Organizational_Behavior

Abstract The purpose of this study is to conduct an analysis on the impact of organizational culture on job satisfaction. This study was conducted by reviewing several literature sources on the practices and theories of organizational culture and job satisfaction. Literature sources for this study were randomly selected from the Northcentral University’s online library. Throughout the document, references are made to those literary sources, which are annotated in American Psychological Association (APA) format. The findings of this research highlight the multidimensionality of organizational culture in regards to job satisfaction. Keywords: Job satisfaction, organizational culture, employee motivation, turnover Introduction It has been widely acknowledge that employee morale and work attitudes are significantly influenced by organizational culture. When job satisfaction is high amongst employees, organizations tend to experience lower rates of absenteeism and have reduced rates of intention to leave amid organizational members. Likewise, when job satisfaction is lacking, employees have more work, and higher rates of turnover. Absenteeism and turnover resulting from low satisfaction pose financial obstacles to business organizations and places a strain on employees who must fill vacant roles. If turnover is consistently high, worker morale may suffer which can lead to employee burnout problems. Therefore, organizations can leverage organizational culture to promote the achievement of job satisfaction and organizational goals. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction by conducting a literature review of selected research articles. Job Satisfaction Defined In dealing with job satisfaction, various definitions exist to define this term. Locke and Lathan (1976) defined job satisfaction as a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience. Lambert, Hogan, and Barton (2002) referred to job satisfaction as “a subjective, individual-level feeling reflecting whether a person’s needs are or are not being met by a particular job” (p. 116-117). Luthans (1998) argues that job satisfaction is an emotional response to a job situation, which can only be inferred, often determined by how well outcomes meet or exceed expectations. Schneider & Snyder (1975) defines job satisfaction as “as a personal evaluation of conditions present in the job, or outcomes that arise as a result of having a job” (p.318). The important point here is that the assessment of job satisfaction is a common activity in many organizations where management feels that employee-well being is important; whether it is for humanitarian or pragmatic reason. Also, job satisfaction can be a result of an employee’s perception of how well their job provides those things that are viewed as important to them by taking into account their feelings, beliefs, and behaviors. Any dissatisfaction with an organization’s culture is likely to manifest in resistance to management and lower levels of customer service. Organizations that contain critical masses of dissatisfied employees are likely to form a work culture that does not encourage members to perform tasks to their optimum ability. Employee morale is usually the victim of low levels of job satisfaction. The level of morale is often linked to the amount of job satisfaction experienced by the employee. The culture usually provided an environment where the leaders of the organization attempted to maximize the satisfaction of employees. Conversely, remedying the causes of dissatisfaction will not create satisfaction because differing factors related to job satisfaction hold varying degrees of importance to individuals. What is one employee’s joy can be another employee’s pain. Organizational Culture Defined Cooke & Rousseau (1988) defined organizational culture as an encompassing behavioral norms and values specific to organizational policies, procedures, and preferred outcomes, and other normative elements of behavior within an organizational setting. Additionally, Kusluvan & Karamustafa (2003) declare that the values and beliefs that emerge from the ongoing negotiation and practices among group members become a source of reference for what is deemed acceptable or unacceptable in an organization in terms of right and wrong behavior. Finally, Schein (1990) defines organizational culture as: a pattern of basic assumptions, invented, discovered or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration… (p. 111). The values and beliefs that underlie organizational culture likely reflect what is most important to the founders and/or company leaders as they are responsible for the vision and purpose of the organization, and presumably exemplify and reinforce the core values and beliefs through their own behavior (Scheres & Rhodes, 2006). Overall, culture is posited to affect job satisfaction and organizational commitment through its function as a medium for the articulation and communication of organizational goals and priorities to staff. People depend on culture as it gives them stability, security, understanding, and the ability to respond to a given situation. Organizational culture can influence how people set personal and professional goals, perform tasks, and administer resources to achieve them. This exists because individuals behave in ways that are consistent with their values, and organizational culture is a set of shared values. Literature The competing values framework has been adopted by many researchers and theorists as a tool to assess culture and organizational effectiveness across common dimensions. Gregory, Harris, Armenaksi, & Shook (2009) adopted the competing values