telecom sector in India

 

INTRODUCTION This project report is based on research to study the organizational culture and its importance importa nce to the organization with special reference to Telecom Sector of India. Culture is an abstract abstract entity. But, it has practical practical meaningfulness particularly particularly in the organizational context. Culture creates the identity of an organization. It lends specific business climate where employees are nurtured. The buyer-seller relationship, relationship, indeed, reflects reflects assimilation assimilation of two organizations organizations bearing distinct distinct cultural cultural identities. identities. This article identifies identifies the cultural complexities and the process by which it moulds the relational dynamics between the  buyer and the seller. The article further explores ex plores some contextual contex tual incidents in cidents with reference referen ce to effective assimilation of culture, fostering the relationships between the buyer and the seller in real world scenario.   A business organization consists of people as its building  blocks who with their unique talents of skill, knowledge, expertise and attitude, come together to achieve the goals and objectives of the enterprise. Each of the individual brings his/her personal traits of likes, dislikes, emotions, values, etc. to the organization. Again, each individual having been born and brought up in a unique environment, has a distinct way wa y of th think inking ing,, react reactin ing g to variou variouss stim stimul ulii and perfor performi ming ng his/he his/herr task. task. But, But, an organization organiza tion can ill afford the luxury of dichotomy dichotomy of behavior of its members in terms of  methods and means they adopt or would like to adopt, to utilize the material and human assets of the enterprise for achieving its goals. Therefore, in an organizational set-up, there is a definite need for generating and developing a uniform patter pattern n of actions and relations down the line of command and in the various functional departments. This calls for  creat creatio ion n of an en envir vironm onmen entt th that at fine fine tunes tunes an and d modul modulate atess the the person personali ality ty trai traits ts of  individual individu al members to fit a desired organizational organizational behavior pattern. This is the genesis of  need for developing an `Organizational Culture'.

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Organizational culture is the lifeblood of the organization. It is the DNA of the organization, playing a pivotal role in shaping the behavior of its employees (Singh, 2009). If we analyze the various definitions of organizational culture as proposed by different scholars, then we will realize that it is a set of basic assumptions or a set of  customs or key characteristics. characteristics. These key characteristics characteristics can be termed as determinants determinants of  organizational culture. Singh (2009) has referred to the works of Chatman and Jehn (1994) to cite seven such elements of organizational culture that could be used to describe orga organi niza zati tion ons. s. Orga Organi niza zati tion onss di diff ffer er in th thee exte extent nt to whic which h they they va valu luee thes thesee co core re charact char acteris eristics tics.. Within Within the same same industry industry,, differen differentt compani companies es may emphasi emphasize ze these these determinants differently. This is the reason why two different organizations producing identica iden ticall product products, s, operatin operating g under under identic identical al marketi marketing ng conditi conditions ons and using using simila similar  r  technol tec hnologie ogiess in their their core core operati operating ng systems, systems, give differen differentt vibes vibes and feelings feelings to an outsider, thus proclaiming different organizational cultures across organizations.

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY •

To unders understa tand nd th thee concep conceptt of Organ Organiza izati tion on Cult Culture ure and its its impor importa tance nce to the organization in Telecom Sector of India.

•

To find out the scope of Organizational Culture in building employees relationship in an organization.

•

To study the role of Organizational Organizational Culture in building Buyer-Seller Buyer-Seller relationship in an organization.

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SCOPE & IMPORTANCE The growing demand for agribusiness agribusiness products has led to market conditions conditions across this industry to be more challenging and competitive than before. At the same time, channel members are also facing with increasing increasing cost pressures where inefficient inefficient channel members are unable to remain viable and therefore in many cases, supply chains have  become increasingly reliant on fewer but more efficient and reliable suppliers who are willing to develop a long-term sustainable relationship with buyers. This is particularly evident in an environment of decreasing real returns. Thus, developing, maintaining and improving buyer-seller relationship is a critical issue for agribusinesses so that they can value add and seek out long-term sustainability in the highly competitive industry (Weber, Current & Benton, 1991). The key to a successful channel partner relationship requires the development, developm ent, maintenance and improvement on the dynamics dynamics of a relationship relationship within the supply chain. This relationship evolves over time and requires commitments and careful management to achieve best possible value outcomes for all channel members. While  business-to-business  business-to-bus iness (B2B) relationships has been investigated (eg Gronross, Gronr oss, 1990; 1990 ; Perry, Cavaye & Coote, 2002) in great depth in the last decade, however limited studies (eg Duffy & Fearne, 2004; Masuku & Kirsten, 2004) have been conducted to evaluate the relationship as a whole and in particular addressing dyadic issues between the buyer and seller sell er within within the agribusi agribusiness ness industry industry.. Theref Therefore, ore, this this paper paper seeks seeks to investi investigate gate the current long-term relationships from both sides of the dyad by exploring the relation  between the evaluation and areas of improvement. improv ement. This study stud y draws from both bot h the theory and the preli prelimi minar nary y empir empirica icall knowl knowledg edgee gaine gained d fr from om inter intervie viewi wing ng stake stakehol holder derss responsible for the business relationships process in the Australian regional agribusiness industry. Hence, this paper will seek to identify the areas for improvement in a buyerseller relationship. 4

 

PROFILE OF TELECOM INDUSTRY OF INDIA India's telecommunicati telecommunication on network is the second largest in the world based on the total number of telephone users (both fixed and mobile phone). It has one of the lowest call tariffs in the world enabled by the mega telephone networks and hyper-competition among them. It has the world's third-largest third-largest Internet user-base with over 137 million as of  June 2012. Major sectors of the Indian telecommunication industry are telephony, internet and television broadcasting. Telephone Teleph one Industry in the country which is in an ongoing process of transforming into next generation network , employs an extensive system of modern network elements such suc h as digit digital al telephone telephone exchanges, exchanges, mobile mobile switchi switching ng centers centers,, media gateways gateways and signalling gateways at the core, interconnected interconnected by a wide variety of transmission systems using optical optical fiber  fiber  or  Microwa Microwave ve radio radio relayne relaynetwo tworks rks.. The The access access network  network , which which connects the subscriber to the core, is highly diversified diversified with different copper-pair, opticfiberr and wireles fibe wirelesss technolo technologies gies.. DTH, DTH, a relativ relatively ely new broadcasti broadcasting ng technolo technology gy has attained significant popularity in the Television segment. The introduction of private FM has given a fillip to the radio broadcasting in India . Telecommunication in India has greatly been supported by the INSAT system of the country, one of the largest domestic satellite systems in the world. India possesses a diversified communications system, which links all parts of the country by telephone, Internet, radio, television and satellite. Indian telecom industry underwent a high pace of market liberalization and growth since 1990s and now has become the world's most competitive and one of the fastest growing telecom markets. The Industry has grown over twenty times in just ten years, from under 37 million subscribers in the year 2001 to over 846 million subscribers in the [1]

year 2011.

India has the world's second-largest mobile phone user base with over 929.37

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million users as of May 2012. It has the world's third-largest Internet user-base with over  137 million as of June 2012. Thee total Th total revenue revenue of the Indian Indian tele telecom com sec sector tor grew grew by 7% to 283207 283207 crore  crore  (US$52 (US $52 billion) billion) for 2010–11 2010–11 financi financial al year, year, while while revenues revenues from tel telecom ecom equipme equipment nt segment stood at 117039 crore (US$22 billion). Telecommunication has supported the socioeconomic development of India and has played a significant role to narrow down the rural-urban rural-urban digital divide to some extent. It also has helped to increase the transparency of governance with the introduction of  egovernance in India. The government has pragmatically used modern telecommunication facilities to deliver mass education programmes for the rural folk of India.

Communications in India

Revenue (Total)

USD 33,350 million

Telephony

Telephone Subscribers (Total) (2012)

960.9 million (May 2012)

Fixed lines (May 2012)

31.53 million

Mobile phones (2012)

929.37 million

Mont Mo nthl hly y tel telep epho hone ne ad addi diti tion onss (Ne (Net) t) (May (May 20 2012 12))

8. 8.35 35 mill millio ion n

Teledensity (2012)

79.28 %

Rural Teledensity

33 %[1]

Projected teledensity by 2012

84 %

Internet access

Percent household access (total), 2012 10.2% of households (137 million)

Percent broadband household access

1.18% of households (14.31 million) 6

 

Broadband internet users

14.31 million (May 2012)[2]

Internet Service Providers (2012)

155

country code top-level domain

.in

Broadcasting

Television broadcast stations (2009)

1,400

Radio broadcast stations (1997)

800

Liberalization and privatization Liberalization of Indian telecommunication industry started in 1981 when Prime Minister Indira Minister  Indira Gandhi signed contracts with Alcatel CIT of France to merge with the state owned Telecom Company (ITI), in an effort to set up 5,000,000 lines per year. But soon thee polic th policy y was was let let down down becaus becausee of polit politic ical al oppos opposit itio ion. n. Atte Attemp mpts ts to libe liberal ralize ize the the telecommunication industry were continued by the following government under the primeminister-ship minist er-ship of Rajiv of  Rajiv Gandhi. Gandhi. He invited Sam Pitroda, Pitroda, a US based  Non-resident Indian  Indian   NRI and a former Rockwell former  Rockwell International executive executive to set up a Center for Development of   Telematics(C-DOT) Telematics (C-DOT) which manufactured electronic telephone exchanges in India for the firs firstt ti time me.. Sam Sam Pi Pitr trod odaa ha had d a sign signif ific ican antt ro role le as a cons consul ulta tant nt and and ad advi vise serr in the the development of telecommunication in India. In 1985, the Department of Telecom(DoT) Telecom (DoT) was separated from Indian Post &  &  Telecommunicati Telecom munication on Department Department.. DoT DoT was was respon responsib sible le for telec telecom om servic services es in entir entiree country until 1986 when Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Videsh  Videsh  7

 

Sanchar Nigam Limited Limited (VSNL) were carved out of DoT to run the telecom services of  metro cities(Delhi cities(Delhi and Mumbai) Mumbai) and international long distance operations respectively. The demand for telephones was ever increasing and in 1990s Indian government was under increasing increasing pressure to open up the telecom sector for private investm investment ent as a part of  Liberalisation--PrivatizationLiberalisation Privatization-Globalization  policies that the government had to accept to overcome over come the severe severe fiscal fiscal crisis crisis and resulta resultant nt  balance of payments issue issue in 1991. 1991. Consequ Con sequentl ently, y, private private investm investment ent in the sector sector of Value Value Added Added Service Servicess (VAS) (VAS) was allow allowed ed an and d cellu cellular lar tele telecom com sector sector were were opened opened up for compe competi titi tion on from from privat privatee investments. It was during this period that the  Narsimha Rao-led Rao-led government introduced introduced the  National Telecommunications policy (NTP) in 1994 which brought changes in the following areas: ownership, service and regulation of telecommunications infrastructure. The policy introduced the concept of  telecommunication for all  and its vision was to expand the telecommunication facilities to all the villages in India. Liberalization in the  basic telecom sector was also envisaged in this policy. They were also successful in establi esta blishin shing g joint joint ventures ventures between between state state owned owned telecom telecom compani companies es and internat internationa ionall  players. Foreign firms were eligible to 49% of the total stake. The multi-nationals were  just involved in technology techn ology transfer, and not policy making. During this period, the World Bank and ITU had advised the Indian Government to liberalise long distance services to release the monopoly of the state owned DoT and VSNL and to enable competition in the long distance carrier business which would help reduce tariff's and better the economy of the country. The Rao run government instead liberalised the local services, taking the opposite political parties into confidence and assuring foreign involvement involvement in the long distance distance business after 5 years. The country was divided into 20 telecommunication circles for basic telephony and 18 circles for mobile services. These circles were divided into category A, B and C depending on the value of  8

