Self-assessment grid

Tick (✓) “Yes” or “No” answers in appropriate columns and lines to self-assess your knowledge and skills.	Yes	No
I know:
the topical vocabulary “HR management”;
the rules of pronunciation of the letter p in different phonetic contexts;
the meaning of the conjunction both … and;
the meaning of the passive causative structure to get sth + Participle II;
the most common Latin abbreviations;
some tips for interviewees.
I can:
choose a proper preposition from the alternative;
match the names of jobs with their definitions;
entitle the text according to its content;
speak on HR management and related issues;
can make/take job interviews.
Total number of positive/negative answers:

Module 6

Pre-reading issues

1. What is culture?

2. Does organizational culture exist? If the answer is “Yes,” define it.

3. Can organizational culture be created and managed or does it develop naturally?

4. Think of a well-known organization. What national characteristics can you identify in its organizational culture?

5. What steps would you take to analyze organizational culture?

Organizational culture

When asked what organizational culture is, most managers are likely to give a simple answer: it is the way we do things around here. Culture of an organization is a system made up of cultural artеfacts, values and assumptions. Moreover, organizational culture is the collective behavior of humans that are part of an organization.

Organizational culture refers to culture in any type of organization be it school, university, not-for-profit groups, government agencies or business entities. In business, terms such as “corporate culture” and “company culture” are sometimes used to refer to a similar concept.

Organizational culture can neither be changed nor developed fast enough to remain competitive.

HRM is a reflection of the culture in which it operates. HRM and organizational culture are interlinked. If one changes, the other also has to follow.

In organizational cultures where employee involvement is common, it is more likely to have higher employee satisfaction and motivation than in the ones that do not favor employee involvement.

Whichever management style or culture an organization adopts, it has to find ways to facilitate it. The most effective ways this can be done is through key HR businesses: ongoing training, creating continuous communication channels, involving employees, establishing clear goals, creating a fair reward system, etc.

Organizations often have very differing cultures as well as subcultures. A company may have its own unique culture. In larger organizations, there are diverse and sometimes conflicting cultures that co-exist due to different characteristics of the management team. Small organizations tend to be more informal in organizational culture.

National and regional cultures are also significant in shaping the organizational cultures. Different nations have different work ethics, employee behavior, organizational norms, rules, etc. In other words, the way they do things around there is different from the way we do things around here.

HR managers should be knowledgeable about the national and regional factors that affect employee behavior. The role that HRM has in ensuring employee groups and employee identity is the core of managing a healthy organizational culture.