Company's Cultural Norms
The cultural norms in an organization are the behavior patterns that are typically seen. These are learned behaviors from organizational members, formed by the values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors within the organization's culture. These shared values and beliefs guide the thoughts and behavior of the members. The Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI) that was performed for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, in Pittsburgh, where I worked as a claim processor, gave a comprehensive picture of the culture within the organization. It accurately depicted the organization's culture in terms of norms and expectations, for the 12 behavioral styles. It was demonstrated that Highmark operated in a fairly average cultural norm environment. No major problems were noted; however, there is still room for improvement. The Constructive Norms, which are cultural styles promoting satisfaction behaviors, were one of the areas the Circumplex indicated my company could improve upon. In a Constructive Culture, organizational members interact with each other in such a way that their interactions help others to be successful. This type of culture is a positive environment that not only facilitates productivity, but job satisfaction as we
The other three segments were fairly equally scored at the high end of the medium scale. In the end, it becomes clear that Highmark is moderately adaptive in nature. The dependent segment revealed a score at the top end of the medium segment. In this way, Highmark could further set itself apart from the competition. Highmark was also at the higher end of the medium scale for the perfectionistic segment. This is accurate as there is a pervasive sentiment of going along with the other organization members, and members do value being liked by everyone. This does encourage members to take charge; however, it places a sometimes unproductive focus on building of the member's power base. This type of culture allows the organization to react efficiently and effectively to changing market conditions, allowing them to be more competitive in the marketplace. This can only be obtained by not only setting realistic goals, but also establishing plans to reach these goals, and working towards them enthusiastically, with employees who are continually growing. In this culture, persistence and hard work are valued. Although Highmark may reward their employees, the lack of empowerment is a concern, as oftentimes decisions cannot be made as quickly as needed to be responsive to a rapidly changing industry. In a conventional culture, the organization is typically quite traditional and conservative, with bureaucratic control mechanisms. Highmark scored in the medium range for all four segments represented on the Circumplex. Highmark received a high rating in the approval segment, indicating that conflicts are typically avoided in the organization.
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