 

the revenue in each circle. The government threw open the bids to one private company  per circle along with government owned DoT per circle. For cellular service two service  providers were allowed per circle and a 15 years license was given to each provider. During all these improvements, the government did face oppositions from ITI, ITI, DoT, MTNL, VSNL and other labour unions, but they managed to keep away from all the hurdles. In 1997, the government set up TRAI (Telecom ( Telecom Regulatory Authority of India India)) which reduced the interference interference of Government Government in deciding deciding tariffs and policy making. The  political powers changed in 1999 and the new government under the leadership of  Atal  Atal  Bihari Vajpayee Vajpayee was more pro-reforms and introduced better liberalisation policies. The government corporatised the operations wing of DoT on 1 October 2000 and named it as  Department of Telecommunication Services (DTS) which was later named as Bharat  Bharat 

Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). The proposal of raising the stake of foreign investors from 49% to 74% was rejected by the opposite political parties and leftist thinkers. Domestic business groups wanted the government to privatize VSNL. Finally in April 2002, the government decided to cut its stake of 53% to 26% in VSNL and to throw it open for sale to private enterprises. TATA finally took 25% stake in VSNL. This was a gateway to many foreign investors to get entry into the Indian Telecom Telecom Markets. After March 2000, the government became more liberal in making policies and issuing licenses to private operators. The government further reduced license fees for  cellular service providers and increased the allowable stake to 74% for foreign companies. Because of all these factors, the service fees finally reduced and the call costs were cut greatly enabling every common middle-class family in India to afford a cell phone. Nearly 32 million handsets were sold in India. The data reveals the real potential for growth of the Indian mobile market. Many private operators, such as Reliance Reliance Communications Communications,, Tata  Tata  9

 

Indicom,, Vodafone, Indicom Vodafone, Loop Mobile, Mobile, Airtel, Airtel, Idea etc., successfully entered the high potential Indian telecom market. In March 2008 the total GSM and CDMA mobile subscriber base in the country was 375 million, which represented a nearly 50% growth when compared with previous year. As the unbranded Chinese cell phones which do not have International International Mobile  Mobile  Equipment Equipm ent Identity (IMEI) numbers pose a serious security risk to the country, Mobile  Mobile  network operators therefore suspended the usage of around 30 million mobile phones (about 8% of all mobiles in the country) by 30 April. Phones without valid IMEI cannot be connected connecte d to cellular operators. 5–6 years the average monthly subscribers subscribers additions additions were around 0.05 to 0.1 million only and the total mobile subscribers base in December 2002 stood at 10.5 millions. However, after a number of proactive initiatives taken by regulators and licensors, the total number of mobile subscribers has increased rapidly to over 929 million subscribers as of May 2012. Indi Indiaa has has op opte ted d fo forr th thee use use of bo both th the the GSM GSM (g (glob lobal al syste system m for mobil mobilee  communications) and CDMA (code-division multiple access) technologies in the mobile  mobile   sector. In addition to landline and mobile phones, some of the companies companies also provide the WLL service. The mobile tariffs in India have also become lowest in the world. A new mobile connection can be activated with a monthly commitment of US$0.15 only. In 2005 alone additions increased to around 2 million per month in 2003–04 and 2004–05.

SECTORS Major sectors of telecommunication industry in India are telephony, internet and  broadcasting. 10

 

Telephony

Market share of major operators in India as on 29 February 2012

Market share of major operators in India as on 29 February 2012 Thee tele Th teleph phon ony y segm segmen entt is do domi mina nate ted d by pr priv ivat atee-se sect ctor or an and d two two stat statee-ru run n  businesses. Most companies were formed by a recent revolution and restructuring launched within a decade, directed by Ministry of Communications and IT IT,, Department of   Telecommunications and Minister of Finance. Finance. Since then, most companies gained 2G, 2G, 3G  3G  and 4G li lice cense nsess an and d engage engaged d fi fixed xed-li -line ne,, mobil mobilee and inter internet net busin business ess in India India.. On landlines, intra-circle calls are considered local calls while inter-circle are considered long distance calls. Foreign Direct Investment policy which increased the foreign ownership 11

 

cap from 49% to 74%. Currently Government is working to integrate the whole country in one telecom circle. For long distance calls, the area code prefixed with a zero is dialled first which is then followed by the number (i.e. To call Delhi, Delhi, 011 would be dialled first followed by the phone number). For international calls, "00" must be dialled first followed  by the country code, code, area code and local phone local  phone number . The country code for India is 91. Several international fibre-optic links include those to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany. Some major telecom operators in India include Airtel, Vodafone, Idea,, Aircel Idea Aircel,, BSNL, BSNL, MTNL, MTNL, Relianc Reliancee Commun Communicat ications ions,, TATA TATA Teleser Teleservice vices, s, Infotel Infotel,, MTS, Uninor, TATA DoCoMo, Videocon, Augere, Tikona Digital.

Fixed Telephony

Until the New Telecom Policy was announced in 1999, only the Governmentowned BSNL and MTNL were were all allowe owed d to provide provide land-li land-line ne phone phone services services through copper wire in India with MTNL operating operating in Delhi and Mumbai and BSNL servicing servicing all other areas of the country. Due to the rapid growth of the cellular phone industry in India, landlines are facing stiff competition from cellular operators. This has forced land-line service providers to become more efficient and improve their quality of service. Land-line Land-line connections are now also available on demand, even in high density urban areas. India has over 31 million main line customers.

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Mobile Telephony

Cellular phone tower atop the roof of a building

AIR Radio Tower 

In August 1995, Chief Minister of West Bengal, Shri Jyoti Basu ushered in the cellphone revolution in India by making the first call to Union Telecom Minister Sukhram. Sixteen years later 4th generation services were launched in Kolkata.

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With a subscriber base of more than 929 million, the Mobile telecommunications system in India is the second largest in the world and it was thrown open to private players in the 1990s. GSM was comfortably maintaining its position as the dominant mobile techn te chnolo ology gy wi with th 80 80% % of th thee mobil mobilee subsc subscrib riber er marke market, t, but CDMA CDMA seeme seemed d to have have stabilised its market share at 20% for the time being. By May 2012 the country had 929 million mobile subscribers, up from 350 million just 40 months earlier. The mobile market was continuing to expand at an annual rate in excess of 40% coming into 2010. According to data provided by Minister of State for Communications and IT IT   Milind  Milind  Deora, as of 30 November November 2012, India has 7,36,654 base 7,36,654 base transceiver trans ceiver stations statio ns (2G  2G GSM & CDMA,, and 3G). CDMA 3G). Of those, 96,212 base transceiver stations provide 3G mobile and data services. Out of  India's 640 districts, districts , 610 districts are covered by 3G services as of 30  November 2012. The country is divided into multiple zones, called circles (roughly along state  boundaries). Government Govern ment and several private players run local and long distance telephone telep hone services. Competition has caused prices to drop and calls across India are one of the cheapest in the world. The rates are supposed to go down further with new measures to be taken by the Information Ministry. In September 2004, the number of mobile phone connect conn ections ions crossed crossed the number number of fixed-li fixed-line ne connect connections ions and presentl presently y dwarfs dwarfs the wireline segment by a ratio of around 20:1. The mobile subscriber base has grown by a factor of over a hundred and thirty, from 5 million subscribe subscribers rs in 2001 to over 929 million subscribers as of May 2012. India primarily follows the GSM mobile system, in the 900 MHz band. Recent operators also operate in the 1800 MHz band. The dominant  players are Airtel, Airtel, Reliance Infocomm, Infocomm, Vodafone, Vodafone, Idea cellular  cellular and and BSNL/ BSNL/MTNL. MTNL. There are many smaller players, with operations in only a few states. International roaming  roaming  agreeme agre ements nts exist exist betwee between n most most operator operatorss and many many foreign foreign carrier carriers. s. The governme government nt 14

 

allowed Mobile number portability (MNP) which enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another. India is divided into 22 telecom circles.

Mobile network operators of India Rank Operator's Name

1

Airtel

2

Idea Cellular 

3

Reliance Communications

4

Vodafone

5

BSNL

6

7

Technology

GSM EDGE HSPA TD-LTE GSM EDGE HSPA CdmaOne EVDO GSM HSPA WiMAX GSM EDGE HSDPA GSM EDGE HSDPA HSPA+ CdmaOne EVDO

WiMAX WiFi Tata DoCoMo (GSM CDMA EVDO & CDMA) Virgin Mobile (GSM GSM EDGE & CDMA) Talk24/T24 (GSM) HSPA+ Talk24/T24 GSM Aircel EDGE HSDPA

Subscribers (in millions)

181.91 (December 2012)

113.95 (December 2012)

Bharti Enterprises  Enterprises  (64.76%) SingTel (32%) Vodafone (4.4%) Aditya Birla (80.9%) Axiata Group Berhad  Berhad  (19.1%)

154.11 (September 2012)

Reliance ADAG (67%) Public (26%)

147.48 (December 2012)

Vodafone India (100%)

97.17 (December 2012)

State-owned

90.09 (August 2012)

Tata Teleservices (74%)  NTT DoCoMo (26%)

63.35 (December 2012)

Uninor 

GSM EDGE

41.52 (December 2012)

9

MTS

14.01 (October 2011)

10

Videocon

CDMA EVDO GSM

8

Ownership

3.64 (December 2012) 15

Maxis Communications  Communications  (74%) Apollo Hospital (26%) Unitech Wireless Telenor (67.25%) Telenor  (67.25%) Unitech Group (32.75%) Sistema (73.71%) Shyam Group (23.79%) Videocon

 

Rank Operator's Name

Technology

11

GPRS EDGE GSM HSDPA

12

13

MTNL

Loop Mobile

Ping Mobile

CDMA GSM EDGE GSM via Videocon CDMA

Subscribers (in millions)

Ownership

5.12 (December 2012)

State-owned

3.03 (December 2012)

Essar Group (8.0%) Santa Trading Pvt Ltd  Ltd  (85.75%)

1.15 (October 2011)

HFCL Infotel Limited

Internet The history of internet in India started with launch of internet services by VSNL on 15 August 1995, the 48th anniversary of Indian independence. They were able to add about 10,000 internet users with in 6 months. However for the next 10 years internet experience in the country remained less attractive with narrow-band connections having speed less than 56 kbit/s (Dial-Up). In 2004, Government formulated its Broadband policy which defined the broadband as an always-on internet connection with download speed of  256 kbit/s or above. From 2005 onward the growth of broadband sector in the country

attained acceleration, acceleration, but remained below the growth estimates of government government and related agencies due to the resource issues in last-mile access which depended on wired-line technol tec hnologie ogiess predomi predominant nantly. ly. This This bottlene bottleneck ck was removed removed in 2010 when governm government ent auctioned the 3G spectrum followed by an equally high profile auction of 4G spectrum that set the scene for a competitive and invigorated wireless broadband market. Now internet access in India is provided by both public and private companies using a variety of  technol tec hnologie ogiess and media media includin including g Dial-Up Dial-Up(PS (PSTN) TN),, xDSL, xDSL, Coaxial Coaxial Cables, Cables, Etherne Ethernet, t, FTTH, ISDN, HSDPA (3G), WiFi, WiMAX etc. at a wide range of speeds and costs. The

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country has the world's third largest  largest   Internet users with over 121 million users (of whom 59% who only access the internet via mobile devices) as of December 2011. As of December 2011, total Internet connections stood at 22.39 million. With estimated users exceeding 121 million. The number of broadband users as of July 2012 is 14.68 million. Cumulative Annual Growth rate (CAGR) of the broadband during the five-year   period between 2005 and 2010 was about 117 per cent. Among the technologies, DSL, DSL, whilst holding slightly slightly more than 75% of the local broadband market, was steadily steadily losing market share to other non-DSL broadband platforms, especially to wireless broadband  platforms. There are 155 Internet Service Providers Providers (ISPs) as of February 2012, which offer   broadband services in India. Public sector companies BSNL and MTNL dominates the market with a share of 64.8 and 7.6 percent respectively while from the private sector  Bharti leads with a share of 10 per cent. Cyber Cafe remains as the major source of  internet access. In 2009, about 37 per cent of the users access from Cyber cafe, 30 per cent from office and 23 per cent from home. However, the number of mobile internet users found acceleration from 2009 onward and there were about 274 million such users at the end of September September 2010, though though majority majority belonged belonged to 2G mobile mobile networks networks..

