ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Organizational Culture
PSY 516
Liberty University
ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
An organization's culture defines the proper way to behave within the organization. This culture
consists of shared beliefs and values established by leaders and then communicated and
reinforced through various methods, ultimately shaping employee perceptions, behaviors and
understanding. Organizational culture sets the context for everything an enterprise does. Because
industries and situations vary significantly, there is not a one-size-fits-all culture template that
meets the needs of all organizations.
A strong culture is a common denominator among the most successful companies. All have
consensus at the top regarding cultural priorities, and those values focus not on individuals but
on the organization and its goals. Leaders in successful companies live their cultures every day
and go out of their way to communicate their cultural identities to employees as well as
prospective new hires. They are clear about their values and how those values define their
organizations and determine how the organizations run.0
If an organization's culture is going to improve the organization's overall performance, the
culture must provide a strategic competitive advantage, and beliefs and values must be widely
shared and firmly upheld. A strong culture can bring benefits such as enhanced trust and
cooperation, fewer disagreements and more-efficient decision-making. Culture also provides an
informal control mechanism, a strong sense of identification with the organization and shared
understanding among employees about what is important. Employees whose organizations have
strongly defined cultures can also justify their behaviors at work because those behaviors fit the
culture.
Company leaders play an instrumental role in shaping and sustaining organizational culture. If
the executives themselves do not fit into an organization's culture, they often fail in their jobs or
quit due to poor fit. Consequently, when organizations hire C-suite executives, these individuals
should have both the requisite skills and the ability to fit into the company culture.
Culture is a nebulous concept and is often an undefined aspect of an organization. Although
extensive academic literature exists relating to the topic of organizational culture, there is no
generally accepted definition of culture. Instead, the literature expresses many different views as
to what organizational culture is.
Organizational culture can manifest itself in a variety of ways, including leadership behaviors,
communication styles, internally distributed messages and corporate celebrations. Given that
culture comprises so many elements, it is not surprising that terms for describing specific
