Organizational Values

Melissa Milem

Principals of Management

Page 101: Building Management Skills/Diagnosing Culture

1. What values are emphasized in this culture?

2. What norms do members of this organization following?

3. Who seems to have played an important role in creating the culture?

4. In what ways is the organizational culture communicated to organizational members?

Definition of Organization Culture

~The shared set of beliefs, expectations, values, norms, and work routines that influence the ways in which individuals, groups, and teams interact with one another and cooperate to achieve organizational goals. Jones, Gareth. Contemporary Management. 7. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2011. 684. Print.

I'd have to say the United States Army.

1: The US Army has 7 core values that its organizational culture is based on: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, integrity and Personal Service.

2: Everyone in the military is expected to live up to these values. You do this by living them daily. You always respect your superiors and fellow soldiers, you always honor your country and fellow men/women. You fulfill your duties at all times, put your country and others above yourself and you do this while facing adversity and fear. All members of the US Army are expected to live by these norms.

3: I think every member of the US Army plays an important role in creating this culture. Each person bring something different to the table, adding to each value. These values were however created over the years through many lives lost and wars won. I don't think any one person could take credit for creating, organizing and instilling these values.

4: This organizational structure is communicated in Basic Training, AIT, your everyday active lives or your guard weekends if you are part-timer. You have these values that are made clear to you. You read about them before you make the decision to join, you learn about them while you are joining and then when you sign your name on the dotted line, you are expected to live by them.

I would say the US Army obviously is probably one of the greatest forms of an organizational culture that we have. However, as we all know, even the Military has issues with their employees (soldiers) as we see on the news regularly. It's sad to see these men and women disregarding such a high set of values for their own personal satisfaction, however I guess that is to be expected everywhere.