Dissertation Organizational Culture Sample

Dissertation
Importance of Pay and Other Rewards in Improving
Organisational Performance in
Alliance Boots, UK
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am extremely thankful for the assistance and support provided to me during the accomplishment of my
research project. I would like to thank my mentor, who provided me the opportunity to complete this
project and helped me at each point of this research report.Additionally, I would also like to express my
gratitude to my team members who helpedme in the overall collectionand assessment of data, for survey in
order to have a suitable result from the survey. I would also like to thank my family members who gave me
inspiration, supported me and encouraged to perform the research and provided me financial and moral
support during the survey.
This research report provided me immense amount of knowledge and helped me to acquire new
information in various areas of management. The efforts taken by me would not have been possible without
the helpof individuals and organizations so would like to extend my sincere thanks to them who helped me in
completion of this project.

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ABSTRACT
Organizational culture is made up of all the diverse experiencesof everypersonwho brings into the
organizationand is especiallyinfluencedbythe eachmembers own individual cultural backgrounds. Culture
is symbolizedin different languages, symbols, decisionmaking and the daily work practices. A common
culture is built up in the organizationso that eachone could followa similar attitude and belief inthe
workplace and the firm can present a positive environment to its employees andalso the people outside the
organizationcould easilyassess the image of the company. Organizational culture includes the way any
individual or a group interact and converse a message to eachother, their customers andstakeholders.
Corporate culture is providedto every existingand any of the new members of an organization that could
help them to get familiar with the environment and culture of the workplace.
Organizational culture basicallyconveys the message among the workforce onthe basic beliefs and
ideas that needto be pursued by each of them in order to attain their respective corporateaims and objectives.
Corporate culture is asignificant factor that affects the internal as well as the external environment of the
business and helps to build in useful analytical tool for the organization. The culture of any of the
organizationshould be designedin such a manner that it could be easilyacceptedby everyone and should be
made in lieu with the existingand new employee’s commonculture. It is very much important to build in a
commonculture inthe workplace as it helps in promotinghealthy competitioninthe office and people
perform ina more organizedand proficient manner that their fellowworkers in order to earnadmirationand
appreciationof their superiors.
This researchreportis conductedto gainan in-depth knowledge about the organizational culture and
its significance inthe current environment and how it is beneficial for the employees workingin an
organization. In this respect ananalysis is being done on one of the leading computer brands i.e. Hewlett-
Packard (hp) focus was given on assessment of the culture of this companyand how it manages to shape the
culture in various nations. In this study a secondaryresearchwas being carriedout and many of the scholarly
journals and articles were beingreviewed to gain an insight about this firm and how it manages the several
different challenges that are being facedduring the enforcement of culture.

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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................1
1.1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................1
1.2. LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................................1
1.3. COMPANY BACKGROUND .................................................................................................2
1.4. RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.................................................................................2
1.5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY............................................................................................. 2
1.6. RESEARCH QUESTION ....................................................................................................... 3
1.7. RESEARCH RATIONALE .................................................................................................... 3
1.8. STUDY ON HP AND IBM ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ................................................4
1.9. STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH.......................................................................................5
1.10 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................................................................8
2.1 INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................8
2.2 MEANING OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ........................................................................8
2.3 IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ...............................................................10
2.4 LEADERSHIP ACROSS DIFFERENT CULTURES...................................................................11
2.5 GEERT HOFSTEDE’S MODEL OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE......................................12
2.6 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE CHANGE ..............................................................................14
2.7 EDGAR SCHEIN MODEL OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE.............................................. 15
2.8 TOOLS TO IDENTIFY AND DEVELOP ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE.............................. 17
2.9 FACTORS AFFECTING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE.......................................................18
2.10 CULTURAL DIVERSITY ........................................................................................................19
2.11 COMPANY BACKGROUND...................................................................................................21
2.12 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE OF HP .................................................................................21
2.13 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................ 23
CHAPTER 3 - RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...........................................................................................24
3.1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................24
3.2. RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES...............................................................................25
3.3. RESEARCH APPROACH AND PHILOSOPHY.................................................................. 25

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3.4. DATA ANALYSIS................................................................................................................26
3.5. VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY 27
3.6. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY..........................................................................................27
3.7.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS........................................................................................... 28
CHAPTER 4 – DATA ANALYSIS ...........................................................................................................29
4.1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................29
4.2. THEMATIC ANALYSIS.......................................................................................................30
4.3. CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................... 34
CHAPTER 5- CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................31
CHAPTER 6 – REFLECTIVE STATEMENT .............................................................................................35
REFERENCES 36

