Organisation Culture

Visible aspects of culture of Marks and Spencer
The visible aspect of culture is very important for any organisation, because the first impression of a business will build up personal opinions and views from other people towards the business. If the visible aspects of culture is not very attractive of the organisation, the chances of getting customers will be very low. "The visible aspects culture encompass behaviour patterns, the physical and social environment and the written and spoken language used by the group." ( Schien 1991)

The visible aspect of culture of M&S is that as soon as you walk inside the store, it gives a cosy feeling to the customers and people can also immediately see a wide range of clothing products ready to be purchased. Their logo says Marks and Spencer in green bold writing which tends to stand out a lot. M&S stands out from any other organisation because they have their own unique layout, for example in the food section, the flooring is black, and in the clothing section the flooring is cream\white. So each section within the store has its own coloured floors which enables people to familiarise with the store more. Employees at M&S also wear a uniform which allows the customers to see that all the members of staff are working as one team and that they are representing the organisation. Customers can also instantly see who works at M&S in case they have a problem or inquiry which needs to be sorted out. The background music is always played quietly to give that calm smooth affect of the business.


The hidden aspect of an organisation is basically the base of the business. This is something such as as training staff so they can provide a quality service, and the reason why its a hidden aspect of culture is because customer can't see the training programs that staff must attend etc. "They are implicit assumptions that actually guide behaviour and determine how group members perceive, think and feel about things." (Mullins 2007)

The hidden aspects of culture of M&S are mainly their policies which allows the employers to refer back and see what they have to do in order to keep the business going and what they have to do to get satisfied customers. Employers of M&S have to mainly make sure that they look after their staff properly because the employees are looking after the customers. M&S believe that it is important to keep the whole team very strong from the shop floor level to the management level. They do this by making sure that all employees feel valued and provide them career opportunities and training. This organisation also has a strong trading relationship with different countries across the whole world and they also make sure they do fair trade.

Four types of cultures by Handy
Power culture- this type of culture often occurs within small organisation where the business is mostly run as a partnership or sole trader. The organisations that are influenced by power culture, relies mostly on trust and personal communication amongst the staff. As the business is controlled by one or two people, there are not many systems and rules to follow. In big organisations such as John Lewis or M&S, making decisions will take time because different matters will have to be discussed between the managers. How ever if there is only one person making all the decisions, decision making will be fast as nothing will have to be discussed amongst other staff. Sir Allan Sugar is very much influenced by power culture. He is a reality TV star who comes on The Apprentice TV show. On that show Allan Sugar sets tasks for a group of people and who ever passes all his takes, gets to work for him. As Allan makes all the decisions himself and controls his whole business, people have to follow all his instructions whether they like it or not. (Fresh thinking business 2009)

An example of an organisation that is influenced by power culture would be a small corner shop such as a off licence. For example Ajantha's stores is a newsagent as well as an off licence and the business is controlled by one person, therefore the business is owned by a sole trader. The reason for it being a power culture is because the owner has control of the whole business, which means that he makes all the decisions and he also knows what is best for the business. Even though other members of staff have different ideas of how to improvise the business further and attract more customers, it is all down to the owner to accept or reject the ideas.

Role culture- is more the opposite of power culture and the reason for this is because everything has to be followed by rules and regulations. There are different systems within the organisation that employees and employers have to follow as part of the laws etc. The power is mainly based on the job position which means that the better job role you have, the more important you are within the organisation. This means that not just one person has control over the whole business, but a number of people who have important job positions will also have important decisions to make depending on their job role.
John Lewis is a big organisation where role culture is important because within the organisation there are different departments with different job roles. For example there is a finance department within the organisation where the accountants will work. The accountants have to make sure that they follow all the rules and regulations as it is part of the government law. Even though the products sold at John Lewis will change according to people's life style etc, the accountants will remain the same because they are in a steady state environment and they still have to continue to follow the different laws. People won't look into detail and see the skills the accountants have and see what they are capable of because that is not important to them. They will just look at the job description and that is it. (Linday Sherwin 2009)

Task culture- there are a lot of organisations in the market who run their business in small projects where they have a set of teams working on the project. Organisations who are in task cultures work better in groups rather than individually and people also have more freedom where they can get their tasks completed without being told what to do constantly. While doing the tasks, personal power can be released by each individual so the outcome of the project will be outstanding.
Vogue is an organisation which is in the fashion industry and this company have different fashion shows, photo shoots for their magazines, and many more. Task culture is important for this organisation because run way shows is the main activity which brings in the profit for the business. A run way show is more like a project for the business because different teams get together just to make sure that the whole event goes well. For example there will be a team who will be in charge of the models making sure the make up, clothing, and foot wear is applied carefully on the models. Another team will be in charge of the run way, making sure that all the models go out in order etc. The final team are the people who create the run way. This team come up with the theme, lighting, and fixing the stage for the run way show. In order for the company to make a project successful, they have to make sure that the teams are all hard working, coming up with different ideas and work together as a team. This will make work much more fun for the employees because they get to use their skills and they will be doing something they are really good at.

