Organizational CultureOrganizations have personalities like individuals, and like individuals, they have long-lasting, stable traits that help us predict their attitudes and behaviors. An organization's culture can be difficult to define, but it has a major impact on the behavior of individuals in the organization. To understand one's behavior in an organizational culture it is helpful to understand the dominant culture in an organization and to understand how individuals come to learn that culture and how the culture influences them. Definition of Organizational Culture (7 Characteristics) There appears to be broad consensus that Organizational culture refers to a system of shared meanings held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations. This system of shared meaning is, upon closer examination, a set of key characteristics that the organization values. Recent research suggests that seven primary characteristics, collectively, capture the essence of an organization's culture.1. Innovation and risk taking: the degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks2. Attention to detail: The degree to which employees are expected to display precision, analysis, and attention to detail3. Results orientation: the degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than the techniques and processes used to achieve those results4. People orientation: the degree to which management decisions take into account the effect of people's outcomes within the organization5. Team orientation: the degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals6. Aggression: The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than accommodating… middle of paper… is the consistency of employee behavior. These are clearly benefits to an organization. From the employee's perspective, culture is valuable because it reduces ambiguity. Tell employees how things are done and what's important. But we shouldn't ignore the potentially dysfunctional aspects of culture, especially a strong culture. Culture is an obstacle when shared values ​​do not agree with those that will promote the organization's effectiveness. This situation is more likely to occur when the organization's environment is dynamic. When the environment is undergoing rapid change, the organization's ingrained culture may no longer be appropriate. Consistency of behavior is an asset for an organization in a stable environment. It can, however, burden the organization and hinder its ability to respond to changes in the environment.