Workplace culture – Which one works for you?

The workplace is perhaps one of the most multicultural environments experienced by South Africans.

Co-Master, franchisor for ActionCOACH Pieter Scholtz, believes that this makes the creation and maintenance of a positive workplace all the more important.

According to Scholtz, a strong culture makes the company more appealing to potential employees and helps to retain the best talent.

No two workplace cultures are ever quite alike, because no two organisations are the same. According to Scholtz, to a certain extent, the industry in which a company operates will dictate its culture.

He believes that it’s useful to look at Irish philosopher Charles Handy’s four overarching types of workplace culture:

Power Culture: Employees are expected to follow their superiors’ instructions to the letter and do not have the liberty to express alternative viewpoints. Such cultures often suffer, falling victim to high staff dissatisfaction at the lower hierarchical levels.

Task Culture: Solving problems and achieving targets are at the heart of the company. Small teams with similar specialisations are grouped and expected to contribute equally to the task at hand. They tend to remain stimulated and content, and are given the room to innovate and think creatively.

Person Culture: The well-being of the company takes a backseat to the personal importance of each employee. When employees place too much emphasis on their own concerns, in the absence of a strong sense of teamwork or a common goal, productivity and staff satisfaction are low.

Role Culture: Every employee is given responsibilities based on their delegated role and their professional specialisation. This is all done in the interest of extracting the best performance out of each individual. Power and responsibility are the results of hard work and proven performance, and, therefore, employee motivation and work performance tend to be higher.