9. Organizational Culture

 




Definition of organizational culture. 

Organizational culture has recently been put forward as an understudied factor in nurturing organizational commitment (Lok and Crawford, 2001), and has been partially addressed empirically in studies by McCaul, Hinsz, and McCaul (1995) and Mueller, Wallace and Price (1992). Organizational culture is defined as a system of shared values (that define what is important) and norms that define appropriate attitudes and behaviors for organizational members (how to feel and behave) (O'Reilly and Chatman, 1996). Organizational values and norms govern the dual processes of external adaptation and internal integration and define the way things are done in the organization (Schein, 1985).


For some, culture is considered the “glue” that holds an organization together and for others, the “compass” that provides directions

The culture of an organization eminently influences its myriad decisions and actions. A company’s prevailing ideas, values, attitudes, and beliefs guide the way in which its employees think, feel, and act-quite often unconsciously. Therefore, understanding culture is fundamental to the description and analysis of organizational phenomena. For some, culture is considered the “glue” that holds an organization together, and for others, the “compass” that provides direction.


Attempts to define hospitality culture

Woods (1989) examined the culture of five restaurant companies and laid the foundation of restaurant culture artifacts, norms, rites, rituals, strategic beliefs, and values. Restaurant culture includes characteristics such as high levels of turnover, teamwork, emphasis on the unit level, promotion from within, importance of fun, and burn-out. Kemp and Dwyer (2001) examined the organizational culture of the Regent Hotel, Sydney employing a similar method. The Regent Hotel has a culture which includes being nice to new staff members; exceeding guest expectations; rewarding innovation; putting the guest’s needs first; providing good service and high quality; and being dubbed as “The Smile Factory.” Although both studies identify values that are specific either to the restaurant or hotel industry, it is unknown if these attributes are generalized to the rest of the hospitality industry.

 Additionally, these studies do not offer an instrument to measure one’s fit or match to the industry. Other studies have made progress towards developing quantitative methods to specifically measure the cultural values for the hospitality sector. Ogaard (2005) employed an existing instrument, by Quinn and Spreitzer (1991), to measure the cultural values of a national Norwegian fast food multi-unit franchise system. Their study found that there is a relationship between organizational culture and managers’ individual outcomes. This relationship occurred between commitment and efficacy. The study also suggests that culture may have an important indirect effect on performance. Although these findings demonstrate the need to examine cultural values, it does not offer a specific measurement that is tailored to the hospitality industry. Currently, Tepeci and Bartlett’s (2002) Hospitality Industry Culture Profile (HICP) is the only developed instrument which assesses organizational culture and individual values in hospitality organizations. Their instrument incorporates the Organization Culture Profile and Robert Wood’s (1989) value characteristics as well as the additional dimension of valuing customers, honesty and ethics. The instrument was then used to measure the fit between organizational culture and individual values on hospitality employee’s job satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The main weakness of Tepeci and Bartlett’s (2002) study is that all of the participants for this study were hospitality students who only had an average tenure of 19 months of industry work experience. This sample did not adequately assess the dependent variables of job satisfaction and intent to quit because 64% of these students were not currently employed. Although these studies start to identify hospitality cultures and values of the individuals, none explore the unique constructs of the entire hospitality industry with feedback from all disciplines M. Dawson / International Journal of Hospitality Management, that represents the multiple facets of the industry. Instead, these studies focus on general themes and non-specific measurements. 

What are the common cultures we can see in the Hospitality industry?

For Guests:

  1.  A warm and sincere greeting. (Ayubowan/ Namasthe/ Good Morning- as per the country nation)
  2. Use the guest's name. Anticipation and fulfillment of each guest's needs.
  3. Fond farewell. Give a warm good-bye and use the guest's name.
  4. 15ft 6ft rule - This rule suggests that anytime a guest is within ten feet of a staff member, the staff member should make eye contact and warm smile to acknowledge the oncoming guests.
  5. Guest is always right, do not argue with guests
  6. serve the guest with well-groomed, and clean appropriate Hotel Uniform
For Associate:

  1. 15ft 6ft rule - This rule suggests that anytime a staff member is within ten feet of a staff member, the staff member should make eye contact and warmly smile to acknowledge the oncoming colleague.  
  2. A warm and sincere greeting. (Ayubowan/ Namasthe/ Good Morning- as per the country nation)
  3. Open door policy 
  4. See something say something - any associate can raise their voice when things not right
  5. Teamwork 
  6. respecting and accepting associates, colleagues ideas and emotions

