LD9718 Research Methods and Analytics for Business Practice Assignment Sample
The Impact of Organizational Culture of Performance During a Crisis
Introduction
Corporate groups have been a subject of investigation for almost two decades now in the context of organizational culture. According to Gajewski (2013) any group of companies that are legally independent, however, operate under a single economic entity is considered to be a corporate group. In contrast to the singular business entities, it becomes more difficult in such corporate groups to maintain a coherent organizational culture (Kenny, 2013). This is extremely relevant as studies have found that integration of the cultures between the entities of the corporate group is extremely relevant to the performance and productivity of the entity as a whole (Idris, et al., 2015). They (ibid.) also noted that not having an integrated culture within a corporate entity can lead to detriments to the economic performance of the firm.
The relevant of this study is that it expands on the existing literature by contextualizing the existing academic knowledge on management of organizational culture in corporate groups to that of crisis management. The study will aim to identify aspects of managing organizational culture that are specifically relevant to the management of firm performance during a crisis like the current COVID 19 pandemic.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of this report is to investigate the degree of impact that organizational culture has on the performance of a corporate conglomerate. According to Gajewski (2013) any group of companies that are legally independent, however, operate under a single economic entity is considered to be a corporate group.
In such corporate groups, lack of cohesive organizational culture could lead to the organization failing (Lien and Li, 2013). This is especially relevant given the current COVID pandemic and the strain that it has put on the market. The objectives of the research therefore are:
- To identify the specific factor that impacts organizational culture during a crisis.
- To identify the strategies that companies undertake to manage organizational culture to enhance performance?
Research Questions
According to Yin (2014), it is very critical that for any research to yield the desired results, the research needs to be guided by a prudent research question. Given that the nature of the research is exploratory in nature, it is advisable that the research questions start with terms like “who, what or why” to ensure that the desired approach for finding the answers is maintained (Yin, 2014). In light of these findings, the research question for this study is:
“What are the main elements of organizational culture management that can be effectively utilized to maximize profitability in corporate groups during an external crisis event?”
Research Scope
In terms of scope the research will be thematically restricted to the confines of Organizational Culture, Leadership, Corporate Governance, Performance and Crisis Management.
Literature Review
This literature review presents the preliminary findings from an extensive and not exhaustive literature survey that enabled the researcher to identify the research gap and need. This exercise helps in identifying the foundational knowledge that would be necessary for the proposed study (Callahan, 2014).
“Organizational culture is a set of values, beliefs, and behavior patterns that differentiate one organization from other organizations” (Ortega-Parra & Sastre-Castillo, 2013). According to O’Connor & Byrne (2015), organizational culture positively relates to the aspects of corporate leadership and governance. Organizational culture has varied implications and can also impact the competitive positioning of a company in the market place. Its implications on the aspect of human resource management have been well studied in literature. Given that HR management has significant impacts on the firms performance and employee engagement and motivation, the understanding of the various aspects and factors of organizational culture also becomes imperative.
Pathiranage (2019) noted that “the source of organizational culture also includes the learning experience of group members, as well as the new beliefs and assumptions of new members and managers.” This suggests that managing and identifying the organizational culture requires enquiry at the senior management level. The funders or the senior leadership within a group has the responsibility to set the value system for the group which can then permeate down to the rest of the organization. However, the managerial implications of instilling those values across the processes and procedures are also a very important concept that needs to be dealt with. Another source of culture in an organization is the learning experience derived from the social trends within a firm. Uddin, et al. (2013) suggest that organizational culture is also affected by the environment that it exists within and as such in trying to manage the culture, it is extremely important to understand the congruence between the internal organizational culture and the external environment.
Denison (1990) model of organizational culture has been identified as the model against which the internal and external factors affecting a corporate group would be examined. Denison identified four elements of the aspects of organizational culture:
- Involvement
- Consistency
- Adaptability
- Mission
The first two are internal factors that affect consistency and the latter two are external factors that affect consistency. It has been identified that these four factors play a crucial role in determining the degree to which the organizational culture is effectively managed. Involvement depicts the degree of communication, interaction and policy implementation that takes place within a group to enforce or bring about the desired cultural dimensions. Involvement refers to the participation of both the management and the employees. Consistency in the application of the above mentioned aspects is also key to the success of the culture management practices. Givens (2012) found that although consistency by itself did not translate to high performance within firms, however, it acted like a hygiene factor in that its absence definitively resulted in decreased level of employee involvement I culture management and eventually performance. Adaptability refers to the ability of the firm to identify and react to the changes in the external market place and in a productive organizational culture the management should be ever ready to respond to the changes. This aspect of the model would be especially relevant to identify the management practices in light of the current crisis arising out of the COVID 19 pandemic. Givens (2012) present the importance of mission in impacting the organizational culture by stating that “in an effective organizational culture, business managers define the organization mission by providing purpose and meaning to every major part of the organization’s mission.” According to the work by Mousavi, et al., (2015), a mission contributes by providing the following things:
- Clear direction and vision
- Strategic decision and intent
- Goals and objectives of the organization that members use to guide the activities of the organization
This aspect is extremely important when considering the long term objectives of the company. According to Nongo and Ikyanyonl (2012), “in an effective organizational culture, business managers use the organization’s mission and vision to determining the organization short and long-term goals.” Therefore, the mission not only acts as a strategic direction for the company but also as a yardstick against which the actions of the firm are undertaken. This means that it also has a significant impact on the organizational culture of the firm.
