Company culture defines the values, beliefs, practices, and attitudes that individuals in an organization share. The company culture affects the way the individuals in the organization feel about the work they perform (Feldman, 2019). The culture of any company can eventually affect the results starting from the executive post to the lowest level. Developing a good environment for the employees will positively affect the way they perform tasks. This process culminates by developing an appropriate and effective ethical culture. Ethical culture describes the assumptions, expectations, and assumptions for individuals at all levels in the company. Establishing an effective ethical culture across the organization levels is a challenging task that eventually reaps multiple benefits in the long run.
BOT Inc. should make sure to establish a shared vision and mission throughout. This process will require the company to set clear goals and objectives as well as the steps that they need to take to achieve these objectives. Visions that are constructed clearly by the company demonstrate its aspirations. It is easy for staff and management of the organization to develop a similar culture to achieve company goals. companies that need to share a common ethical culture within themselves should consider leading by example. The company should demonstrate integrity and have a long-term outlook to inspire other staff. Integrity refers to the moral responsibility that inspires honesty and responsibility in individuals. Companies with this trait also are free of corruption and hypocrisy and will constantly demonstrate and inspire a good character.
BOT Inc. should communicate clear expectations of its code of ethics and conduct. Codes of conduct help communicate the company’s expectations of the staff in their operations. The code contains expectations in attire, behavior, and attitudes the employees should display, including primary and ethical rules. A code of conduct helps create cultural norms. Reporting any portrayal of unethical behavior is the responsibility of every employee. Shy and introverted employees prefer to avoid any cases of confrontations, and intimidation that can result from reporting unethical behavior they witness in the workplace. Companies are supposed to consider these types of individuals and work on providing a level of protection. Appointing third-party consultants like ethics officers, ethics consultants, or ombudsmen will give these employees the courage and assurance of not losing their jobs and peace of mind when reporting unethical behavior. Another sure way of instilling a shared ethical culture within any organization is to organize programs for ethics learning. Programs, training programs, and seminars like these communicate the company’s expectations on the type of behavior and ethical culture and their stance in the matter.
Globalization describes the interdependence in processes, either social, economic, political, or cultural, that leads to the interconnectedness of businesses and organizations across the world. Globalization is significant in changing the way people interact especially from a business perspective. The competing values framework focuses on different dimensions that define the effectiveness of organizations. These indicators are related to the organizational focus and the organization’s preference for structure. Globalization can change the economic nature among nations to expand markets, open worldwide supply chains, and provide access to international goods. There are many differences and opposing values among different businesses within the globe. Globalization can significantly change several processes like communication and ethics. The global context can affect businesses both positively and negatively. Employee globalization helps avail them of better opportunities. Other impacts can impose unnecessary changes to the organizational culture which can end up disrupting the flow of business, work relationships, and leadership systems. The organization needs to have a clear set of rules that will define and maintain its culture to survive in the global context.
The culture of an organization plays a role in defining its structure and vice versa. The structure of the organization acts as a cultural symbol for the whole organization with different values, norms, and assumptions that affect the organization as a whole. Establishing the most appropriate and effective organizational structure and culture requires the executives to ask several key questions. The culture within an organization determines the stability, the behavior, and creates a sense of belonging to the members. The executives should find out if the current structure best meets the needs of the organization in terms of business and cultural needs. It is also crucial to enquire and investigate whether the structure effectively manages the challenges and issues between peers and cross-functional relationships like teams. The other issue that the executives need to investigate is whether the organization is making effective decisions in the production process.
The current organizational structure of BOT Inc. is a functional structure, which shows the highest level of authority down to the lowest and to whom each report. The most appropriate e organizational structure that best fits a software company is a matrix organizational structure. The matrix structure displays cross-functional structures and divisional structures. Both these structures work together to create a dual command station, for example, the employee reports to two managers who collaborate to monitor the employee’s performance. The matrix system will help achieve the manager’s preference of reducing costs for the organization by sharing employees and a better overview of the projects and employees.
References
Feldman, S. P. (2019). The chain of memory: On the relations between moral culture, the individual, and the past. Memory as a Moral Decision, 3-34. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351325080-1
Lukinaitė, E., & Sondaitė, J. (2017). Mindset of employees working in a matrix organizational structure. Business: Theory and Practice, 18(0), 144-151. https://doi.org/10.3846/btp.2017.015
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