In what ways does the use of the multiple perspective procedure assist us in attaining a more thorough understanding of complicated organisational phenomena?
Discuss with specific mention of modern, symbolic-interpretive and postmodern perspectives and exactly how each point of view provides various ways to think about organisational phenomena (e. g. organisational structure, physical composition, culture and/or electricity within organisations).
An organisation will usually start off as a little operating business with a few staff working on the same goal and perhaps showing the same interest. What draws them together in the first place was the commonality of interest or purpose. As a tiny operation company, it allows staff to communicate to one another more often as it lacks the complexity of a major operation organisation. Which will also means that they will work towards the common goal as it has a higher amount of pf centralization of authority. When the company become more successful as time passes, they will extend and need more personnel. If they recruit, these new staffs are from all strolls of life with different demographic. These recently joined employees may not share the normal interest or understand the goal. This might lead to problems as there might be in-fighting among the various departments within the organisation, profit may fall and the initial soul of the company will disappear when the founder or pioneer group of staff leave. So, a mechanism, cultural is required to guide the personnel towards a common path.
Culture exists in all organisations even while some may be fragmented or problematic for outsider to see. Culture is the principles, norms, beliefs and assumption embraced by the employees. Culture is important since it pervades and affects all activities in an company. Culture is something that is shared one of the employees. It inserted in the employee, affecting all of that they certainly or think. This provides them with a point of view and binds them along as a group. (Howard W. Oden, 1999) Schein believes that the center of basic assumption gives people its values and behavior norms who'll subsequently make choices bottom on it and in the end discovering artifacts. The next diagram basic on Schein's Degrees of Company Level will make clear more (Mary Jo Hatch, 2006)
Level 1
Artifacts
Visible Organisational Features (Eg Company titles, standard or brand images)
Level 2
Values
Non-visible areas of organisational culture (Norms and values)
Level 3
Basic Assumption (Central)
Largely unconscious and tacit structures that shape beliefs and artifacts formed through and out of particular communal relationships. (Fact or what they consider is truth)
Figure 1 Schein's three degrees of culture
Sub-culture within organisation are just as important as it allows the employees to recognize themselve as a distinct group within the company. The sub-culture will be produced base on the company main culture and value. This permit them to move on the same direction and have a better understanding of their activity within the company.
Modernism point of view mentions that organisations are objectively real entities working in a genuine world. These are well-designed and managed system of decision and action driven by norms of rationality, proficiently, and success for stated goal (Hatch and Cunliffe 2006). Modernist believes that ethnicities are real and they help to condition an id of the business. Modernist believes in using proven theory. With a solid culture, the company can achieve an improved result by bettering organisation efficiency and success therefore obtaining better consequence. However, a culture may also constrain the company progression. A Japanese company culture believes in respecting the seniority. As such, staffs are examined base on their season of service in the business over their shows. This will not encourage staff to work hard, that may in turn affect the efficiency of the organisation.
Using Botak Jones, a traditional western food wall socket as example. They have its own cultures. The employees will wear standard which is informal, jeans with the business t-shirt. Its slogan "Damn good food at a damn good price" might seems unpleasant in the context of Singapore culture, but it's actually a very common way of talk between your westerners.
Studies and research had been conducted to ascertain the link between strong culture and high performance within an organisation. American research workers John Kotter, Adam Hestter and Dan Denison implemented a quantitative modernist strategy by conducted a survey with 200 organizations to investigate of cultural durability on organisational performance (Hatch and Cunliffe 2006). The effect was there is a positive correlation between your strength of commercial culture and organisation performance. They also realize that by aligning these with the changing environment, it allows these to react faster to the changes. Consequently, modernist believes that if we can understand organisation culture, management can use that knowledge to attain certain outcome such as increasing efficiency and performance.
Symbolic Interpretive researcher feels that ethnicities are real nevertheless they concentrate in find out the meaning behind the culture instead. They think that the organisation is similar to a theater and the employees each have a job to play while the world is the level. The employee's role not only does to exterior customer, but internally as well. An organization success will base on how well the worker knows its role and exactly how good they play it.
Other than physical labour, there are also additional standards required from the worker which was thought as 'emotional labours' by Hochschild. This requires the employees to curb his/her feeling to portray certain image or expectation for others. The similarity between the mental labour and physical labour is usually that the employee might become alienated from an aspect of themselves - the part of the body or the margins of the heart and soul that is use for the work.
Using Singapore Casket as an example, the employees do not show their emotions as it is inappropriate for the business enterprise. They cannot smile or have a good laugh despite how happy these are feeling. They could only show a solemn face when facing customer. Alternatively, air stewardess can only just show a friendly and cheerful image. They can be supposed to make customer feel pleasant. They cannot chuck their temper or show unhappiness during the course of work no matter how strenuous or unreasonable the client is. And then for both cases, the employees will have to suppress its sense, making them the psychological labour for its organisation.
To understand more about the company, researcher will participate in the company themselves (eg work in the company) instead of just doing study. Otherwise, they can perform observations or in depth interview. This allows them to comprehend the culture better and also to understand the jargons or symbols used by them. The method of thick description Geertz advocated is a kind of ethnography which ultimately shows how cultural users interpret the symbols and its context. (Mary Jo Hatch, 2006) This helps to comprehend the culture better as the culture in one organisation will not suggest the same at another organisation. By understanding the culture interpretation, they could communicate with others more effectively as they know that every of these are just satisfying their roles and it is nothing workers. This knowledge also enable the organisation to better plan its training for each and every role player as well as better control over them.
As the analysis of modernist culture provides knowledge that has already been translated into prescriptions for management, they are really restricted by the objective of the study dimensions which is described by the researcher (Hatch and Cunliffe 2006). So, symbolic interpretative researcher has a benefit in the modernist researchers as they type in cultural territory and can connect better.
Postmodernist are sceptical and issues the theory that organisation have a culture. They feel that culture are unreal, it's a aspiration, an illusion and created in your brain of the employees. Post modernist feel that the cultures are manufactured by people so that they can exert electricity over others. That is use as a tool to contest electric power or power have difficulties. This is such as a soap opera whereby there are no fixed rules but constant changes in the company. They do not focus on culture but the way electric power and control is exerted thru narrative.
When a new management needed over, they'll change the eye-sight assertion or goals or place certain guidelines or regulation. That is to exhibit their powers and also to marginalise other voices. This changes will not necessary communicate ideas, coach them or even rises efficiency or efficiency. These changes are just to find out who its supporters are and who isn't. This allows the management to identify power battles, fragmentation, items of instability and dissatisfaction within the organisation. This also really helps to marginalised employees and reveal multiple and contending interpretations.
IBM for occasions, had an extremely strong culture however it isn't just taking care of of the game; it is the game. In the long run, the business is only the collective capacity of its visitors to create value. (Louis V. Gerstner, Jr, 2002) This culture inhibits the company from control and maintaining the existing environment situation. Through deconstruction, changes were made and new cultures were launched. This make IBM delivered from near-collapse to advertise leaders.
Tradition organisation beliefs will be challenged by postmodern ideals if they're influences by financial, social and political ideals of today's workforce (Green, 2007)
Though there are 3 different perspectives that organisations can use to understand the culture, each perspective ranges from another. There is absolutely no specific perspective that is more useful than the other. It will need to depend on the organisation's situation as well as the external environment to choose which perspective will be more appropriate.