Mobile Mobile

internet subscriptions as reported by India's TRAI in Mar 2011 increased to 381 million. One of the major issue, the internet segment facing is the lower average bandwidth of   broadband connections compared to that of developed countries. According to 2007 statistics, the average download speed in India hovered at about 256 kbit/s, kbit/s, the minimum speed set by TRAI, TRAI, whereas the international average was 5.6 Mbit/s during the same  period. In order to attend this infrastructure issue the government declared 2007 as "the year of broadband". broadband". To compete with international international standards of defining broadband speed the Indian Government has taken aggressive step of proposing the $13 billion national 17

 

 broadband network networ k to connect all cities, towns and villages v illages with a po population pulation of more than 500 in two phases targeted targeted for completion completion by 2012 and 2013. The network is estimated to handle speed up to 10 Mbit/s in 63 metropolitan areas and 4 Mbit/s in additional 352 cities. Also, the Internet penetration in India is one of the lowest in the world and only accounts for 8.4% of the population compared to OECD counties, where penetration rate average is over 50%. Another issue reported from this sector is the digital divide of the growth story biased in favour of urban areas; according to 2010 statistics, more than 75  per cent of the broadband b roadband connections in the country are in top 30 cities. Regulators have tried to boost the growth of broadband in rural areas by promoting higher investment in rurall infrast rura infrastruct ructure ure and subsidiz subsidized ed tariff tariff for rural rural subscri subscriber berss under  under  Universal Universal service  service  obligation scheme of the Indian government.

Next-generation networks (NGN) Hi Hist stori orica call lly, y, th thee role role of tele telecom commu muni nicat cation ion has evolve evolved d from from that that of plain plain information exchange to a multi-service field, with Value Added Services (VAS) integrated with various discrete networks like PSTN,  PSTN,  PLMN, PLMN, Internet Backbone etc. However, However, with decreasing ARPU and increasing demand for VAS has become a compelling reason for  the service providers to think of the convergence of these parallel networks into a single core core ne netw twor ork k with with serv servic icee laye layers rs sepa separa rate ted d fr from om ne netw twor ork k laye layer. r.  Next-generation   Next-generation   networking is such a convergence concept which according to ITU-T is: A next-generation network (NGN) is a  packet-based  packet -based network  which can provide servi ser vices ces includ including ing Tele Telecom commu munic nicati ation on Servi Service cess and able able to make make use of mult multip iple le  broadband,, quality of Service  broadband Service-enabled transport technologies technologies and in which service-related service-related function func tionss are independ independent ent from underlyi underlying ng transpo transport-r rt-rela elated ted technol technologie ogies. s. It offers offers

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unrestricted access by users to different service providers. It supports generalized mobility which will allow consistent and ubiquitous provision of services to users. Access network: The user can connect to the IP-core of NGN in various ways, most of  which use the standard Internet Protocol (IP). User terminals such as mobile phones, phones,  personal digital assistants as sistants (PDAs) and computers can register directly directly on NGN-core, NGN-core, even when they are roaming in another network or country. The only requirement is that they can use IP and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). Fixed access (e.g., Digital Subscriber   Line (DSL), cable modems, modems, Ethernet), Ethernet), mobile access (e.g. W-CDMA, W-CDMA, CDMA2000, CDMA2000, GSM, GPRS)) and wireless GPRS wireless access (e.g.WLAN (e.g.WLAN,, WiMAX) WiMAX) are all supported. Other phone systems like plain like  plain old telephone service and non-compatible non-compatible VoIP systems, systems, are supported through gateways.. With the deployment of the NGN, users may subscribe to many simultaneous gateways access-providers providing telephony, internet or entertainment services. This may provide end-users with virtually unlimited options to choose between service providers for these services in NGN environment. Thee hype Th hyperr-co comp mpet etit itio ion n in tele teleco com m mark market et,, whic which h was was ef effe fect ctiv ivel ely y caus caused ed by the the introduction of  Universal Access Service (UAS) license in 2003 became much tougher  after 3G and 4G competitive competitive auction. auction. About 670,000 route-kilometer (419,000 mile) of  optical fibres has been laid in India by the major operators, including in the financially nonvia non viable ble rural rural areas areas an and d the process process contin continues ues..

Keep Keeping ing in mind mind the the viabi viabili lity ty of 

 providing services in rural areas, the government of India also took a proactive role to  promote the NGN implementation in the country; an expert committee called  NGN eCO was constituted in order to deliberate on the licensing, interconnection and Quality of  Service (QoS) issues related to NGN and it submitted its report on 24 August 2007. Tele Te leco com m op oper erat ator orss fo foun und d th thee NG NGN N mode modell adva advant ntag ageo eous us,, bu butt hu huge ge inve invest stme ment nt

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requirements requirem ents have prompted prompted them to adopt a multi-phase migration migration and they have already started the migration process to NGN with the implementation of IP-based core-network.

Recent government policies and growth targets •

All villages shall receive telecom facilities by the end of 2002.

•

A Communication Convergence Bill introduced in the Parliament on 31 August 2001 is  presently before the Standing Committee of Parliament o on n Telecom and IT.

•

 National Long Distance Service Serv ice (NLD) is opened for unrestricted entry.

•

The International Long Distance Services (ILDS) have been opened to competition.

•

The basic services are open to competition.

•

In addition to the existing three, a fourth cellular operator, one each in four metros and thirteen circles, has been permitted. Cellular operators have been permitted to provide all types of mobile services including including voice and non-voice messages, messages, data services and PCOs utilisi utilising ng any type of network network equipme equipment, nt, includin including g circuit circuit and/or and/or package package switches that meet certain required standards.

•

Policies allowing private participation have been announced as per the New Telecom Policy (NTP), 1999 in several new services, which include Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) Service, digital Public Mobile Radio Trunked Service (PMRTS) and Voice Mail/ Audiotex/ Unified Messaging Services.

•

Wireless Local Loop (WLL) has been introduced to provide telephone connections in urban, semi-urban and rural areas promptly.

•

Two telecom PSUs, VSNL and HTL have been disinvested.

•

Steps are being taken to fulfill Universal Service Obligation (USO), funding, and administration.

•

A decision to permit Community Phone Service has been announced. 20

 

•

Multiple Fixed Service Providers (FSPs) licensing guidelines were announced.

•

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have been allowed to set up International Internet Gateways, both Satellite and Landing stations for submarine optical fibre cables.

•

Two categories of infrastructure providers have been allowed to provide end-to-end  bandwidth and dark fibre, fib re, right of way, towers, duct spa space ce etc.

•

Guidelines have been issued by the Government to open up Internet telephony (IP).

Regulatory environment LIRNEasia's LIRNEasia 's Telecommunications Regulatory Environment (TRE) index, which summarises stakeholders' perception on certain TRE dimensions, provides insight into how conducive the environment is for further development and progress. The most recent survey was conducted in July 2008 in eight Asian countries, including Banglad Bangladesh, esh, India, Indone Ind onesia sia,, Sri Sri Lanka Lanka,, Maldi Maldives ves,, Pakis Pakista tan, n, Thail Thailan and, d, and the Phili Philippi ppine nes. s. The The tool tool meas me asur ured ed seve seven n di dime mens nsio ions ns:: i) mark market et en entr try; y; ii) ii) acce access ss to scar scarce ce re reso sour urce ces; s; iii) iii) interco int erconnec nnectio tion; n; iv) tariff tariff regulat regulation; ion; v) anti-co anti-compe mpetiti titive ve practice practices; s; and vi) universa universall services; vii) quality of service, for the fixed, mobile and broadband sectors. The results for India, point out to the fact that the stakeholders perceive the TRE to be most conducive for the mobile sector followed by fixed and then broadband. Other than for Access to Scarce Resources the fixed sector lags behind the mobile sector. The fixed and mobile sectors have the highest scores for Tariff Regulation. Market entry also scores well for the mobile sector as competition is well entrenched with most of the circles with 4–5 mobile service providers. The broadband sector has the lowest score in the aggregate. The low penetration penetration of broadband of mere 3.87 against the policy objective of 9 million at then end of 2007 clearly indicates that the regulatory environment is not very conducive. 21

 

Revenue and growth The total revenue in the telecom service sector was 86720 crore (US$16.0 billion) in 2005–06 as against 71674 crore (US$13.2 (US$13.2 billion) in 2004–2005, registering registering a growth of 21% with estimated revenue of FY'2011 of Rs.835 crore (US$ 19 Bn Approx). The total investment investment in the telecom telecom services services sector sector reached reached 200660 crore (US$36.9 billion) in 2005–06,

up

from

178831 crore

(US$ (US$32 32.9 .9 bill billio ion) n)

in

the the

pr prev evio ious us

fisc fiscal al..[47]

Telec Te lecom ommu munic nicat atio ion n is th thee lifel lifelin inee of the ra rapid pidly ly growi growing ng Inform Informat ation ion Techn Technolo ology gy industry. Internet Internet subscriber base has risen to more than a 121 million million in 2011. Out of this 11.47 million were broadband connections. More than a billion people use the Internet globally.. Under the Bharat Nirman Programme, globally Programme, the Government of India will ensure that 66,822 revenue villages in the country, which have not yet been provided with a Village Public Telephone (VPT), will be connected. However doubts have been raised about what it would mean for the poor in the country. country. It is difficult difficult to ascertain fully the employment employment  potential of the telecom sector but the enormity of the opportunities can be gauged from the fact that there were 3.7 million Public Call Offices in December 2005 up from 2.3 million in December 2004. The Total Revenue of Indian Telecom Services company is likely to exceed Rs 200000 Cr (US$ 44 Bn approx) for FY 11–12 based on FY 10–11 nos and latest quarterly quarterly results. These are consolidated nos including foreign operation of Bharti Airtel. The major  contributions to this revenue are as follows: Bharti Airtel 65,060 Reliance Comm 31,468 Idea Cellular 16,936 Tata Comm 11,931 MTNL 4,380 TTML 2,248 BSNL 32,045 Voda 18,376 TataTeleservice 9,200 Aircel 7,968 SSTL 600 Uninor 660 Loop 560 Stel 60 HFCL 204 Vi Video deocon con Tele Telecom com 254 DB Et Etis isal alat/ at/ Allia Allianz nz 47 Gran Grand d Tota Totall Rs 201,9 201,997 97 Crs Crs contributed by Sanjay Banka, FCA. 22

 

 Telecom Regulatory Regulatory Authorit Authority y of India Thee Tele Th Telecom com Regul Regulat atory ory Auth Authori ority ty of India India (T (TRA RAI, I, Hindi: Hindi:

ि िवनयामक   पाधकरण ) is the independent

भारतीय    द    ू रसं    चार  

regulator  of the telecommunications business in

India.. India

The policy of liberalisation liberalisation that was embarked by Prime Minister P. Minister  P. V. Narasimha Rao in the 1990s helped the Indian Telecom sector to grow rapidly. The government gradually allowed the entry of the private sectors into telecom equipment manufacturing, value  value  added services, services, radio paging and cellular mobile services. In 1994, the government formed the National Telecom Policy (NTP) which helped to attract Foreign direct investments and domestic investments. The entry of private and international players resulted in need of  independent independe nt regulatory body. As a result, The Telecom Telecom Regulatory Authority of India was established on 20 February 1997 by an act of parliament called "Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997".

