Organizational Culture

This essay compares the cultures of two firms in the same industry but in different countries, the United States and Japan, focusing on hierarchy, market, clan, and adhocracy cultures.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE 1
Organization culture.
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ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE 2
Introduction
Organizations exist for different purposes which may include the provision of goods and services
which are not readily available, making profits, helping the needy and other reasons. Each
organization has a culture which helps the organization to achieve its goals, mission, and vision.
One culture which is suitable for a certain organization does not necessarily mean that such
culture will be successful in another company (Contractor, 2012, p.321). The company should
keenly select the most suitable culture that will face minimal resistance or no resistance at all for
the organization to be successful. The organizational culture refers to the values, beliefs and
social interactions that enable the organization environment to be unique and different (Madu,
2012, p.1). There different types of culture which include hierarchy, market, clan and adhocracy
cultures. This essay is written to compare the cultures of two firms in the same industry but in
different countries and the United States of American and Japan have been selected.
Question 3.
Hierarchy culture focuses more on stability and control and gives much attention to flexibility
and discretion. The culture gives much attention to the internal operations of the firm and works
towards ensuring efficiency in the organization. The culture ensures that the Toyota Company
adheres to the set rules and regulations which are very vital in ensuring stability is achieved in
the organization (Zahari, and Shurbagi, 2012, p.89). The traditions and values of the organization
are followed keenly so as to avoid taking decisions which may be in conflict with the traditions
of the organization as this may affect the reputation and image of the firm. Market culture also
focuses on stability and control in the firm but gives more attention to external factors which
affect the firm. The external factors include profits which enable the firm to expand and grow.

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The culture also values competitive advantage which enables the company to compete
effectively with competitors in the industry (Wiewiora, et al.2013, p.1169). The Toyota
Company also likes to have achievements as such fetes enable the firm to be recognized and this
improves the public image of the firm which also attracts a good reputation which leads to
customer acquisition and retention.
Clan culture enables the organization to be more flexible and have the needed discretion and
gives more attention to the internal operations of the Ford motors company. The culture
encourages team spirit which is responsible for ensuring that there is teamwork in the form
which leads to sharing of information (Jacobs, et al.2013, p.121). The culture does not limit the
firm to following the set rules and regulations as it gives employees in the company freedom to
make decisions which will propel the interest of the company in the right direction. The culture
also encourages participative leadership which enables the views of the subordinates in the
organization to be considered when decisions are being made in the company. There is mutual
support in the firm and this also encourages teamwork in the organization. Adhocracy culture
also gives the organization flexibility and discretion but gives more attention to the external
environment (Yesil, and Kaya, 2013, p.432). The culture encourages innovation in the Ford
motors company as this leads to improved competitive advantage which enables the firm to
compete favorably with competitors in the industry. Flexibility facilitates innovation as
employees in the organization are able to make decisions on their own for the improvement of
the organization.
Question 2.
Individualism Vs Collectivism.

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Ford Motors Company in United States of America and Toyota Company in Japan have been
chosen to portray different cultures which are evident in the two nations. In ford motors,
individualism matters a lot. This is in relation to the contribution of each individual in the
achievement of the organization goals and objectives. The organization does not give much value
to team effort due to various factors such as speed. Every individual is given a task which should
be completed at a particular time. The culture associates teamwork with wastage of time as there
is a lot of consultation involved in the process of completing the tasks. Toyota Company gives
much emphasis to groups in the organization. The culture gives considerations to the effort of
every individual in the team and if the team fails, the individual contribution has no meaning
(Putri, and Salamah, 2018, p.614). This is due to the fact that decisions taken by the group are
very accurate as there is a lot of consultation involved and this gives little room for failure. The
culture of valuing groups in an organization also leads to sharing of vital information which
leads to innovations and inventions. Innovations in any organization lead to competitive
advantage which places the organization in a position which enables better compete with rivals.
Achievement Vs ascription.
The Ford motors prefer quick decision making in the organization. This is because the culture in
the organization prefers flexibility and discretion. This gives subordinates a chance to make
decisions on their own and this gives room for innovation and inventions in the organization.
Superiors in the organization delegate some powers to subordinates and this leads to quick
decision making which leads to solving various problems in the organization. This kind of
culture may lead to various mistakes in the organization as some employees may make poor
decisions which may cost the firm a lot of resources. Such errors may affect the reputation of the
company and lead to a loss of revenue (Putri, and Salamah, 2018, p.614). Toyota company, on