Research Methodology
According to Yin (2014), “examining various research methods is essential to evaluate the advantage and disadvantage of each method.” Upon consideration the proposed research should have a qualitative method given the exploratory nature of the study. As noted by Allwood (2012), when specific phenomena are to be identified, the qualitative study serves better role especially in exploratory studies to identify generalizations that can then be empirically tested. This method was also found effective in studies where the relation between the themes were to be identified. In business and management research there has been a rich history of the use of qualitative research. This method further helps in the evaluation of the experiences and perspectives of the participants to find relevant information rather than relying on empirically codified data. A mixed method approach was also envisioned and could have provided more detailed insights, however, considering the resource constraints and the distant relationship to the research question, that method was not considered. For the exploratory study, a qualitative study was deemed appropriate.
For this research, a case study approach to identify and evaluate the functioning of two companies through a comparative analysis is deemed to be most prudent. The researcher will conduct interviews with management of two companies to identify their priorities regarding organizational culture and analyze them based on their performance. This method will enable the researcher, through the use of semi-structured interviews and open ended questions, to identify practices that the management have taken to influence organizational culture during the crisis. This can be then be compared to the aspects of the culture management practices before the crisis. This will help us in establishing a baseline for the factors that were specifically relevant during the crisis and help in formulating the answer to the research question.
Potential Contributions
The research may be relevant to the business managers of large corporate conglomerates in the private sector to identify the factors which can be correlated to better organizational culture management. According to Bolboli and Reiche (2014), the propagation of excellence in business and productivity of the organizational culture is dependent on the management of organizational culture for the firm. Organizational culture has varied implications and can also impact the competitive positioning of a company in the market place. Its implications on the aspect of human resource management have been well studied in literature. Given that HR management has significant impacts on the firms performance and employee engagement and motivation, the understanding of the various aspects and factors of organizational culture also becomes imperative.
The study will add to the body of knowledge already available to the mangers in position of decision making to understand their roles in affecting organizational culture better. This could help them in future endeavors where diversification of the corporate structure is envisioned. The findings of this research can help in managing the transition in terms of organizational culture while minimizing the detriments to organizational performance.
The study may also help to find the relevant factors that directly impact the organizational culture and thus enable them to manage it more effectively, especially during a crisis.
Ethical Considerations
In the performance of this study all ethical consideration relevant to the issues of data collection, personal information and data use will be adhered to.
All participants will be provided with the details of the study and the use of the data. The preservation of anonymity will also be adhered to.
The data will be presented in a anonymous manner.
All relevant policies governing the study from the University will also be adhered to. Consent forms will be collected from all the participants.
Research Proposed Schedule
Conclusions
The aim of this report is to investigate the degree of impact that organizational culture has on the performance of a corporate conglomerate.
For this research, a case study approach to identify and evaluate the functioning of two companies through a comparative analysis is deemed to be most prudent. The researcher will conduct interviews with management of two companies to identify their priorities regarding organizational culture and analyze them based on their performance.
The theoretical basis for this study is the Denison model of organizational culture which will be used as part of the study to codify the questions in the questionnaire as well as to contextualize the findings.
References
Allwood, C. (2012). The distinction between qualitative and quantitative research methods is problematic. Quality & Quantity, 46, 1417-1429. doi:10.1007/s11135- 011-9455-8
Bolboli, S., & Reiche, M. (2014). Culture-based design and implementation of business excellence. The TQM Journal, 26, 329-347. doi:10.1108/TQM-01-2014-0015
Denison, D. R. (1990). Corporate culture and organizational effectiveness. New York, NY: Wiley.
Gajewski, D. (2013). The holding company as an instrument of companies’ tax-financial policy formation. Contemporary Economics, 7, 75-109. doi:10.5709/ce.1897-9254.75
Idris, S., Wahab, R., & Jaapar, A. (2015). Corporate cultures integration and organizational performance: A conceptual model on the performance of acquiring companies. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 172, 591-595. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.407
Kenny, G. (2012). Diversification: Best practices of the leading companies. Journal of Business Strategy, 33(1), 12-20. doi:10.1108/02756661211193776
Lien, Y., & Li, S. (2013). Does diversification add firm value in emerging economies? Effect of corporate governance. Journal of Business Research, 66, 2425-2430. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.05.030
Nongo, E., & Ikyanyon, D. (2012). The influence of corporate culture on employee commitment to the organization. International Journal of Business and Management, 7(22), 21-28. doi:10.5539/ijbm.v7n22p21
Ortega-Parra, A., & Sastre-Castillo, M., (2013). Impact of perceived corporate culture on organizational commitment. Management Decision, 51, 1071-1083. doi:10.1108/MD-08-2012-0599
Pathiranange, Y.L. (2019). Organizational Culture and Business Performance: An Empirical Study. SSRG International Journal of Economics and Management Studies, 6(6).
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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