The mission of TRAI is to create and nurture an environment which will enable the quick  growth of the telecommunication sector in the country. One of the major objective of  TRAI is to provide a transparent policy environment. TRAI has regularly issued orders

23

 

and directions on various subjects like tariff, interconnections, Direct To Home (DTH) services and mobile number portability.

In 2000, the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) (TDSAT) was constituted constituted through an amendment of the 1997 act, through an ordinance. The primary objective of  TDSAT's establishment was to release TRAI from adjudicatory and dispute settlement functions in order to strengthen the regulatory framework. Any dispute involving parties like licensor, licensee, service provider and consumers consumers are resolved by TDSAT. Also, any direction, order or decision of TRAI can be challenged by appealing in TDSAT. TDSAT.[2]

Secretariat

TRAI functions through a Secretariat headed by a Secretary. All proposals for  considerations are processed via Secretary, which organizes the agenda for Authority meetings (consulting with the Chairman), organizes preparation of minutes and issues regulations etc. in accordance to the meetings. The secretary is assisted by Advisors, Advisors, namely nam ely Mobile Mobile Networ Network, k, Interco Interconnec nnection tion & Fixed Fixed Network Network,, BroadBa BroadBand nd and Policy Policy Analysi Ana lysis, s, Qualit Quality y of Service Service,, Broadca Broadcastin sting g & Cable Cable Service Services, s, Economi Economicc Regulat Regulation, ion, Financial Analysis & IFA, Legal, Consumer Affairs & International Relation and RE & Administrative   Administration Admini stration & Personnel.Offi Personnel.Officers cers are selected from the  premier  Indian Administrative  Service and Indian Revenue Service and also from the Indian Telecom Service.[3]

24

 

International •

 Nine satellite earth stations – 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region).Microwave region).Microwave

•

 Nine gateway exchanges operating from Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Kolkata, Chennai, Chennai, Jalandhar , Kanpur , Gandhinagar , Hyderabad and Ernakulam. Ernakulam.

Submarine cables •

LOCOM linking Chennai to Penang, Penang, Malaysia

•

India-UAEcable linking Mumbai to Al Fujayrah, UAE.

•

SEA-ME-WE 2 (South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 2)

•

SEA-ME-WE 3 (South East Asia-Middle Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 3) – Landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai. Capacity of 960 Gbit/s.

•

SEA-ME-WE 4 (South East Asia-Middle Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4) – Landing sites at Mumbai and Chennai. Chennai. Capacity of 1.28 Tbit/s.

•

Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG-FEA) with a landing site at Mumbai (2000). Initial design capacity 10 Gbit/s, upgraded in 2002 to 80 Gbit/s, upgraded to over 1 Tbit/s (2005).

•

TIISCS (Tata Indicom India-Singapore Cable System), also known as TIC (Tata Indicom Cable), Chennai to Singapore. Capacity of 5.12 Tbit/s.

•

i2i – Chennai to Singapore. Capacity of 8.4 Tbit/s.

•

SEACOM From Mumbai to the Mediterranean, via South Africa. It currently joins with SEA-ME-WE 4 off the west coast of Spain to carry traffic onward to London (2009). Capacity of 1.28 Tbit/s.

•

I-ME-WE (India-Middle East-Western Europe) with two landing sites at Mumbai (2009). Capacity of 3.84 Tbit/s.

•

EIG (Europe-India Gateway), landing at Mumbai (due Q2 2010).

25

 

•

MENA (Middle East North Africa).

•

TGN-Eurasia (Announced) Landing at Mumbai (due 2010?), Capacity of 1.28 Tbit/s

•

TGN-Gulf (Announced) TGN-Gulf  (Announced) Landing at Mumbai (due 2011?), Capacity Unknown.

26

 

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Organ Or ganiz izat ation ional al cultu culture re is an id idea ea in the field field of  organizational organizational studies and management which describes the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values (personal and cultural values) of an organization. It has been defined as "the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization." [1] Ravisi and Schultz (2006) state that organizational culture is a set of  shared sha red menta mentall assum assumpti ptions ons th that at guide guide in inter terpre pretat tatio ion n and actio action n in organi organiza zatio tions ns by defin def ining ing ap appro propr priat iatee behavi behavior or fo forr va vario rious us situa situati tions ons.. Al Alth thoug ough h it’s it’s diffi difficu cult lt to get consensus about the definition definition of organizational culture, several constructs are commonly agreed upon – that organizational culture is holistic, historically determined, related to anthropological concepts, socially constructed, soft, and difficult to change. Thiss definiti Thi definition on continue continuess to explain explain organiza organization tional al values, values, describe described d as "belief "beliefss and ideas about what kinds of goals members of an organization should pursue and ideas about the appropriate kinds or standards of behavior organizational members should use to achieve these goals. From organizational values develop organizational norms, guidelines, or expectations that prescribe appropriate kinds of behavior by employees in particular  situations and control the behavior of organizational members towards one another."

27

 

Strong/weak cultures

Training meeting about sustainable design. design. The photo shows a training meeting with factory workers in a stainless steel eco-design company from Rio de Janeiro, Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil. Thes Th esee ty type pe of meet meeting ingss are are impor importa tant nt in or order der to esta establ blish ish a str strong ong cultu culture re in the corporation Strong culture is said to exist where staff respond to stimulus because of their  ali alignme gnment nt to organiz organizatio ational nal values. values. In such environm environments ents,, strong strong culture culturess help fir firms ms operate like well-oiled machines, cruising along with outstanding execution and perhaps minor tweaking of existing procedures here and there. Con onve vers rsel ely, y, th ther eree is weak weak cult cultur uree wher wheree ther theree is litt little le alig alignm nmen entt with with organizational values and control must be exercised through extensive procedures and  bureaucracy. Research Researc h shows that organizations organizations that foster strong cultures have clear values that give employees a reason to embrace the culture. A "strong" culture may be especially  beneficial to firms f irms operating in the th e service sector since members of these th ese organizations are responsible for delivering the service and for evaluations important constituents make about firms. Research indicates indicates that organizations organizations may derive the following following benefits from developing strong and productive cultures:

28

 

 Better aligning the company towards achieving its vision, mission, and goals  High employee motivation and loyalty  Increased team cohesiveness among the company’s various departments and divisions  Promoting consistency and encouraging coordination and control within the company  Shaping employee behavior at work, enabling the organization to be more efficient

Characteristics Character istics of Healthy Organizational Cultures

Organiz Org anizatio ations ns should should strive strive for what is consider considered ed a “healthy “healthy”” organiz organizatio ational nal culture in order to increase productivity, growth, efficie efficiency ncy and reduce employee turnover  and other other counterp counterprodu roducti ctive ve behavior behavior.. A variety variety of charact characteri eristic sticss describe describe a healthy healthy culture, including:  Acceptance and appreciation for diversity

treatment of each employee as well as respect for each employee’s  Regard for and fair treatment contribution to the company  Employee pride and enthusiasm for the organization and the work performed  Equal opportunity for each employee to realize their full potential within the company  Strong communication with all employees regarding policies and company issues  Strong company leaders with a strong sense of direction and purpose  Ability to compete in industry innovation and customer service, as well as price  Lower than average turnover rates (perpetuated by a healthy culture)  Investment in learning, training, and employee knowledge

Typologies of organizational cultures

Several methods have been used to classify organizational culture. While there is no single “type” of organizational culture and organizational cultures vary widely from

29

 

one organization to the next, commonalities do exist and some researchers have developed models to describe different organizational cultures. Some are described below: Power distance - The degree to which a society expects there to be differences in the

levels of power. A high score suggests that there is an expectation that some individuals wield larger amounts of power than others. A low score reflects the view that all people should have equal rights. Uncertainty avoidance reflects the extent to which a society accepts uncertainty and risk. Individualism vs. collectivism - individualism is contrasted with collectivism, collectivism , and refers to the extent to which people are expected to stand up for themselves, or alternatively act  predominantly as a s a member of the group or organ organization. ization. However, recent re cent researches have shown that high individualism may not necessarily mean low collectivism, and vice versa. Research Researc h indicates that the two concepts are actually actually unrelated. unrelated. Some people and cultures cultures might have both high individualism and high collectivism, for example. Someone who highly values duty to his or her group does not necessarily give a low priority to personal freedom and self-sufficiency Masculinity vs. femininity - refers to the value placed on traditionally male or female values. Male values for example include competitiveness, competitiveness, assertiveness, assertiveness, ambition, and the accumulation of wealth and material possessions. O’Rielly, Chatman & Caldwell (1991) developed a model based on the belief that cultures ca can n be dist distin ingu guis ishe hed d by va valu lues es th that at ar aree re rein info forc rced ed with within in or orga gani niza zati tion ons. s. Thei Their  r  Organizational Profile Model (OCP) is a self reporting tool which makes distinctions accor accordin ding g seven seven categ categori ories es - Innova Innovati tion, on, Stabi Stabili lity, ty, Respe Respect ct for Peopl People, e, Outc Outcom omee Orientation, Orienta tion, Attention to Detail, Detail, Team Orientation, Orientation, and Aggressiveness. Aggressiveness. The model is not intended to measure how organizational culture effects organizational organizational performance, rather 

30

 

it measures associations between the personalities of individuals in the organization and the organization’s culture. Daniel Denison’s model (1990) asserts that organizational culture can be described by four  general dimensions dimensions – Mission, Adaptability, Involvement Involvement and Consistency. Consistency. Each of these general dimensions is further described by the following three sub-dimensions: Mission -Strategic Direction and Intent, Goals and Objectives and Vision Adaptability -Creating Change, Customer Focus and Organizational Learning Involvement - Empowerment, Team Orientation and Capability Development Consistency -Core Values, Agreement, Coordination/Integration Denison’ss model also allows cultures to be described Denison’ described broadly as externallyexternally- or internallyinternallyfocused as well as flexible versus stable. The model has been typically used to diagnose cultural problems in organizations. Deal and Kennedy

Deal De al an and d Kenne Kennedy dy defin defined ed or organ ganiza izati tiona onall cultu culture re as the the way way thing thingss get get done done around here. In relation to its feedback this would mean a quick response and also measured organizations in ition, such as oil prospecting or military aviation. The Process Culture occurs in organizations where there is little or no feedback. People

 become bogged down with how things are done not with what is to be achieved. This is often associated with bureaucracies. While it is easy to criticize these cultures for being overly cautious or bogged down in red tape, they do produce consistent results, which is ideal in, for example, public services. Charles Handy

Charles Handy (1985) popularized popularized the 1972 work of Roger Harrison of looking at culture which some scholars have used to link  organizational organizational structure structure to organizational organizational culture. He describes Harrison's four types thus: 31

 

A Power Culture which concentrates  power  among a few. Control radiates from the center like a web. Power and influence spread out from a central figure or group. Power  desires from the top person and personal relationships with that individual matters more than any formal title of position. Power Cultures have few rules and little  bureaucracy;  bureaucracy ; swift decisions can ensue. In a Role Culture people have clearly clearly delegat delegated ed authori authorities ties within a highly highly Culture, people defined structure. Typically, these organizations form hierarchical bureaucracies. Power  derives from a person's position and little scope exists for expert power. Controlled by  procedures, roles descriptions and authority a uthority definitions. definitions . Predictable and consistent co nsistent systems and procedures are highly valued. By contrast, in a Task Culture, teams are formed to solve particular problems. Power derives from expertise as long as a team requires expertise. These cultures often feature the multiple reporting lines of a matrix structure. structure. It is all a small team approach, who are highly skilled and specialist in their own markets of experience. A Person Culture exists where all individuals believe themselves superior to the organization. Survival can become difficult for such organizations, since the concept of an organization suggests that a group of like-minded individuals pursue the organizational goals. Some professional partnerships can operate as person cultures, because each partner   brings a particular expertise ex pertise and clientele to the firm.