framework to assess organizational culture as it relates to organizational performance by interviewing top managers within the organization. This research assessed organizational culture as it relates to organizational performance across two dimensions: structure and focus. The structure dimension captures the difference between organizations that strive for consistent patterns of behaviors and those organizations that attempt to allow their employees to dictate their own behaviors. The focus dimension ranges from an external focus to an internal focus. An internal focus consists of factors, such as employee satisfaction, while an external focus emphasizes the organization’s ability to function well in its environment. The framework of this study helps identify a set of guidelines that can help leaders diagnose and manage the interrelationships, congruencies, and contradictions among different aspects of an organization. However, the study failed to demonstrate the necessary mediating variables that can provide feedback on the appropriateness of an organization’s culture. Along with this, the research population was only centered on top managers instead of surveying all members of the organization; which could have potentially increased the validity of the study. Drawing on the cultural distance perspective, Froese & Peltokorpi (2010) proposed that the national cultural distance is an important determinant of expatriate job satisfaction. Cultural distance is defined as “differences between any two countries with respect to level of development, education, business and everyday language, cultural values, and the extent of connections between these countries” (p.2). The study revealed that cultural distance can affect expatriate job satisfaction due to the difficulties that expatriates face in gaining insights on social cues and creating a shared understanding with host country nations. Under the guise of this study, the researchers pointed out that cultural differences that act as markers of social identity also make it more challenging for expatriates to develop social ties with host country nations and establish a position amidst information and influence networks in foreign subsidiaries. In addition, different cultures often develop within different functional units of an organization which can be a source of conflict when company-wide initiatives require coordination among departments. However, this study is not able to provide a longitudinal account of expatriate job satisfaction due to cross-sectional designs. This is unfortunate because job satisfaction and cross-cultural adjustment are time-related processes. Finally, Sempane, Rieger, & Roodt (2002) argued that the relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction is interdependent in nature and both factors impact one another’s ability to achieve positive results. Three common approaches were used to measure the relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction: structural, perceptual, and interactive. The structural approach viewed organizational culture as a characteristic or objective attribute of an organization. The perceptual approach is based upon individual perceptions of the organization and is reflected in work experience and personality. The interactive approach is maintained through social interactions in the workplace where employees develop similar perceptions of the organization. Based upon the research, the study concluded that a relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction existed within a limited capacity. However, no matter what approach is taken people will evaluate their satisfaction level according to what they perceive as being important and meaningful to them. The evaluation of the different aspects of the job by employees is of a subjective nature, and people will reflect different levels of satisfaction around the same factors. Overall, these research articles reveal that organizational culture does have a significant impact on job satisfaction. Although, measuring the impact of organizational culture on job satisfaction has proven to be a difficult task; the literary articles provide alternative measures to do this. Therefore, it is very important for companies to accurately assess their current organizational structure and determine what weak areas exist. Once the current culture is determined, management can determine what areas of focus will yield a more positive culture. Once a more positive culture is adopted, job satisfaction should increase. Understanding how these variables function within an organization provides organizational leaders with the knowledge and direction to attain a wide range of goals. Conclusion The theoretical link between the group culture domain and satisfaction is based on the idea that organizations with group domain values such as cohesiveness, empowerment, and participatory decision-making are likely to create an environment that fosters employee satisfaction. Nevertheless, a strategic way of achieving job satisfaction is to establish a culture that encourages communication and is directed towards quality work. It is particularly important for employees to see excellence rewarded, to not fear making mistakes, to work in an atmosphere of helpfulness, and to see a relationship between hard work and rewards. As the tool for such strategic changes, organizational culture can be altered by reshaping functions, such as the communications systems and by building teams and creating leaders. Managing change is the challenge for today's businesses and its success or failure will judge the viability of any firm in the years to come. 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