Healthcare Management - Organizational Behavior Essay

Healthcare Management - Organizational Behavior - Essay Example Essentially, this culture reveals the shared beliefs, values, and assumptions that work together to as a social fabric that binds the members of the organization together (Buchbinder and Shanks, 2012). Whereas each organization has its own culture, it is sometimes difficult to establish or reinforce it. A strong culture comprises informal rules that spell out the general behavior of people of an organization. On the other hand, employees in an organization with a shaky culture waste a lot of time trying to figure out how they should act in different scenarios (Frost, 1985). Factors that influence and shape organizational behavior The establishment of organizational culture is a combination of several factors. However, before the culture becomes clearly cut out, the role of effective management team cannot be downplayed. While most managers do not dispute the role that a culture plays in satisfying employees, very few of them fail to note the direct influence that they have in shaping the culture. From the numerous factors that influence organizational culture, the main ones are discussed below. The working group: the work force in most organizations is a combination of several networks of formally created work groups. The variables that influence the formation of these work groups include personalities (i.e. training and experience) and situational variables (i.e. availability of space and the task to done). The nature of the group and the number of members constituting it affect the manner in which the culture of an organization is perceived. This is because each of the members in these groups brings their own attitudes, behaviors and convictions whose interactions result in the formation of organizational culture (Dugger, 1991). The second factor influencing organizational culture is the style of leadership of the managers. Organizations that have created a ‘distant’ barrier between managers and the subordinates often create a negative impact on the culture. On the other hand, the trust in a manager often influences positively the affective commitment of working groups. It is worth noting that managers influence greatly the formation of organizational culture and this influence is directly proportional to the hierarchical level (Frost, 1985). The organizational characteristic is the other factor that influences the formation as well as the type of a culture in an organization. These characteristics include the attributes and the degree of complexity of the organization. For instance, there exists a directly proportional relationship between the complexity of organizational culture and the size of the company. In addition, bigger organizations have a tendency towards high degree of specialization as well as impersonal character. Unlike in bigger organizations where the overall culture is shaped by sub-cultures, the cultures of small companies are normally homogenous (Dugger, 1991). In addition, the founders or owners of an o rganization play an integral role in influencing the nature of the culture developed by an organization. In most scenarios, it is the founders who create the philosophy of the company as well as stipulate the fundamental values to be upheld. The owners of the company can impress their influence on the culture developed from a multiple dimensions which include the type of the owner (i.e. natural or juridical persons) or the number of owners.