Organizational Culture for Journal of Nursing- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theOrganizational Culture for Journal of Nursing Studies. Answer: Introduction In this era of globalization, the attitudes of management of the companies are also evolving with the widen information technologies and the bigger intrusiveness of the national and international governments in the major spheres of the business management (Wise Velayutham, 2014). There have been several studies on the understanding of the difference of intercultural communication and its impact on the organizational culture between countries. Most such studies are generally restricted within the sociolinguistic parameters or have mostly revolved around the politeness phenomena, lunch etiquette, foreign language acquisition or norm discrepancy. There are some huge culture differences in Asia and Australia region and this makes few specific differences in the organizational culture. Some researchers claim that Australia is almost a part of Asia but this claim is psychologically wrong and geographically questionable (Barak, 2016). Australia is a major part of a global politics where so me Asian countries are entangled with the financial and social development. Therefore this report will cultivate on the organizational culture of Unilever in both the countries, Singapore and Australia, in terms of their work place layout, individual behaviour such as dress codes, bureaucracy and interpersonal practices. Background of the company Unilever is a transitional consumer productions organization based in Netherlands. The company has a wide range of products including beverages, foods, personal care products etc. It is one of the biggest consumer goods organization along with the biggest manufacturer of food spreads like margarine. Unilever is the owner of more than four hundred brands and it is one of the oldest multinationals that sells its products over 190 countries all over the world (Unilever Global, 2018). The company is mostly categorized in four divisions: foods, personal care, and home care and refreshment products. This report will discuss the differences in organizational culture in the backdrop of Unilever. Work place Layout There is always a profound impact of the national culture on the work place layout, as when one walks into an office, it is quite evident. The offices of Unilever in Australia have small touches of their national culture such as faux koalas, surfboard tables, kangaroo printed wall or even the demographic map of Australia in the conference rooms. Even though there are also few personal touches and impact of the national culture on their designing of offices, the Australian offices are certainly more creative than the Singaporeans (Admi Eilon-Moshe, 2016). This may be due to the reason that Australians tend to be more creative while freeing their inner personalities free and they embrace their creative personality more than anywhere in the world. The Australian branches of Unilever exhibits more cultural flavour than any other country. Sometimes the designing of offices has been done by collaborating with some employees, therefore there is always a personal touch and every employee te nds to have a feeling of ownership. This enhances their idea of cohesiveness within a group and gives a feeling of solidarity. The theory of group think and group decision making indicates that this enhances the organizational communication, even though sometimes it can also lead to substandard decision making process (Klarsfeld et al., 2016). Therefore it is necessary that the final control stays in the hands of management. Bureaucracy and Office Culture There is a huge difference between how the bureaucracy works within the Singaporean and Australian culture. Considering the Hofstede cultural dimension, it can be seen that the work culture in Singapore ranks higher in individualism dimension, whereas Australia ranks quite low. This indicates the distinctive differences between the western and East Asian cultures. The individualistic culture in Australia imply that there is a openness in their communications, the employees know how to disclose their own opinion clearly, they are straight forward which eventually contribute in maintaining a positive environment within the office premises (D'Cruz et al., 2016). However in Singapore, the office culture is collectivistic which implies a group oriented culture. Indirect communications are emphasized here as maintaining the group harmony is more important than having a direct discussion. The Singaporean culture focuses more on monitoring and reflecting on the systematic procedures, whereas Australian culture believes that talking is therapeutic. In addition to that, the concept of hierarchy is quite strong in Singaporean culture as the senior employees or the higher management prefers sitting separately in their offices from the other employees, however sitting on floor and working has been embraced in the Australian office culture in Unilever. Another major difference can be indicated that like most western culture, the Australian culture in Unilever also believes that the business is mostly run by the consumers; however the Singaporean office culture believes that the higher management is the most important part of any business (Rees Smith, 2017). Therefore they are treated with extreme respect and hierarchy. The millennial employees prefer breaking down the walls between the higher management and the rest of the employees; however employees from older generations tend to expect more hierarchy and privacy in Singapore. Work hours Reflecting on working hours is very much helpful in understanding the difference in organizational culture in both the countries. In the Unilever office in Singapore, employees do not start their shifts early in the morning. They are mostly seen to be coming in the office around 11 or 12oclock in the morning and they also work till late nights (Lyons Kuron, 2014). They prefer spending time with their family in the morning before they start their office work. However, in the Australia office, most employees start their day early in the morning and they prefer finishing their job as soon as possible to go home and be with their family. Individual behaviour There is not much difference in dress codes in office in both the countries; however, the Australian office is more flexible when dressing is considered. There are days such as Fridays when employees come in casual dresses. However in Singapore, business casuals are always expected from their employees. The office environment is quite formal in Singapore; therefore the employees are not at all expected to come to office in casual dresses, not even on a specific day in a week. Another major difference in individual behaviour in both the countries is the type and manner the junior employees ask questions or interact with the higher management (Henning et al., 2017). As hierarchy is quite evident in the Singaporean office culture, the employees are expected to have a formal conversation with the higher management. While interacting with CEO or anyone from the higher management, it will probably take an entire team to go and talk to them. Even such interactions are mostly focused on busi ness in Singapore. However, the Australian office culture is much more informal than the Singaporean culture. The employees here are more informal and direct. Therefore if the CEO is visiting the Australian office and he starts interacting with the employees, he may expect some direct questions from the employees. However, this may never happen in the Singaporean culture. This feature carries a little difficulty as it is easier for the higher management to know about the employees in Australia, but understanding the approach of employees in Singapore is quite complex (Etelpelto, 2015). As discussed in the models of organizational communication, that there should be a continuous flow of communication, which is evident in both the countries, however, it is a much easier to flow the communication from the higher management to the employees in Singapore. However the communication culture is two-way in the Australian office. Socializing and food A major difference can be observed in Singaporean and Australian culture in terms of socialising with the employees and sharing food. Socializing in Australia is mostly done on the basis of important events or on weekends or Fridays. However, in Singapore the employees prefer to spend time with their families on weekends, so interacting and socializing with their colleagues happens mostly earlier in week. It is also believed in Singapore that building relationship with colleagues can only happen while they are sharing meals or going out with each other. However, the Australian culture is a little different as employees can socialize with their colleagues over few drinks, but it is not mandatory for having a cordial relationship amongst them (Hauff, Richter Tressin, 2015). In the Singapore office in Unilever, employees come together almost once in every day, mostly during lunch time, to gather and share their meals and socialize. As this is a multicultural country, food from differen t ethnicities are shared. As a result to that, this becomes a great way of interacting with rest of the employees out if the business context. However, Australian office exhibits more breakfasts together. There are people who bring breakfasts for everyone in the office. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that, both the countries are quite different in terms of their communication styles, approaches for finishing their jobs, decision making approaches or their attitude while a conflict takes place within the organization. Communication styles and language usages vary across culture as there can be words that carry different shades in them. In the Singaporean culture, people are more interested in developing relationships with their colleagues while they start with a project, however the Australian culture believes more in developing the relationship throughout the projects. Reference list Admi, H., Eilon-Moshe, Y. (2016). 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