Change Management Project

Three Levels Organizational Culture Analysis

John Johnson

HRMN 367/7380

November 20, 2014

An organization's culture is what normally sets it apart from other companies in the industry that could be offering similar services. Scholars have described organizational culture as the behavior of people within a particular organization, including their norms, beliefs, language, and habits as well. Culture is often used to explain why organizations differ in terms of success, employee’s loyalty, and even public perception. This paper will explore the organizational culture of Apple Inc on three levels- artifacts, values, and assumptions. This approach to understanding organizational culture is useful because it allows for an in-depth look at issues within an organization.

Artifacts

Artifacts are visible components of an organization's culture although members can interpret them very differently. Rituals and ceremonies are the easiest artifacts to spot within any given company. At Apple Inc, there are numerous rituals that past and current employees associate strongly with the consumer electronics industry. For instance, new employees have to go through an orientation process to ensure they understand what being a member of the organization entails. The company's CEOs are also known for keeping in contact with employees at the operational level. The contact is supposed to motivate employees and to ensure they understand the CEO's vision for the company. Other common ceremonies at the company include staff parties to celebrate both big and large goals that have been accomplished. The ceremonies make the company a desirable and a fun place to work, while employees are also allowed to dress down on certain days of the week (Ahmad, 2012).

Another element of Apple's culture is slogans and symbols that only members of the company can decipher correctly. For instance, Apple has the phrase 'who's in charge' amongst its staff. The phrase means that for each activity, there must be a person that is responsible to ensure that it is completed successfully (Ahmad, 2012). Responsibility avoidance is highly discouraged and even lower level employees are held responsible totally for their assignments. This element of culture is a source of motivation because people feel that they are contributing directly to the success of the company. The company's logo is a very important in shaping the culture of the company. It represents the fact the company is a leader in the computer and phone manufacturing industry.

The final artifact in the company is stories told about the company's past. Stories are supposed to highlight the key moments in the company's journey to success. By telling such stories, employees are expected to learn the attributes that leaders showed at those key moments and practices them. For instance, Apple decided to settle on a new logo and expand their products to include music players and phones. That was the beginning of a company's rise to the position it occupies today in the industry. The customers recognized the brand and associated it with quality, especially due to the premium pricing. Another story is about the management style of the former CEO. He was good at getting the best out of people by speaking directly to them and setting targets for them as well (Ahmad, 2012).

Values

Values are best described as the sum of behaviors that the company wants to promote amongst its employees. They are the things that a company would want to be known for and any employee doing something that contravenes these values risks tarnishing the company's image. The most important value at Apple is the dedication towards delivering quality to clients. Therefore, the company cannot do anything that would compromise this quality including the selection of parts, hiring of employees, and even conducting quality checks. The company outsources services such as assembling to countries where the cost of labor is lower than the USA. Still, the company has to choose the most reliable companies to do such work (Ahmad, 2012). As a result, the company rarely has to recall any of its products because of quality issues and this helps in boosting its image and reputation.

The ethical standards that a company sets for itself also part of its values. Apple, like most corporations, has a code of conduct that employees must adhere to. Some of the most important issues highlighted there is integrity (Ojo, 2009). Management staff is expected to act in the best interests of the company and any actions that contradict this could lead to prosecution for breach of their fiduciary duty to the company as well as professional negligence. The company also lists some of the ethical values that it holds itself accountable to. For instance, it states its dedication towards environmental conservation by funding programs meant to foster proper waste management. In addition, its factories in Asia also dispose e-waste properly and research is ongoing to develop more environmentally friendly equipment parts (Ojo, 2009).

Finally, a commitment towards guiding the professional development of its employees is another important value. As highlighted, new employees often get some training to help them become well acquainted with the goings on with the company. The company also invests in taking employees to training conferences to ensure they are aware of developments in the tech-world. Further, the company is always ready to fund research programs that employees want to be involved with. This attitude sends a message to employees that they can actualize their ambitions at Apple. The ripple effect is that Apple attracts the best and most talented people in the technology world. Other ways of promoting the growth of employees is to hand them challenging tasks and making them fully responsible for them. As time moves, these employees become used to handling responsibility.

Assumptions

The visible aspects of the company's culture have the effects that they do because of underlying assumptions, perceptions, and beliefs. For instance, the CEO is perceived with a great deal of importance at the company. He is expected to give a sense of direction to the rest of the members at the organization. Therefore, when the CEO interacts with employees at the lower level, it adds to the symbolism of the action. The importance attached to his office makes it easy to inspire members by simply declaring or showing belief in their abilities. This explains why Steve Jobs, the former CEO could make people achieve beyond their beliefs.

Another assumption is that Apple is supposed to be leader in the industries it competes, and that its products are the best. This desire to remain as leaders makes the company invest in research and employees know that they are expected to be forward thinking. Apple Inc built the first smart phone and paved way for other companies to follow suit with their designs. The belief that the company is a leader makes it easy and possible for employees to act as ambassadors of the company. They can easily talk about what the company envisions to develop in the near future with confidence because they know it will be actualized (Ahmad, 2012).

It is also worth noting that assumptions play a major role in developing norms and other unwritten rules within a given institution. For instance, at Apple, it is assumed that innovativeness and creativity are desirable qualities. Therefore, employees will strive to display these qualities and at the same time, shun things such as uncertainty avoidance. Based on the code of conduct, integrity is also valued very highly at the organizations. An existing assumption, therefore, is that promotions are based not only on productivity but on integrity as well. It is therefore normal to find people considered to be trustworthy being handed small responsibilities that eventually lead to bigger positions within the company.

Conclusion

As stated, the culture of an organization is what sets it apart from other organization. The three levels of culture of an organization help in the deeper understanding of the dynamics that affect daily operations. The understanding of organizational behavior can help a new employee get their way easily and climb the corporate ladder. Further it will help avoid conflicts and also address them quickly whenever they occur. Apple's culture has helped it curve a niche for itself and make a name as a producer of high quality products and also a great place for career development. Some of the artifacts at the company include stories regarding how the brand was developed while values include a great regard for quality. All these are supported by an assumption and belief that Apple should always develop the best quality products for its customers.

References

Ahmad, M. S. (2012). Impact of organizational culture on performance management practices. Editorial Note Words from the Board of Editor 2 Profile of Authors Included in this Number 3 Information for Contributors 5, 5(1), 50.

Ojo, O. (2009). Impact assessment of corporate culture on employee job performance. Business Intelligence Journal, 2(2), 388-397.