Factors and Elements Influencing Organizational Culture G. Johnson described a cultural web, identifying a number of elements that can be used to describe or influence Organizational Culture:  The Paradigm: What the organization is about; what it does; its mission; its values.

32

 

 Control Systems: The processes in place to monitor what is going on. Role cultures

would have vast rulebooks. There would be more reliance on individualism in a power  culture. Organizationall Structures Structures: Reporting lines, hierarchies, hierarchies, and the way that work flows  Organizationa

through the business.  Power Structures: Who makes the decisions, how widely spread is power, and on

what is power based?  Symbols: These include organizational logos and designs, but also extend to symbols

of power such as parking spaces and executive washrooms.  Rituals and Routines : Management meetings, board reports and so on may become

more habitual than necessary. build up about people and events, events, and convey convey a message message about  Stories and Myths: build what is valued within the organization. These elements may overlap. Power structures may depend on control systems, which may exploit the very rituals that generate stories which may not be true. Acco Ac cordi rding ng to Schei Schein n (1 (1992 992), ), the two two main main reason reasonss why why cultu cultures res de devel velop op in organizations is due to external adaptation and internal integration. External adaptation reflect refl ectss an evoluti evolutionar onary y approac approach h to organiza organization tional al culture culture and suggests suggests that that culture culturess develop and persist because they help an organization to survive and flourish. If the cultu cul ture re is valua valuable ble,, th then en it holds holds th thee potent potentia iall for genera generati ting ng susta sustaine ined d compet competiti itive ve advantag adva ntages. es. Additi Additional onally, ly, interna internall integra integratio tion n is an import important ant functio function n since since social social structur stru ctures es are require required d for organiza organization tionss to exist. exist. Organiza Organization tional al practice practicess are learned learned through socialization at the workplace. Work environments reinforce culture on a daily  basis by encouraging employees to exercise cultural values. Organizational culture is shaped by multiple factors, including the following: 33

 

 External environment  Industry  Size and nature of the organization’s workforce  Technologies the organization uses  The organization’s history and ownership

Organiz Org anizatio ational nal values, values, role models, models, symbols symbols and rituals rituals shape shape organiza organization tional al culture. Organizations Organizations often outline their values in their mission statements, statements, although this does not guarantee that organizational culture will reflect them. The individuals that organiza orga nization tionss recogniz recognizee as role models set, by example, example, the behavior behavior valued by the organization. In addition, tangible factors such as work environment act as symbols, creating a sense of corporate identity. The founding of an organization is a critical period in the life of the organization and the development of its culture. An organization’s founder or chief executive has an influential impact on the development of the organization’s culture since that person is likely to have control in hiring people with the same values and influence the choice of  strategy. By screening candidates for a cultural fit, organizations select those employees that will be able to uphold the organizational culture. Additionally, Additionally, leaders embed culture in organizations by what they pay attention to, measure, and control; how they react to critical incidents and crises; the behaviors they model for others; and how they allocate rewards and other scarce resources. Additionally, Additio nally, the legacy of an organizational organizational founder may be reflected in the culture long after that person leaves through the processes of cultural transmission (e.g. rites, stories) where wh ere the cultur culturee perpet perpetuat uates es itsel itself. f. The The values values of founde founders rs and key key leader leaderss shape shape organizational cultures, but the way these cultures affect individuals is through shared  practices. 34

 

Impacts of Organizational Culture Research Researc h suggests that numerous outcomes have been associated associated either directly or  indirectly with organizational culture. A healthy and robust organizational culture may  provide various benefits, be nefits, including the following: f ollowing:  Competitive edge derived from innovation and customer service  Consistent, efficient employee performance  Team cohesiveness  High employee morale  Strong company alignment towards goal achievement

Although little empirical research exists to support the link between organizational culture cult ure and organiz organizatio ational nal perform performance ance,, there there is little little doub doubtt among among experts experts that this relationship exists. Organizational culture can be a factor in the survival or failure of an organization - although this is difficult to prove considering the necessary longitudinal analyses anal yses are hardly hardly feasible feasible.. The sustain sustained ed superior superior performance performance of fir firms ms like IBM, IBM, Hewlett-Packard,, Proctor and Gamble, and McDonald's Hewlett-Packard McDonald's may be, at least partly, a reflection of their organizational cultures. A 2003 Harvard Business School study reported that culture has a significant impact on an organization’s long-term economic performance. The study examined the management practices at 160 organizations over ten years and found that culture can enhance enha nce perform performance ance or prove prove detrime detrimental ntal to perform performance ance.. Organiz Organizati ations ons with with strong strong  performance-oriented  performance-orien ted cultures witnessed far better financial growth. Additionally, a 2002 Corporatee Leadership Council study found that cultural traits such as risk taking, internal Corporat 35

 

communications, and flexibility are some of the most important drivers of performance, and may impact impact individu individual al perform performance ance.. Further Furthermor more, e, innovati innovativene veness, ss, product productivit ivity y through people, and the other cultural factors cited by Peters and Waterman (1982) also have positive economic consequences. Denison, Haaland, and Goelzer (2004) found that culture contributes to the success of the organization, but not all dimensions contribute the same. It was found that the impacts of these dimensions differ by global regions, which suggests that organizational culture is impacted by national culture. Additionally, Clarke (2006) found that a safety climate is related to an organization’s safety record. Organizational Organiz ational culture is reflected in the way people perform tasks, set objectives, and administer the necessary resources to achieve objectives. Culture affects the way individuals make decisions, feel, and act in response to the opportunities and threats affecting the organization. Adkins and Caldwell (2004) found that job satisfaction was positively associated with the degree to which employees fit into both the overall culture and subculture in whic wh ich h they they worke worked. d. A percei perceive ved d mism mismat atch ch of the organi organizat zatio ion’s n’s cu cult lture ure and what what employees felt the culture should be is related to a number of negative consequences including lower job satisfaction, higher job strain, general stress, and turnover intent. It has been proposed that organizational organizational culture may impact the level of employee creativity, the strength of employee motivation, and the reporting of unethical behavior,  but more research is needed need ed to support these conclusions. co nclusions. Organizational culture also has an impact on recruitment and retention. Individuals tend to be attracted to and remain engaged in organizations that they perceive to be compatible. Additionally, high turnover may be a mediating factor in the relationship

36

 

 between culture c ulture and an d organizational organ izational performance. Deteriorating company performance and an unhealthy work environment are signs of an overdue cultural assessment.

Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument Robert Quinn and Kim Cameron researched what makes organizations effective and succes successfu sful. l. Based Based on th thee Comp Competi eting ng Value Valuess Fr Fram amew ewor ork, k, they they devel develope oped d the the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument that distinguishes four culture types. See their book: Diagnosing and Changing Organizationa Organizationall Culture Competing values produce polarities like: flexibility versus stability and internal versus external focus. These two polarities were found to be most important in defining organizational success. The polarities construct a quadrant with four types of culture: Clan Culture

-Internal focus and flexible - A friendly workplace where leaders act like father figures. Adhocracy Culture

-External focus and flexible - A dynamic workplace with leaders that stimulate innovation. Market Culture

-External focus and controlled - A competitive workplace with leaders like hard drivers Hierarchy Culture

-Internal focus and controlled - A structured and formalized workplace where leaders act like coordinators. Cameron Camero n & Quinn found six key aspects that will make up a culture. culture. These can be assessed in the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) thus producing a mix of these four archetypes of culture. Each organization or team will have its unique mix of culture types. 37

 

Clan cultures are most strongly associated with positive employee attitudes and  product and service quality, whereas market cultures are most strongly related with innovation and financial effectiveness criteria. The primary belief in market cultures is that clear goals and contingent rewards motivate employees to aggressively perform and meet stakeholders’ expectations; a core belief in clan cultures is that the organization’s trust in and and

comm commit itme ment nt to empl employ oyee eess

faci facili lita tate tess

op open en co comm mmun unic icat atio ion n

and and

empl employ oyee ee

involvement. These differing results suggest that it is important for executive leaders to consider the fit, or match, between strategic initiatives and organizational culture when determining how to embed a culture that produces competitive advantage. By assessing the current organizational culture as well as the preferred situation, the gap and direction to change can be made visible. This can be the first step to changing organizational culture. Organizational Organization al culture and change

When an organization does not possess a healthy culture, culture, or requires some kind of  organizational culture change, the change process can be daunting. Culture change may be necessary to reduce employee turnover, influence employee behavior, make improvements to the company, refocus the company objectives and/or rescale the organization, provide  better customer service, service , and/or achieve specific spe cific company goals and results. r esults. Culture change is impacted by a number of elements, including the external environment and industry competitors, change in industry standards, technology changes, the size and nature of the workforce, and the organization’s history and management. There The re are a number number of methodo methodologi logies es specific specificall ally y dedicate dedicated d to organiza organization tional al cultu cul ture re ch chang angee such such as Peter Peter Senge Senge’s ’s Fi Fifth fth Disci Discipli pline. ne. These These ar aree also also a varie variety ty of   psychological approaches that have been developed into a system for specific outcomes such as the  Fifth Discipline’s “le “learni arning ng organiza organization tion”” or  Directive Communication’s 38

 

“corpora “cor porate te culture culture evolutio evolution.” n.” Ideas Ideas and strategi strategies, es, on the other hand, hand, seem to vary according to particular influences that affect culture. Burman and Evans (2008) argue that it is 'leadership' that affects culture rather  [7]

than 'management', 'management' , and describe the difference.

When one wants to change an aspect of 

the culture of an organization one has to keep in consideration that this is a long term  project. Corporate culture is something that is very hard to change and employees need time to get used to the new way of organizing. For companies with a very strong and specific culture it will be even harder to change. Prior to a cultural change initiative, a needs assessment is needed to identify and understand the current organizational culture. This can be done through employee surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, customer surveys where appropriate, and other  internal research, to further identify areas that require change. The company must then assess and clearly identify the new, desired culture, and then design a change process. 1. Formulate a clear strategic vision

In order to make a cultural change effective a clear vision of the firm’s new strategy, shared values and behaviors is needed. This vision provides the intention and direction for  the culture change. 2. Display Top-management Top-management commitment

It is very important to keep in mind that culture change must be managed from the top of  the organization, as willingness to change of the senior management is an important indicator (Cummings & Worley, 2005, page 490). The top of the organization should be very much in favor of the change in order to actually implement the change in the rest of  the organization. 3. Model culture change at the highest level

39

 

In order to show that the management team is in favor of the change, the change has to be notable at first at this level. The behavior of the management needs to symbolize the kinds of values and behaviors that should be realized in the rest of the company. It is important that the management shows the strengths of the current culture as well, it must  be made clear that the current organizational does not need radical radica l changes, changes , but just a few f ew adjustments. This process may also include creating committee, employee task forces, value managers, manager s, or similar. similar. Change agents are key in the process and key communicators of the new values. values. They They should should possess possess courage, courage, flexibi flexibility lity,, excellen excellentt interpe interperson rsonal al skills skills,, knowledge of the company, and patience. As McCune (May 1999) puts it, these individual should be catalysts, not dictators. 4. Modify the organization organization to support organizational organizational change

The fourth step is to modify the organization to support organizational change. This includes identifying what current systems, policies, procedures and rules need to be changed in order to align with the new values and desired culture. This may include a change chan ge to account accountabil ability ity systems systems,, compensa compensatio tion, n, benefits benefits and reward reward structu structures, res, and recruitment recruit ment and retention programs to better align with the new values and to send a clear  message to employees that the old system and culture are in the past. 5. Select and socialize newcomers and terminate deviants

A way to implement a culture is to connect it to organizational membership, people can be selected and terminate in terms of their fit with the new culture. Encouraging Encoura ging employee motivation motivation and loyalty to the company is key and will also result in a healthy culture. culture. The company and change managers should be able to articulate the connections between the desired behavior and how it will impact and improve the

40

 

company’ss success, to further encourage buy-in in the change process. Training company’ Training should be  provided to all employees employee s to understand the new processes, expectations expectation s and systems.