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Figure 1: Greet Hofstede Model of Organizational Culture ..........................................................12
Figure 2: Edgar Schein Model of Organizational Culture………………………………………16

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CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION
1.1. INTRODUCTION
Organizational culture is a vivid term that reflects the personality of a company that is comprised of
various assumptions, significance, standards and tangible objects of organizational members and their activities.
Culture is an environmental factor that surrounds every individual all of the time; it is one of the significant
elements that shapes atmosphere of work, relationship with work and the work processes (Alvesson, 2002).
In an organizational context culture is something that could not be seen and can only be observed and felt
in the work place. Culture of an organization can be looked at as a system that provides a composite image
of the organization; culture helps a firm to distinguishit from other organizations. Culture is described as a
system of shared meaning, it is expected that every individual with various backgrounds or at different
levels in the company will be liable to define the culture of organization in a similar manner (Flamholtz,
and Randle, 2011).
1.2. LITERATURE REVIEW
A culture is made up of several values, attitudes, beliefs, assumptions and behaviors mutually shared
by a group of people. It is the performance or activities that results when a group assembles generally to work
on a common platform (Martin, 2001). In an organization the culture is represented in a varied manner
because a number of people work together ina firm and each employee brings in varied experiences of life to
the organization. Organizational culture is built in mainly by the top level employees who are the founder of
the company and other managerial personnel as theyplay a major role inthe decisionmakingprocess. Hence,
it could be said that organizational culture is the sum total of a company’s past and present experiences,
values and philosophy that combines the organization in total and is represented in its self-image, working
atmosphere and dealings with the outside world (Martin and et al., 1991). Culture basically represents the
shared beliefs, attitudes, customs, set of rules that an organization develops over the time period.

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1.3. COMPANY BACKGROUND
This researchreportfocuses onanalyzing the cultural differences in organizations and how Hewlett-
Packard (hp) is shaping its organizational culture. Hewlett-Packardis a US based Multinational Corporation
headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP is one of the biggest information technology companies and
operates in near about the entire nation. It focus on developing and producing computers, networking
hardware, data storage, devising software’s and delivers various kinds of services (Hewlett-Packard, 2012).
This organization was founded in the year 1939 in a one car garage by two friends Bill Hewlett and Dave
Packard and toady it is the world’s leading manufacturer and producer of computers. It mainly markets its
products to households, enterprises, small and medium sized businesses through online distribution,
retailers, technology vendors and other software partners (McGrath, 2008.).
1.4. RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The main aim of the study is to evaluate the organizational culture of Hewlett-Packard (HP) and
how it is shaping the culture. In this context the aims contribute towards some of the following
objectives:
To examine the organizational culture and behavior theories as they are applied to enterprises.
To assess the effects of cultural differences on overall performance of an organization.
To evaluate the role of management in managing cross culture within the organization and
among its employees.
To analyze how HP is managing and shaping its organizational culture.
1.5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
It is a scientificmethodthat relies on creative work undertaken to enhance the existing knowledge and use
those wisdom to devise new applications, it is basicallyused for survey on a particular researchand is used
to establish facts (Torchim, 2001). In this report secondary data collection method will be used for this
different journal, articles, books and publications of various authors will be reviewed. The research survey
would be conducted among two different nations i.e. India and UK, the researcher will try to find out the
difference in organizational culture of Hewlett-Packard in these two nations and how does it shapes the
culture (Marczyk, DeMatteo and Festinger, 2010). The researcher will make an attempt to finish of the
study within the specifiedtime periodand will followall the ethical procedure that are required during the