Appropriate cultures

It is not possible to say that one culture is better than another, only that a culture is to a greater or lesser extent appropriate in the sense that it is relevant to the needs and circumstances of the organization and helps rather than hinders its performance. However, embedded cultures can exert considerable influence on organizational behaviour. If there is an appropriate and effective culture it would therefore be desirable to take steps to support or reinforce it. If the culture is inappropriate attempts should be made to determine what needs to be changed and to develop and implement plans for change. A culture will be more effective if it is consistent in its components and shared amongst organizational members, and if it makes the organization unique, thus differentiating it from other organizations.



Reference: 

Armstrong, M. & Taylor, S. (2014) Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice (13th ed). Ashford Colour press Ltd [Online]. Available at https://e-uczelnia.uek.krakow.pl/pluginfile.php/604792/mod_folder/content/0/Armstrongs%20Handbook%20of%20Human%20Resource%20Management%20Practice_1.pdf?forcedownload=1. Accessed on 25th May 2021.

  Bruce, T.M. (2018) Organizational culture. Defining “Culture” and “Organizational Culture”: From Anthropology to the Office. pp 2-5 [Online]. Available at https://www.kvworkspace.com/. Accessed on 25th May 2021.

 Coyle Hospitality group (2021) Hotels & Resorts. Coyle [Online]. Available at https://www.coylehospitality.com/hotels-resorts-inns/what-is-the-10-and-5-staff-rule/. Accessed on 25th May 2021.

   Marriott International (2021) Diversity & inclusion. Marriott International [Online]. Available at https://www.marriott.com/diversity/diversity-and-inclusion.mi. Accessed on 25th May 2021

Comments

  1. Sevindi De SilvaJune 3, 2021 at 3:52 AM

    Wherever people live and work together, culture develops. Organizational culture refers to the beliefs, values and attitudes that define a company. Like cultures elsewhere, organizational culture develops spontaneously, whether or not it’s nurtured. Since hospitality staff serve people, your customers get a taste of what your business is really like every time the two interact. Managing your hospitality culture, then, is crucial if you strive to make the right impression every time. Why is hospitality organizations culture so important to service success?

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    Replies
    1. Anjula PereraJune 4, 2021 at 10:25 AM

      Hospitality organizations that create an environment for establishing and maintaining quality culture are long-term survivors. The culture creates the environment in the organization and influences the nature of the long-term plans that move the organization toward its vision.

      Delete
  2. THUSHARAJune 4, 2021 at 6:16 AM

    In this article, your mention cultural examples mainly categorized into followings, these are shared values, attitudes, and practices that characterize an organization. It’s the personality of the company and it plays a large part in employees’ overall satisfaction.

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    Replies
    1. Anjula PereraJune 4, 2021 at 10:28 AM

      Indeed, the findings reveal that organizational cultural values such as fairness, growth opportunities and reputation of organization have a positive effect on the job satisfaction, whereas organizational traits like aggressiveness have a negative influence on job satisfaction.

      Delete
  3. Lahiru NanayakkaraJune 4, 2021 at 10:22 PM

    Hi Anjula. Interesting article about company culture in hospitality industry. I think proper organizational culture creates additional value for their employees. Culture automatically aligns their employees in line with cooperate goals. It creates a passion of working & may reduce some training needs also.

    ReplyDelete
  4. jeewanisamarasingheJune 5, 2021 at 7:10 AM

    Instructive article. The culture creates the environment in the organization and influences the nature of the long-term plans that move the organization toward its vision. Culture also dictates the policies and processes that enable the organization to live its mission every day. More over when you build up a indigenous culture around an institution it will improve the value of the brand name automatically.

    ReplyDelete
  5. gihantharangaJune 5, 2021 at 7:49 AM

    Culture of a service industry play a vital role in it's performance. but when it comes to hospitality industry I feel the culture is the most important factor. It's industry of enjoy the leisure & Culture of that organization is part of the guest's entertainment .
    As you mentioned there's no clear definition for culture nor measurement for gage it. but it all depends on how the provider & receives feel it & blend with it.
    Creating valuable culture is really tough task but once developed returns are enormous

    ReplyDelete

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