6. Develop ethical and legal sensitivity

Changes in culture can lead to tensions between organizational and individual inter in terest ests, s, which which can can resul resultt in ethic ethical al an and d legal legal pr probl oblem emss fo forr pr pract actit itio ioner ners. s. This This is  particularly relevant for changes in employee integrity, control, equitable treatment and  job security. It is also beneficial, as part of the change process, to include an evaluation process, conducted conducte d periodically to monitor the change progress and identify areas that need further  development. developm ent. This step will also identify identify obstacles of change and resistant employees and to acknowledge and reward employee employee improvement, which will also encourage continued continued change and evolvement. It may also be helpful and necessary to incorporate new change managerss to refresh the process. Outside manager Outside consultants may also be useful in facilitating facilitating the change process and providing employee training. Change of culture in the organizations is very important and inevitable. Culture innovations innovati ons is bound to be because it entails introducing introducing something new and substantially substantially differentt from what prevails in existing cultures. Cultural innovation is bound to be more differen difficult than cultural maintenance. People often resist changes hence it is the duty of the mana ma nagem gement ent to convin convince ce people people that that like likely ly gain gain wi will ll outwe outweigh igh the losse losses. s. Besid Besides es institutionalization, deification is another process that tends to occur in strongly developed organizational cultures. The organization itself may come to be regarded as precious in itself, as a source of pride, and in some sense unique. Organizational members begin to

41

 

feel a strong bond with it that transcends material returns given by the organization, and they begin to identify with in. The organization turns into a sort of clan.

Entrepreneurial culture Stephen McGuire defined and validated a model of organizational culture that predicts revenue from new sources. An Entrepreneurial Entrepreneurial Organizational Organizational Culture Culture (EOC) is a system of shared values, beliefs and norms of members of an organization, including valuing creativity and tolerance of creative people, believing that innovating and seizing market opportunities are appropriate behaviors to deal with problems of survival and prosperity, envir env ironm onmen ental tal uncer uncerta taint inty, y, an and d compet competito itors’ rs’ threat threats, s, and ex expec pecti ting ng organi organiza zatio tiona nall members to behave accordingly. Elements of Entrepreneurial Culture  People and empowerment focused  Value creation through innovation and change  Attention to the basics  Hands-on management  Doing the right thing  Freedom to grow and to fail  Commitment and personal responsibility  Emphasis on the future

Critical views

42

 

Writerss from Critical management studies have tended to express skepticism about Writer the functionalist and unitarist views of culture put forward by mainstream management thinkers. Whilst not necessarily denying that organizations are cultural phenomena, they would stress the ways in which cultural assumptions can stifle dissent and reproduce management managem ent propaganda and ideology. After all, it would be naive to believe that a single culture exists in all organizations, or that cultural engineering will reflect the interests of  all stakeholders within an organization. In any case, Parker [11] has suggested that many of  the assumptions of those putting forward theories of organizational culture are not new. They reflect a long-standing tension between cultural and structural (or informal and formal) versions of what organizations are. Further, it is perfectly reasonable to suggest that complex organizations might have many cultures, and that such sub-cultures might overl ove rlap ap and contra contradi dict ct each each other. other. The The neat neat typol typologi ogies es of cu cultu ltura rall forms forms found found in textbooks rarely acknowledge such complexities, or the various economic contradictions that exist in capitalist organizations.

Organizational communication perspective on culture The organiz organizatio ational nal communi communicati cation on perspec perspective tive on culture culture is divided divided into into three three areas: View ewss cu cult lture ure th throu rough gh ob objec jecti tive ve things things such such as stori stories, es, ritu rituals als,, an and d Traditionalism: Vi symbols View ewss cultu culture re th throu rough gh a netwo network rk of shared shared meani meanings ngs (o (orga rganiz nizat ation ion Interpretivism : Vi members sharing subjective meanings) Critical-Interpretivism: Views culture through a network of shared meanings as well as

the power struggles created by a similar network of competing meanings Ther Th eree are are many many di diff ffer eren entt ty type pess of co comm mmun unic icat atio ion n that that co cont ntri ribu bute te in cr crea eati ting ng an organizational culture: 43

 

Metaphors such as comparing an organization to a machine or a family reveal employees’

shared meanings of experiences at the organization. Stories can provide examples for employees of how to or not to act in certain situations. Ritess and ceremonie Rite ceremoniess com combin binee storie stories, s, me meta tapho phors, rs, and symbol symbolss into into one. one. Sever Several al

different kinds of rites that affect organizational culture: Rites of passage: employees move into new roles Rites of degradation: employees have power taken away from them Rites of enhancement: public recognition for an employee’s accomplishments Rites of renewal: improve existing social structures Rites of conflict reduction : resolve arguments between certain members or groups Rites of integration: reawaken feelings of membership in the organization Reflexive comments are explanations, justifications, and criticisms of our own actions.

This includes: Plans: comments about anticipated actions Commentaries: comments about action in the present Accounts : comments about an action or event that has already occurred

Such comments reveal interpretive meanings held by the speaker as well as the social rules they follow. Fantasy Themes are common creative interpretations of events that reflect beliefs, values,

and goals of the organization. organization. They lead to rhetorical visions, or views of the organization organization and its environment held by organization members. Schema

(plura urall of schem schema) a) are are knowl knowledg edgee str struc uctur tures es a person person forms forms fr from om past past Schemata (pl experiences, allowing the person to respond to similar events more efficiently in the future

44

 

 by guiding the processing of information. A person's schemata are created through interaction with others, and thus inherently involve communication. Stanley G. Harris argues that five categories of in-organization schemata are necessary for  organizational culture: Self-in-organization Self-in-organ ization schemata: a person’s concept of themselves within the context of 

the organization, including her/his personality, roles, and behavior. Person-in-organization Person-in-or ganization schemata: a person’s memories, impressions. and expectations

of other individuals within the organization. Organization schemata: subset of person schemata, a person’s generalized perspective on

others as a whole in the organization. Object/concept-in-organiz Object/con cept-in-organization ation schemata: knowledge an individual has of organization

aspects other than of other persons. person’s ’s knowl knowledg edgee of socia sociall ev event entss withi within n an Event-in-organization Event-in-or ganization schemata: a person organization. All of these categories together represent a person’s knowledge of an organization. Organizational culture is created when the schematas (schematic structures) of differing individuals individu als across and within an organization organization come to resemble each other (when any one  person's schemata come to resemble another person's schemata because of mutual orga organi niza zati tion onal al

in invo volv lvem emen ent) t)..

Thi hiss

is

pr prim imar aril ily y

do done ne

thro throug ugh h

or orga gani niza zati tion onal al

communication, as individuals directly or indirectly share knowledge and meanings.

Mergers, organizational culture, and cultural leadership One of the biggest obstacles in the way of the merging of two organizations is organizational culture. Each organization has its own unique culture and most often, when  brought together, these cultures clash. When mergers fail employees point to issues such as identity, communication problems, human resources problems, ego clashes, and inter45

 

group conflicts, which all fall under the category of “cultural differences”. One way to combat such difficulties is through cultural leadership. Organizational leaders must also be cultural leaders and help facilitate the change from the two old cultures into the one new culture. This is done through cultural innovation followed by cultural maintenance. Cultural innovation includes:  Creating a new culture: recognizing past cultural differences and setting realistic

expectations for change  Changing the culture: weakening and replacing the old cultures  Cultural maintenance includes:

 Integrating the new culture: reconciling the differences between the old cultures and

the new one  Embodying the new culture: Establishing, affirming, and keeping the new culture

Corporate culture vs. organizational culture Corporate culture is the total sum of the values, customs, traditions, and meanings that

make ma ke a co comp mpan any y un uniq ique ue.. Corp Corpor orat atee cu cult ltur uree is of ofte ten n call called ed "the "the char charac acte terr of an organization", since it embodies the vision of the company’s founders. The values of a corpor cor porat atee cultu culture re in influ fluenc encee the ethic ethical al stand standard ardss wi with thin in a corpor corporat atio ion, n, as well well as managerial behavior. Senior management may try to determine a corporate culture. They may wish to impose corporate values and standards of behavior that specifically reflect the objectives of the organization. In addition, there will also be an extant internal culture within the workforce. Work-groups within the organization have their own behavioral quirks and interactions which, to an extent, affect the whole system. Roger Harrison's four-culture typology, and adapted by Charles Handy, suggests that unlike organizational culture, corporate culture

46

 

can be 'imported'. For example, computer technicians will have expertise, language and  behaviors gained independently of the organization, but their presence can influence the culture of the organization as a whole. Organizational culture and corporate culture are often used interchangeably but it is a mist mistak akee to stat statee th that at th they ey are are di diff ffer eren entt co conc ncep epts ts.. All All co corp rpor orat atio ions ns ar aree also also organizations but not all organizations are corporations. Organizations include religious institutions, not-for-profit groups, and government agencies. There is even the Canadian Criminal Crimi nal Code definition of "organized "organized crime" as meaning "a group comprised of three or  more persons which has, as one of its primary activities or purposes, the commission of  serious offences which likely results in financial gain." Corporations are organizations and are also legal entities. As Schein (2009), Deal & Kennedy (2000), Kotter (1992) and many others state, organizations often have very differing cultures as well as subcultures.

47

 

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY DEFINITION OF RESEARCH Research is defined as human activity based on intellectual application in the investig inve stigatio ation n of  matter . The The pr prim imar ary y pu purp rpos osee fo forr ap appl plie ied d rese resear arch ch is discovering, discovering , interpreting,, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human interpreting knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe. Research can use the scientific method, but need not do so. Scientific research relies on the application of the scientific scientific method, method, a harnessing of  of curiosity curiosity.. This research provides scientific information information and theories for the explanation explanation of the nature and the  properties of the world around us. It makes practical applications  possible. Scientific research is funded by public authorities, by charitable organisations and by private groups, including many companies. Scientific research can be subdivided into different classifications according to their academic and application disciplines. Historical research is embodied in the historical method. The term research is also used to describe an entire collection of information of  information about a particular subject.

48

 

TYPES OF RESEARCH Qualitative research:- Qualitative research allows you to explore perceptions, attitudes

and motivations and to understand understand how they are formed. It provides depth of information which can be used in its own right or to determine what attributes will subsequently be measured in quantitative studies. Verbatim quotes are used in reports to illustrate points and this brings the subject to life for the reader. However However,, it relies heavily on the skills of  the moderator, moderator, is inevitably subjective and samples are small. Techniques Techniques include group discussi disc ussions/ ons/work workshop shop sessions sessions,, paired paired intervi interviews, ews, individu individual al in-dept in-depth h intervie interviews ws and mystery shopping (where the researcher plays the role of a potential student, etc in order to replicate the overall experience).

Quantitative research:- Quantitative research is descriptive and provides hard data on

the numbers of people exhibiting certain behaviours, attitudes, etc. It provides information in breadth and allows you to sample large numbers of the population.

