Organizational Cultures

Charles Handy (1978) suggested four types of organizational culture and he has applied his
classification to the characterization of schools as organizations (Handy, 1984). His
discussion of the organizational culture is concerned with looking at how attitudes and
relationships give rise to a climate or culture that can be highly successful in working
productively towards shared aims on the other. Organizational culture will also give greater
or lesser emphasis to the maintenance of social, task, and individual needs.
Handy names four organizational cultures as follows:
1. The power or club culture
There are some organizations where the power remains in the hands of only a few
people and only they are authorized to take decisions. They are the ones who enjoy
special privileges at the workplace. They are the most important people in the
workplace and are the major decision-makers. These individuals further delegate
responsibilities to the other employees. In such a culture the subordinates have no
option but to strictly follow their superior’s instructions. The employees do not have the
liberty to express their views or share their ideas on an open forum and have to follow
what their superior says. The managers in such a type of culture sometimes can be
partial to someone or the other leading to major unrest among others.

2. The role of culture

Role culture is a culture where every employee is delegated roles and responsibilities
according to his specialization, educational qualification, and interest to extract the best
out of him. In such a culture employees decide what best they can do and willingly
accept the challenge. Every individual is accountable for something or the other and has
to take ownership of the work assigned to him. Power comes with responsibility in such
a work culture.

3. The task of culture

Organizations, where teams are formed to achieve targets or solve critical problems,
follow the task culture. In such organizations, individuals with common interests and
specializations come together to form a team. There are generally four to five members
in each team. In such a culture every team member has to contribute equally and
accomplish tasks most innovatively.

4. The person’s culture

There are certain organizations where the employees feel that they are more important
than their organization. Such organizations follow a culture known as person culture. In
a person’s culture, individuals are more concerned about themself rather than the
organization. The organization in such a culture takes a back seat and eventually
suffers. Employees just come to the office for the sake of money and never get attached
to it. They are seldom loyal to the management and never decide in favor of the
organization. One should always remember that organization comes first and everything
else later.
 5. Culture conflict
As may have been obvious from the earlier description of organizational cultures,
different sections within a large organization may have quite different cultural
characteristics from one another. The basis for conflict between two organizational
sub-cultures should be clear and can help explain why the relationship between the
two sides is so important. It is used to appreciate why and how these cultural
differences exist to help achieve understanding and the interdependence of the two
complementary aspects of an organization.

Conclusion
Schools are highly complex organizational, containing as they do two sets of people-
staff and students - who interact in diverse ways. Added to these is the relationship of the
school to its society. economic and political environment. The school is, therefore, subject to
internal and external forces which greatly complicate the manager's job. All managers have a
responsibility to be as well-informed as possible and to provide adequate resources and
facilities for carrying out agreed aims. Part of this responsibility is some understanding of
organizations, how they work and how they are structured Such understanding should help
the manager in processes like setting objectives, planning to control, and delegating. Above
all, the successful manager will attempt to involve everyone in the organization in decision-
making planning, and implementation and will provide the conditions in which such a
participative style of management and action will flourish.