Person culture- this is when the individual is the centre and even though they work in a big organisation or service, the individual will work at their own paste and in their own time. There are no level of hierarchy for getting things done and there is hardly any management control as the individual will be working using their own skills and knowledge. Person culture will not be very suitable for businesses and organisations because their culture is more different as they are aiming to make a profit, rather than proving a service and helping people.
A doctor would have a person culture as he/she will be working under their own influence and also in their own time. So for example even though a doctor might work for a hospital, they don't have a manager or a boss who will be telling them what to do throughout their shift. The doctors will be their own boss and see patients in their own time. The reason why the doctor is the central focus is because without them there will be no cure for ill patients and make their lives better.

The problems of trying to classify culture into one of the four different cultures by Handy

It might be easy to identify one of the four cultures by handy which an organisation mostly fits in, but that does not necessarily mean that the organisation fits in easily with the cultures that mostly suits the business. For example John Lewis is influenced by the role culture as they have to follow a set of rules and regulations in order to provide a service for the customers. This might be a problem for the organisation because it limits the business into one specific culture which means there is less flexibility between the partners. It is important to have flexibility within a business as you can't always account when problems might occur and the partners need to be ready to solve the problems by making quick decisions etc. If the business isn't flexible enough problems cannot be solved immediately which will eventually bring the business down. As the partners have to follow rules and regulations, they might not feel free which could lead to de-motivation. Even though John Lewis fit mostly in the role culture, they also have lots of project happening within the business, where different partners get together and make the project a success. In that case John Lewis could also fit in with task culture as everyone work together to improve and provide a good equal service for the customers. The task culture also becomes important for John Lewis when the store has to be refurbished and when that takes place, all the staff members have to come together and work as a team to get the task completed.

Why I think John Lewis demonstrates strong culture

John Lewis is a good organisation that demonstrated a strong strong culture. As any other organisation, John Lewis believe that all members of staff should be valued as they are looking after the customers who are bringing the profit to the business. John Lewis treat all their members of staff as a partner of the business, which makes the employees feel more important within the business. On the John Lewis website there is a page where it allows the viewers to read a little bit about the organisation. They make sure that they put the happiness of partners at the centre of everything. The organisation does this by making sure that all the partners benefits from the profit share and other values the the business offers to them. Before making any important decisions, all partners will get a chance to give their voice towards the business which is why they are so successful today as everyone within the organisation are working together as a team.

Some visual aspect of culture of John Lewis is that they provide the customers a quality customer service and treat them all fairly. The business raise their retail standards by launching new products and services as well as trying out new ideas with the customers. The building itself is outstanding because the minute you walk in, people will get a friendly business environment vibe which will attract the customers more. The service is friendly as well as helpful. The organisation make a contribution to the committee and environment, and one way of their contribution is by encouraging their partners give practical help to different charities. The organisation operate a Trust "the golden jubilee trust" where partners of the business can go on a six month leave to help out a charity and during those six months, they will also get a full pay.

Links to the John Lewis website:

• http://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/Display.aspx?&MasterId=f7a66235-2266-45d0-92dd-5b61e878eb31&NavigationId=595#serving



• http://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/Display.aspx?&MasterId=768e29e8-41aa-4716-bce2-df302fa1c3d8&NavigationId=543

Conclusion

Over all culture is very important within an organisation because it leads to the success of the business. The culture of a business often occurs automatically as the employees are hired and how they are treated within the business. An organisation has to make sure that the visible aspect of culture is attractive so customers would want to come again and maybe purchase something from the business. The hidden aspect of culture is also important for the business because it affect the visible aspects. For example if the staff are not treated fairly or if they don't like working for the business, it will show in their work which will than affect the customer service. Without good culture there is a small chance of success within the business.

References

• ( Schien 1991),(2009) Organisation culture [online], available at: http://books.google.co.uk, [visited at: 20/10/09])
• (Mullins 2007), Management and organisational behaviour, Levels of culture, eighth edition, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex. Page 722)
• (Fresh thinking business (2009) Sir Allan Sugar Biography [online], available at: http://www.freshthinkingbusiness.com/alan-sugar.html, [accessed at: 21/10/09])
• (Linday Sherwin 2009), Managing change toolkit, The role culture [online], available at: http://www.lindsay-sherwin.co.uk/guide_managing_change/html_overview/05_culture_handy.htm, [accessed at: 21/10/09])