It is, however, structured and does not yield the reasons behind behaviour or why people hold certain certain att attitud itudes. es. Techniq Techniques ues commonly commonly used in HE/FE HE/FE include include postal postal surveys surveys (particularly appropriate in the case of student populations where name and address information is available), telephone surveys (appropriate for surveys of employers), onlinee or web-bas lin web-based ed surveys surveys (very (very cost-eff cost-effecti ective ve for reachin reaching g audienc audiences es where where e-mail e-mail  penetration is high, such as students stu dents and university/college unive rsity/college staff) staff ) and mystery shopping sh opping (in this case to test quantifiable aspects of the service).

Secondary or desk research:- The collating and analysis of secondary data is called desk 

research.. Secondary research Secondary data is data that already exists exists and may be found within your own organisation or is published by another party and readily available.

49

 

RESEARCH DESIGN Plan outlining how information is to be gathered for an assessment or evaluation that includes identifying the data gathering gathering method(s) , the instruments to be used/created, used/created, how the instruments instruments will be administered, administered, and how the information information will be organized and analyzed.

TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN 1. Philosophical/discursive Philosophical/discursive

This may cover a variety of approaches, but will draw primarily on existing literature, rather rat her than new empiri empirical cal data. A discursive discursive study could examine examine a particul particular ar issue,  perhaps from an alternative perspective (eg feminist). f eminist). Alternatively, it might put forward fo rward a particular argument or examine a methodological issue. 2. Literature review

This may be an attempt to summarise or comment on what is already known about a  particular topic. By collecting different sources together, synthesising and analysing critically, critica lly, it essentially essentially creates new knowledge knowledge or perspectives. perspectives. There are a number of  different forms a literature review might take. 3. Case study

This will involve collecting collecting empirical data, generally from only one or a small number of  cases. It usually provides provides rich detail about those cases, cases, of a predominantly predominantly qualitative nature. There are a number of different different approaches approaches to case study work (eg ethnographic, ethnographic,

50

 

hermeneutic, ethogenic, etc) and the principles and methods followed should be made clear. 4. Survey

Where an empirical study involves collecting information from a larger number of cases,  perhaps using questionnaires, it is usually described as a survey. Alternatively, a survey might make use of already already available data, collected collected for another purpose. purpose. A survey may be cross-se cros s-secti ctional onal (data (data collecte collected d at one time) time) or longitu longitudina dinall (collec (collected ted over a period). period). Because of the larger number of cases, a survey will generally involve some quantitative analysis. 5. Evaluation

Thiss might Thi might be an evaluatio evaluation n of a curricul curriculum um innovation innovation or organisatio organisational nal change. change. An evalu eva luati ation on can can be forma formati tive ve (desig (designed ned to infor inform m the pr proce ocess ss of devel developm opmen ent) t) or  summative summat ive (to judge the effects). effects). Often an evaluation evaluation will have elements of both. If an evaluation relates to a situation in which the researcher is also a participant it may be described describe d as ‘action research’. Evaluations Evaluations will often make use of case study and survey methods and a summative evaluation will ideally also use experimental methods. 6. Experiment

This involves the deliberate manipulation of an intervention in order to determine its effects. The intervention intervention might involve individual pupils, tea teachers, chers, schools or some other  unit. Again, if the researcher is also a participant (e.g. a teacher) this could be described as ‘action research’.

DATA COLLECTION

Data collection is a term used to describe a process of preparing and collecting data  data  - for example as part of a  process improvement or simil similar ar pr proje oject ct.. A meth method od of data data 51

 

collection in which the situation of interest is watched and the relevant facts, actions and  behaviors are recorded. record ed. PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION METHODS

In primary data collection, you collect the data yourself using methods such as interviews and questionnaires. The key point here is that the data you collect is unique to you and your research and, until you publish, no one else has access to it.

SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION METHODS

All methods of data collection can supply quantitative data (numbers, statistics or  financial) or qualitative data (usually words or text). Quantitative data may often be  presented in tabular or graphical form. Secondary data is data that has already been collected by someone else for a different purpose to yours.

DATA SOURCES

:

Secondary data.

RSEARCH TYPE

:

Descriptive

52

 

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION In rece recent nt ye year ars, s, re rese sear arch cher ers s ha have ve ar argu gued ed that that the the ch chan angi ging ng nature of employment relationships has heightened the importance of  unde un ders rsta tand ndin ing g th the e dy dyna nami mics cs of co comm mmit itme ment nt in or orga gani niza zati tion ons. s. Fo Forr example, scholars have increasingly suggested that commitment is a necessary neces sary variable that driv drives es indiv individual idual action. It is also commo commonly nly theo theori rize zed d that that th the e leve levell of co comm mmit itme ment nt is a ma majo jorr de dete term rmin inan antt of  or orga gani nisa sati tion onal al leve levell

ou outc tcom omes es su such ch as orga organi nisa sati tion onal al ci citi tize zens nshi hip p

behaviour behav iour;; perfo performan rmance, ce, contr controllab ollable le absen absenteeism teeism;; and psych psycholog ological ical contract. Intere Int eresti stingl ngly, y, alt althou hough gh it has been arg argued ued th that at the na natur ture e of  or orga gani nisa sati tion onal al cu cult ltur ure e is im impo port rtan antt fo forr un unde ders rsta tand ndin ing g the the le leve vell of  commitment in an organisation, very few studies have explored the impact that culture might have on commitment or vice versa. Similarly, the few studies that have been conducted in this area tend to have a numb nu mber er

of

lim limitat itatio ions ns..

Pr Prin inci cipa pall lly, y, 53

so som me

stud studie ies s

ha have ve

ex expl plor ored ed

 

psychological or organisational climate or used climate as a proxy for culture. However, such research ignores the conceptual difficulties in presentin pres enting g clim climate ate and cultu culture re as inter interchang changeable eable concepts concepts.. Indeed, Indeed, altho alt hough ugh it ha has s bee been n arg argued ued that cul cultur ture e is a dee deeper per conce concept pt tha than n climate, it is surprising that researchers have generally neglected the evalua eva luatio tion n of the imp impact act of org organi anisat sation ional al cul cultur ture e on com commi mitm tment ent.. Similarly, the few studies which incorporate culture in their analyses of  commitment frequently adopt quantitative methods. The relevance of  this thi s app approa roach ch to und unders erstan tandin ding g cul cultur ture e is str strong ongly ly con contes tested ted in the literature. Of particular concern is that such studies tend to analyze culture from a largely integrationist perspective (and occasionally from a differentiation perspective) with no study adopting a fragmentation approach, which is recognized as an important analytic perspective of  culture. Finally, no study in the area of culture and commitment has explor exp lored ed con contex texts ts whe wherei rein n so sophi phisti sticat cated ed cul cultur tural al and com commi mitme tment nt practices are likely to be prevalent, for instance the software sector. Indeed, it is likely that the peculiar nature of work in the software sector (for example, sophisticated intellectual work organised around teams which are formed and disbanded according to project requirements) would give rise to different patterns of socialisation, thereby impacting on cu cult ltur ure e an and d co comm mmit itme ment nt in a va vari riet ety y of wa ways ys.. Th This is stud study y wa was s designed

to

document,

explore

and

analyse

the

impact

that

organisational culture might have on organisational commitment in the context of an industry (software sector) that is renowned to be dynamic and an d pe peop ople le-ce -cent ntre red. d. Th The e focu focus s is to de deve velo lop p a cu cult ltur urall ally y in info form rmed ed 54

 

analysis of organisational life through applying the three perspective framework in understanding organisational commitment in a software organisation operating in an emerging economy. Data for the study were gathered from Firstware (all names and places used are pseudonyms), an Indian software organisation based in the nort no rthe hern rn pa part rt of Indi India, a, em empl ploy oyin ing g ov over er 20 2000 00 pe peop ople le an and d ha havi ving ng a turrno tu nove verr

of

US$ 70

milli illio on.

The

res esea earrch cher ers s

in init itia iall lly y

gath ather ered ed

information on the organisation that was in the public domain, including cove co vera rage ge in ma maga gazi zine nes, s, ne news wspa pape pers rs,, an and d jo jour urna nals ls re rela late ted d to the the software sector. Furthermore, the researchers studied the information avai av aila labl ble e at th the e intr intran anet et of th the e or orga gani nisa sati tion on wh wher erev ever er th this is wa was s permitted. The researchers secured permission for the study from the Head of Human Resources of the organisation and spent five months in organisation from March 2005 to July 2005. Initially, the researchers spent time with senior executives in the organisation to develop an understanding of the organisation’s strategic direction and to elicit the views of decision-makers on the espoused organisational culture and poli po lici cies es th that at we were re de deve velo lope ped d to ac achi hiev eve e co comm mmit itme ment nt.. Fi Firs rstw twar are e  Technology was established in the late 1980s in one of the biggest cities in northern India. It was started by five visionary professionals who had the objective of making it the number one software company in Ind India. ia. Thi This s vis vision ion is par partic ticula ularly rly ref reflec lected ted in the hum human an re resou source rce management policies, systems, and practices of Firstware and has been the th e

dr driv ivin ing g

forc force e

behi behind nd

it its s

bu busi sine ness ss

structure, and organisational culture. 55

stra strate tegi gies es,,

orga organi nisa sati tion onal al

 

Although Firstware was started as a private limited company, it is now a public limited company. The company has had an unwavering focus on software products in the telecommunications sector since its inception.  The product range of Firstware includes wireless and wire line commu com munic nicati ation on produ products cts in the for form m of integr integrate ated d sol soluti ution ons s suc such h as complete phone software solutions. The organisation has successfully patented six products in the telecom domain. It has a global presence, with offices in USA, UK, Germany, France, Mexico, Japan and China. The revenues of the organisation have been steadily increasing and in the financial year 2005–06, the revenues totalled $US 70 million.  The need for depth and understanding motivated the choice of a single case study as a way of organising and reporting the findings of  this study. In this regard, the study follows the suggestion of Dyer and Wilkins (1991) that single deep case studies are more effective than mul ulti tipl ple e

ca case ses s

in

pr prov ovid idin ing g

insi insigh ghts ts

in into to

or orga gani nisa sati tion onal al

is issu sues es..