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the other hand, prefers consistency in the decision-making process. Hierarchy is highly followed
when decisions in the firm are being made as the firm is very conservative and cautious. This
kind of culture in the organization leads to a slow decision-making process which may lead to
delay in addressing critical matters of the organization. The slow decision making is due to
meetings which are conducted in order to make decisions. The much consultation leads to
minimal errors in the organization leading to the provision of quality products and services
which lead to customer acquisition and retention.
Action.
The Ford motors company gives much focus to return on investment and does not mind the
process of achieving the investment. They argue that the end justifies the means. This kind of
culture encourages unethical business practices as less attention is given to sustainable business
practices. Less time is spent on establishing the process needed to achieve a certain investment.
Ignoring the process leads to the production of poor quality products which may not attract the
required market and this calls for abandoning the process. Abandoning some investments due to
the poor process may lead to wastage of valuable resources as some investments are irreversible
and also very costly to reverse (Ammar, et al.2013, p.1454). Toyota company, on the other hand,
gives much emphasis to the process of achieving the achievements of the organization. In this
company, the means justify the end. This kind of culture enables the firm not to make
investments which are not viable as all factors are considered before the investment is approved.
This kind of culture also encourages sustainable business practices which improves the good
image of the company.
Inner Vs outer-directed.

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Ford motors culture encourages risk-taking in the organization. This is due to the fact that
American culture prefers flexibility over stability. Provided the probability of success is above
50%, the company will take the initiative regardless of the risks involved. Such risk-taking
culture has led to innovations which have resulted in a lot of success in the organization. The
risk-taking culture enables employees to take initiatives which lead to innovations and inventions
in the firm which lead to improved efficiency in the organization. Improved efficiency results in
reduced cost of operations and improved revenues. Such risk-taking culture has also resulted in
various errors which have cost the organization a lot of time and resources (Cui, et al.2013,
p.393). Toyota Company is risk averse as the culture in Japan does not give room for failure and
this discourages the firm in selecting investments which are risky in nature. Before undertaking
any project, the organization must ensure that the project will be successful so as to avoid failing
because failure in Japan can damage the reputation of the organization. This has helped the
company to always have successful business projects as all factors are put into consideration
before initiating the project (Schneider, et al.2013, p.375). Consultations are done and the
established hierarchy in the decision-making process must be followed so as to avoid
undertaking unsuccessful business projects. This kind of culture has also prevented the company
from undertaking projects which could have been very successful and this has hindered the
growth and expansion of the organization in various aspects.
Communication.
Communications in the two organizations are also different because of different cultures which
exist between the two nations. Ford motors company practices both remote and face to face
communications. The culture in America allows businesses to contact clients using
teleconferencing facilities which have been made successful by advances in business

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communication. This kind of communication is appreciated because the decision-making process
in the organization is fast which does not give room for organizing and conducting meetings
(Straub, 2011, p.36). This kind of communication enables the firm to save time and resources
which could be spent in organizing for meeting such as traveling and accommodation expenses.
This leads to reduced operational costs which leads to improved profit for the firm. Toyota
Company in Japan prefers conducting face to face meeting when dealing with clients as this is a
sign of respect according to Japanese culture. The company prefers conducting meetings as this
leads to improved business relationships with clients. This is because the client feels appreciated
by the organization and this leads to better business deals for the company.
Neutral Vs Effective relationship
American culture encourages work-life balance as personal time and family is very important in
organizations and this is not different for Ford Motors Company. The culture encourages
workers to work within the stipulated working hours. Any work beyond the normal working
period call for overtime payment which is normally at a higher rate than the normal rate.
Employees in the firm also enjoy maternity and paternity leaves and this gives new parents time
to bond with families. In Japan, work life is given more importance and there is no work-life
balance (Zaker, and Boostanipoor, 2016, p.54). This forces employees in Toyota motors to work
extra hours more than their counterparts working in ford motors. Hard work in Japan is
appreciated and the culture does not encourage laziness and this forces employee to work extra
hours so as to meet the unrealistic targets set by the organization.
Conclusion

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It is clear that both united states of America and Japan have different cultures as it has been
portrayed by Ford motors company and Toyota company in Japan. The difference is cultures is
due to various factors such as chain of command in decision making, different communication
styles, work-life balance, risk taking, and decision making. The difference is also due to the fact
that the United States is multicultural while japan mainly consists of Japanese.

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