Organisation Culture

Within T Mobile there are people of many different nationalities, religions, back grounds and interests. However there are many visible aspects of culture within T Mobile. When you walk into a t Mobile store regardless of the area or region they are all the same. The atmosphere they have adapted is very relaxed, calm and "cool". All stores play the same up to date pop/ RnB Music and it is very noticeable that all staff talk in a polite but not too formal manner.
T Mobile staff all wear the same uniform which is the black polo shirt with the logo or the fleece. The management also dress the same as their employee's rather than dressing in a more formal manner than separates them from their staff.

Four types of culture's Handy, 1993

Organisational culture is "The collection of traditional values, policies, beliefs and attitudes that constitute a pervasive context for everything we do and think in an organisation".
(Management and Organisational behaviour, page 828)

Power culture

• This is usually found in small self owned businesses. These types of organisations rely solely on trust within the organisation and personal communication in order to work well. The control of the organisation is left to the middle person decided by the owner. An organisation that uses the power culture is Headmasters, Hairdressers.

Role culture

• This is usually a government organisation, Handy (1993) describes role culture as "pillars", and this is dependant on strength of those higher up in the organisation (the senior staff, management). These staff are usually those within departments such as finance or marketing etc. The management bellow will then delegate work and communication within the pillar to staff below them. The position or "title" that you hold is more important that your individual character or personality. Government such as Reading Borough council use this culture.

Task culture

• Handy (1993), describes this as a business that is development orientated, which means the culture will change. The task culture and structure of the business is linked together by a "net". Those who are very skilled and are higher up are praised but task culture brings together those with many different sources and supplies. Which means unlike in role culture, those higher and lower in the power scale are able to work together, including other departments. An example of this would be the Matrix organisation.

Person culture

• This culture is based highly on the individual and the structure works around the individuals. The employees of the business can decide how the business runs and the day to day work. Employee's within the business will work together to do their own thing. This could be in sharing equipment, helping each other etc. Each individual is responsible for their own power. An example of this is Shoo smiths- Attorney Law firm Reading.

The problems of trying to classify culture into one of Handy (1993) four cultures is that, these cultures are to be followed severely. And every organisation/business is different. Needs and work may change. Which means that businesses culture will gradually change. Departments may start to work closer with managers, seniors may communicate on an higher scale and employee's may have a bigger say in how the business is run etc.

In conclusion Handy (1993) shows businesses and organisations rules on how they should be run. These cultures Power, role, task and person culture. Businesses should follow these guidelines, although every organisation has a unique culture with unique staff and every ones wants and needs are different.

Reference

Mullins, L. (2010) Management & Organisational Behaviour. Essex: Pearson Education Limited