Definitions
There is a great diversity of opinion concerning what the phrase organisational culture ' refers to ' (Brown, A. 1995 p.5), as organisations have their own way of expressing the values and goals that the employees and organisations share. (McAleese, et al. 2004) As a result, how organisational culture is defined has significant implications for how the concept is analysed. (Brown, A. 1995)
Brown (1995 p.6) defined organisational culture as the pattern of beliefs, values and learned ways of coping with experience that have developed during the course of an organisation 's history, and which tend to be manifested in its material arrangements and in the behaviours of it 's members. '
Robbins et al. (2001, p.555) defined organisational culture in terms of certain characteristics that the organisation and its members value in order to create a successful working environment. These include innovation and risk taking, attention to detail, focus on outcomes, consideration for members within the organisation, team orientation, aggressiveness and competitiveness and emphasise on stability or growth. (Robbins et al. 2001) The degree to which employees display these characteristics will therefore shape the organisations culture.
Functions
There are a number of functions that have been attributed to organisation culture, for example it enables organisations to be distinguished between one another or can suggest a sense of identity for
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