FUNCTIONS AND CHARACTERS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

FUNCTIONS AND CHARACTERS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE A. Functions of Organizational Culture Culture in an organization has a number of functions (Susanto, 2008), namely; a) Organization binder. Organizational culture functions as a follower of all components of the organization, especially when the organization is facing shocks. b) Integrator. Organizational culture is a tool to unite various traits and characters as well as talents and abilities that exist in the organization. c) Organizational identity. Organizational culture is one of the identities of the organization. For example, the logo of an organization that symbolizes the identity of the organization. d) Energy to achieve high performance. Organizational culture functions as an injection of energy to achieve high performance. e) Quality characteristics (sign quality). Organizational culture is a representation of the quality characteristics that apply in the organization. f) Motivator. A strong culture will be a strong motivator for members of the organization. g) Leadership style guidelines. An organizational culture that has been deeply rooted can be a guideline for a leadership style that is appropriate for the conditions of the organization concerned. h) Value enhance. A strong organizational culture that is deeply ingrained in the minds of every member of the organization will be one of the factors that can increase value for members, customers, suppliers, and other parties related to the organization. B. Characteristics of Organizational Culture The Jakarta Consulting Group (Susanto, 2008) uses 12 (twelve) characteristics of organizational culture, namely; a. Leadership Leadership plays an important role in organizational culture, especially in organizations with weak organizational cultures. In a weak corporate culture, leadership will play a dominant role. For example, authoritarian leadership will produce a culture that is very different from democratic leadership. b. Innovation Whether in carrying out tasks, it is more oriented towards the 'use existing traditions' approach pattern and using proven methods, or providing the freedom to apply new methods through experimentation. c. Individual initiative Individual initiative includes the degree of responsibility, freedom, and independence of each member of the organization. Namely, how much authority is given to someone in carrying out their duties, how heavy the responsibility that must be borne according to authority, and how broad the freedom is in making decisions. d. Risk tolerance Discusses how far human resources are encouraged to be more aggressive, innovative, and willing to take risks in their work e. Direction The clarity of the organization in determining objectives and expectations for human resources regarding the results of the work carried out. Expectations can be expressed in the form of quantity, quality, and completion time. f. Integration Integration is how units within the organization are encouraged to carry out activities in good coordination, namely how far the relationship and cooperation are emphasized in carrying out tasks. And how deeply the interdependence between human resources is embedded. g. Management support Discusses how well managers provide clear communication, assistance, and support to subordinates in carrying out tasks. h. Supervision Supervision includes regulations and direct supervision used by the organization's management to see the overall behavior of the organization's members. i. Identity Identity is the understanding of organizational members who side with the organization in full. How far the organization's members side with the organization itself. j. Reward system The reward system talks about the allocation of 'rewards' (salary and promotion) based on the criteria of the work results of the members of the organization. In organizations with a clear reward system, everything has been standardized based on predetermined criteria. k. Tolerance of conflict Tolerance of conflict means an effort to encourage members of the organization to be critical of the conflicts that occur. In an organizational culture with high tolerance for conflict, debate in meetings is something normal. Conversely, in organizations with low tolerance for conflict, members of the organization will avoid debate, but grumble behind their backs. l. Communication patterns Communication patterns talk about organizational communication that is limited to the formal hierarchy of each organization. Furthermore, Juran in Goetsch and Davis (2000) presents the characteristics of organizations that have a strong quality culture, namely; • Management philosophy is described broadly. • Emphasizes the organization's human resources • Holds ceremonies to celebrate important moments of the organization. • Gives recognition and awards to successful workers. • Has an effective internal communication network to communicate culture. • Has informal rules of conduct. • Has a strong value system. • Has high work standards. • Organizational culture is clearly defined.