The role of culture in organizational performance

This paper examines the role of culture in organizational performance. It is a research carried out using the secondary data done by different researchers. The main objective of the study is to assess the roles culture play in the performance of an organization. The elements of corporate culture were identified as business environment, values, heroes, rites and rituals, cultural network, norms, artifacts and basic assumptions. Similarly, the elements of cultural web were noted as rituals, stories, symbols, power structures, cultural systems and organizational structure. The development and layers of organizational structure were also explored. This paper concludes that culture plays the roles of: an asset aspect of; easing communication, facilitating organizational decision making and facilitating cooperation and productivity; and a liability aspect, when important shared beliefs and values interferes with the needs of the organization and its customers. Thus, if actual behavior matches the required, the more effectively and productively the individuals of the organization accomplish their objectives. However, if the behavioral patterns are inconsistent with the needs, values and skills of organization members, dysfunctional consequences develop leading to poor performance. This paper recommends that management in organizations should aggressively ensure awareness and internalization of the company values to all employees. Management should, similarly, take the lead role in shaping and changing the weak culture into appropriate culture via role modeling and mentoring. In furtherance, culture should be enhanced because it is a key resource.