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process of research and all the accumulated results and identity of the respondents would be kept
confidential.
1.6. RESEARCH QUESTION
In a research report the survey questions helps in providing precise direction to the studyin order to
complete the researchthat could be undertaken in an effective manner. Research questions aids in forming an
appropriate structure towards the aims and objectives of report in an analytical way. In this context the
specific questionnaire for this research report will highlight the significance of organizational culture and on
the methods and scope through which the company Hewlett-Packard shapes its organizational culture.
1.7. RESEARCH RATIONALE
Researchis being conductedto obtain specified information on a particular area, this research report
is having significance in the area of human resource management in which one of the leading factor
organizational culture will be given due attention and in this respect the leading company in terms of
manufacturing and producing computers all around the world i.e. HP will be reflected and due significance
will be given on the cultural policies of the organization and how it shapes the organizational culture with its
employees intwo different nations will be reviewed through this researchreport (Pfister, 2009). Culture of an
organization represents the collective beliefs, values and behavior of the employees; it is formed by the
values of a company, vision and mission, language of working, process, system and symbols that are being
used in the organization. In every organization a common culture is being followed because people from
diverse cultural and regional backgrounds work under single umbrella so, it is very much important that a
collective set of belief andbehavior should be implementedso that every employee could communicate with
each other successfully.
This research study will give focus on assessing the importance of organizational culture and how HP
is shaping its corporate culture. HP is a leading technology service provider to corporate, individuals and
institutions globally; this organization focuses a lot in providing an amazing and respectable culture to its
employees (Witte, 2000). Hewlett-Packard’s scope of business is vast in size and structure and company is
operated worldwide with various facilities of research and innovation. The main philosophy that is being
implemented in this organization is that they provide autonomy to their employees in work and at the same
time offer efficient teamwork and knowledge sharing culture in order to maintain the line of communication

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and collaboration in a well-organized manner (Hewlett-Packard Case Study, n.d). The information collected
in this researchreport wouldbe beneficial for various human resource personnel’s and the management of the
organization to evaluate the existing policies of organizational culture and the areas where modification is
required.
1.8. STUDY ON HP AND IBM ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
A positive organizational culture provides a great work environment where employees are motivated
and work for the attainment of common organizational objectives. The best way to build up a pleasant and
create a successful team is through fun working environment and promotes employee interaction; it means
that the company should try to avoid the situation of lack of communication and stressful working
atmosphere. In this context two of the most renowned information technology industries i.e. hp and IBM’s
organizational culture is being reviewed to assess their ways of working and motivating its staff members.
First and the foremost thing for any of the organization is to identify is its culture, whether the
environment is more of formal or informal in nature or is it family business. IBM and hp both of the
companies are in computer business, in terms of culture IBM is following more of formal and stoic culture
whereas, hp is having more of informal i.e. casual work environment. Secondly, the organization should
communicate about its culture among its workforce that what it wants from its employees and could
summarize the mission of business in a short form (Milberg, 2009).
After reviewing some of the journals and articles on organizational culture of hp and IBM it was
found that there is lot many disparityin boththe companies work environment and culture for its employees.
IBM follows arigid and prescribedform of work surroundings and demands that their employee should only
focus on the work they are being assigned. In contrary to this hp has implemented a very adaptable and
flexible working ambiance where everyone is offered an area for creativity and innovation and is led free to
achieve new heights in business. Both the organizations are a strong competitor for each other and are
serving equal customer base, the analysis of various reports have showed that hp is performing in a much
better way than the other one. It is due to the reason that hp is committed towards innovation a lot and it is
because of this the company invested $3.3 billion in research & development and IBM invested $6 billion in
the year 2011. In spite of such difference hp’s net annual revenue was greater than IBM i.e. of $127 billion
and of IBM $106.9 billion (Rasmussen, 2012).
In the aspect of offering a work culture hp leads ahead than IBM because it has been observed that
majority of people and clients are interest to work with hp. The culture of hp includes some of the basic

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attributes like; opinions flow freely in hp as compared to the other company, in this context it has been
visualized that hp provides an environment where employees do not hesitate to interact with their superiors
and the level of communication is very much strong among each of the members (Harrer, 2008). IBM has
implementeda stiff and strict principle of work culture in its work place, due to this many of the times it has
been noticed that employees do not speak well off about their organization and even does not recommend
anyone to be part of their firm, this ultimately creates a bad word of mouth for the company. In such
circumstances hp has molded itself with the prevailing atmosphere of the region and people, for instance it
has a difference of workculture inUK and India. In India hp offers distinguishedworkculture like optionfor
spilt shifts, work from home, high level of power distance in organization etc. all these has been done
matching with the Indian work culture.
There are several other attributes due to which hp is recognized for offering a world class
organizational environment to its workforce, it often provides outstanding rewards and benefits to its
employees that gives a better sense of value and growth to them. These were few of the reasons of choosing
hp as compared to IBM, because a research on it will provide a deep and profound knowledge on the
organizational culture (Ford, 2007).

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