serve on not-for-profit agency boards, and the company and its people contribute to the welfare of their local communities and to the world community at large. This tradition is driven neither from the top down nor the bottom up. Instead, it is simply a part of our individual personalities and a basic tenet of the company's collective culture: The right company with the right culture can help people. Companies can connect and protect people not only through the products and services that they bring to they customers, but also through how they live they lives and what they do on their own time.

Project Leadership

Leadership provides essential elements to project success.