Organisational culture and commitment: An integrationist viewpoint The evol ev olut utio ion n an and d ma main inte tena nanc nce e of orga organi nisa sati tion onal al va valu lues es wh whic ich h ma many ny employees described as widely shared in Firstware owe a great deal to the business strategy of the organisation and the way Firstware grew over time. The small size of the organisation in the early years, the focus on products, and the policy of ‘people first’ played a significant ro role le in sh shapi aping ng and dev develo elopin ping g org organi anisat sation ional al lif life e in Fir Firstw stware are.. The policies pursued by the organisation are consistent with those that are commonly

attributed

to

companies

wishing

to

manage

their

or organ ganisa isatio tional nal cul cultur ture. e. For exa examp mple le in the ini initia tiall day days, s, it rec recrui ruited ted 56

 

grad gr adua uate tes s fr from om on only ly th the e to top p te tech chni nica call in inst stit itut utes es in In Indi dia a an and d the the selection process was very rigorous. This resulted in a great deal of  homogeneity

in

the

outlook

of

employees

towards

work

and

or orga gani nisa sati tion onal al life life.. Ma Many ny of th thes ese e pe peop ople le ha have ve stay stayed ed wi with th th the e organisation for a considerable length of time and have experienced the authenticity of the ‘people first’ policy especially when the organisation faced fac ed ext extern ernal al cha challe llenge nges. s. Th The e resea research rchers ers cap captur tured ed man many y sto storie ries s which appeared widely shared in the organisation and which seemed to play a major role in perpetuating the culture of Firstware. One example is the story of how the company managed the difficulties presented by the th e do down wntu turn rn in th the e te tele leco com m se sect ctor or in 20 2001 01 wi with thou outt co comp mpul ulso sory ry redundancies. Instead, employees apparently volunteered to take a 20 perr ce pe cent nt cu cutt in thei theirr sa sala lari ries es an and d this this he help lped ed to se see e the the co comp mpan any y thro th roug ugh h th this is pe peri riod od.. An Anot othe herr st stor ory y wh whic ich h su sugg gges este ted d co conc ncer ern n fo forr employees is that when the SARS SA RS ep epid idem emic ic stru struck ck So Sout uth h Ea East st As Asia ia in 20 2002 02/2 /200 003; 3; Fi Firs rstt ware are withdrew its people from the affected areas, risking dissatisfaction from some customers. The importance of such stories for the maintenance of  values and the role they play in the acculturation of new employees is comm co mmon only ly em emph phas asis ised ed in th the e lite litera ratu ture re (s (see ee Wi Wilk lkin ins s 19 1983 83). ). Th Thes ese e stories tend to suggest a belief that there is a harmonious relationship between betw een empl employees oyees and their manager managers. s. A senio seniorr execu executive tive descr described ibed the nature nature of the relat relation ionshi ship p wit with h the empl employe oyees: es: I thi think nk we hav have e always been an ‘employee first’ company. That itself changed a lot of  things here; you have a lot of trust in the employee and in return he has 57

 

ownership. There is an automatic attachment to the company and to the the pr prod oduc uctt th that at he mak akes es.. To Tomo morr rrow ow,, if we lo lose se hi him m du due e to so some me unfo un fort rtun unat ate e ci circ rcum umst stan ance ces, s, we stil stilll ha have ve the the fr free eedo dom m to ca call ll hi him m anytime, and he would be attached to the product . . . he is emotionally at atta tach ched ed.. To a gr grea eatt ex exte tent nt,, we id iden enti tify fy ou ours rsel elve ves s wi with th Fi Firs rstw twar are. e. Definitely, I think all of us do. Commitmen Commitmentt levels of the people here are very high. (Vice President aged 50, with Firstware for five years)  The researchers observed a number of instances where the top manage man agers rs app appear eared ed to exh exhibi ibitt gen genuin uine e con concer cern n for emp employ loyees ees.. For examp exa mple, le, the res resear earche chers rs wit witnes nessed sed a fai fainti nting ng epi episod sode e at the hea head d office reception one evening. The employee concerned was a trainee who had just joined the company. She was promptly rushed to hospital. Upon her return to work the next week, she told one of the researchers that she was deeply touched that one of the senior managers visited her at the hospital and that the organisation showed a genuine concern for her during the time of her illness, with the HR department telling her that she should take as much time as she needed to recover. Many Man y of the int interv erview iewees ees sug sugges gestt tha thatt Fir Firstw stware are em emplo ployee yees s hav have e a great deal of faith in the senior managers and there appears to be a general belief that the interests of the top managers and those of other empl em ploy oyee ees s ar are e full fully y alig aligne ned. d. Su Such ch va valu lue e alig alignm nmen entt is co comm mmon only ly perceived to be a source of commitment in Firstware. In the words of a manager: I can take a decision on behalf of the company, knowing fully well that if I am able to justify my decisions people are there to stand by me. There are people in this organisation in the top management 58

 

who supported me strongly. I was doing a review of all travel related issues and found that there were many areas in which we end up using attorneys, lawyers etc. I personally felt that we could do without them in some areas and we were spending significant amount of money each year on these people. I was not sure whether I could actually succeed with what I was thinking, but I saw a possibility for eliminating this. It was just just a st sta amp that that we go gott fr fro om the lawy lawyer er stat statin ing g th that at our documentation is ok. So I took a call and said let me try one issue without going to a lawyer. I just had to tell my immediate boss and he gave the go ahead. In one year, we ended up saving something like US$ 100, 10 0,00 000 0 on lawy lawyer er fees fees.. Th The e fa fact ct re rema main ins s that that,, may aybe be,, in an anot othe herr organisation, I would not stick my neck out to try this. (Head – Travel Services & Outsourcing, aged 36, with Firstware for three years)  The research team also identified many rituals and celebrations of  organisational life that to be widely shared and appreciated in the organisation. In this regard, there were examples of both symbolic and action consistency (Martin 199 992 2)

in th this is orga gan nisat isatio ion n

an and d th the e

rit itua uals ls and ce cele leb bratio ations ns of 

or organ ganisa isatio tional nal life life app appear eared ed to pla play y a sub subtle tle but sig signif nifica icant nt ro role le in influencing employee commitment. Indeed, at the initial stages of the study, the researchers witnessed an interesting and relaxed approach to wo worrk wh wher erei ein n em empl plo oye yees es at al alll le leve vels ls wen entt to the in in--ho hous use e gymnasium at any time of their choosing during office hours rather than at de desi sign gnat ated ed ho hour urs. s. Ot Othe herr as aspe pect cts s of rela relaxe xed d in info form rmal alit ity y of wo work rk included an in-house movie show on Friday evenings (extended from 59

 

the practice of all employees going for a movie monthly when Firstware was small). The company also encouraged communal celebrations of  Indian festivals. Such expressions of symbolic consistency also led to acti ac tion on co cons nsis iste tenc ncy y in th that at em empl ploy oyee ees s fr from om a wi wide de se sect ctio ion n of th the e comp co mpan any y ap appe pear ared ed to pa part rtic icip ipat ate e in thes these e ev even ents ts.. On One e em empl ploy oyee ee narrated a story where an overseas customer visited the company on the day of ‘Holi’ (the Indian festival of colours where people apply and sprinkle colours on one another) and was amazed to see people from the CEO to the security staff play-acting in the spirit of ‘Holi’. Organisat Orga nisational ional cultu culture re and comm commitmen itment: t: A differ differentia entiation tion view poin pointt  The differentiation perspective is characterised by inconsistency, subcultural consensus, and exclusion of ambiguity (Martin 1992, 2002). In th the e ca case se of Fi Firs rstw twar are, e, in sp spit ite e of th the e se sem mbl blan ance ce of co cohe hesi sion on,, organisation-wide consensus, high claims of integrity, and ‘people first’, ther there e we were re ma many ny as aspe pect cts s of cu cult ltur ure e that that we were re di diff ffer eren enti tiat ated ed an and d freque fre quentl ntly y inc incom ompat patibl ible e wit with h suc such h cla claims ims.. The These se eme emerge rged d fro from m the people in supervisory and managerial positions in the service business and the functional departments such as HR, as well as from contract emp em plo loye yees es.. This his can be bet ette terr un unde derrstoo stood d in th the e li ligh ghtt of the develo dev elopm pment ents s in the com compan pany y bef before ore and aft after er yea yearr 200 2000. 0. Pri Prior or to 2000, 200 0, the com compan pany y foc focuse used d exc exclu lusiv sively ely on the man manufa ufactu cturin ring g and marketing mark eting of teleco telecommu mmunicat nications ions software prod products. ucts. In 2000, a new service business was introduced and this had a number of implications. In this regard, it should be noted that the service business is almost opposite to the product business in that in products the emphasis is on 60

 

rigorous research with a long term focus, whereas the service business emphasises fulfilling client requirements, often with a short-term focus. Unlike the small numbers of people required in the product business, the service business requires people in very large numbers. Archival data shows that Firstware employed 481 people on 1st January 2000 and this number grew to 903 by 31st December 2000 and was over 2000 in 2005. Against the background of similar growth in the IT sector in India at that time, it became relatively difficult to get the required numb nu mber er of pe peop ople le po poss sses essi sing ng th the e ri righ ghtt sk skil ills ls fr from om th the e te tech chni nica call campus cam puses es Fir Firstw stware are tra tradit dition ionall ally y rec recru ruite ited d fro from. m. Man Many y ma manag nager ers s (especially those who staffed the new service business) were recruited fr from om

ot othe herr

or orga gani nisa sati tion ons s

wh wher ere e

th the e

cu cult ltur ural al

or orie ient ntat atio ions ns

we were re

understandably different and where, for example, business orientations ty typi pica call lly y

ha had d

pr prec eced eden ence ce

ov over er

pe peop ople le..

In Inde deed ed,,

th thro roug ugho hout ut

th the e

organisation, the researchers observed that the managers recruited in this way were often referred to as ‘laterals’ or ‘outsiders’. It was also noticeable that the views of the ‘laterals’ differed from the views of the mana ma nage gers rs wh who o ha had d gr grow own n wi with th the the co comp mpan any. y. Ho Howe weve ver, r, of mo more re significance is that the views of the staff in the new service business (predo (pr edomin minant antly ly ‘la ‘later terals als’) ’) dif differ fered ed ma marke rkedly dly fro from m the vie views ws of the people in the traditional product business.  The position of the staff from the service business on a range of issues was

akin

to

what

Meyerson

and

Martin

(1987)

described

as

‘counterculture’ in that many of their views were inconsistent with the views of the top management and the views of managers who grew 61

 

with wi th

Fi Firs rstw twar are e

ov over er

ti time me..

In Inte tere rest stin ingl gly, y,

de desp spit ite e

th the e

in incr crea easi sing ng

significance of the service business, decisions on many important issues in Fi Firs rstw twar are e co cont ntin inue ued d to be mad ade e by ma mana nage gers rs in th the e pr prod oduc uctt bus usin ines ess, s, man any y of who hom m had bee een n with ith the co com mpa pany ny si sin nce it its s inception. The conflict between the established ‘old guard’ and the new service business was manifested in the exercise of power in a number of respects. For example, the managers in the service business frequently argued that the introduction of a service business in the organisation required a reorientation of the ‘people first’ culture at Firstware. They argued that many man y of the asp aspect ects s of or organ ganisa isatio tional nal cul cultur ture e at Fir Firstw stware are wer were e in cont co ntra rast st to th the e re requ quir irem emen ents ts of bu busi sine ness ss in th the e se serv rvic ice e mo mode del, l, especially the context of customer commitments and deadlines. These conflicts were wer e ap appar parent ently ly sub subtle tle,, but the pro probin bing g of the re resea search rch team she shed d some light on many aspects of disagreements. Managers in the service business commonly complained that HR and the top management were not receptive to their busines business s conc concerns. erns. Our obser observatio vations ns reve revealed aled that th at co conf nfli lict ct be betw twee een n th the e se serv rvic ice e an and d pr prod oduc uctt bu busi sine ness sses es we were re frequently manifested in political manoeuvring, which had implications for individual and collective perception of justice in the organisation. For example, a senior manager in the service business pointed out that even when they had a strong case for a business proposal, people on the 7th floor (the top management team, which is principally made up of pe peop ople le fr from om th the e pr prod oduc ucts ts bu busi sine ness ss,, is lo loca cate ted d on the the 7th 7th fl floo oor) r) 62

 

commonly turned down such proposals particularly if they clashed with their own views of what the company should be doing. The examples cited included issues of employee perks or benefits and conditions of  overse ove rseas as wo work. rk. Ho Howev wever, er, int intere eresti stingl ngly, y, Or Organ ganisa isatio tional nal cul cultur ture e and commitment:

An

int integrationist

view ewp point.

The

evolution

and

maintenance of organisational values which many employees described as widely shared in Firstware owe a great deal to the business strategy of the organisation and the way Firstware grew over time. The small size of the organisation in the early years, the focus on products, and the policy policy of ‘pe ‘peopl ople e fir first’ st’ playe played d a signif significa icant nt ro role le in sh shapi aping ng and developing organisational life in Firstware. The policies pursued by the organisation are consistent with those that are commonly attributed to comp co mpan anie ies s

wi wish shin ing g

to ma mana nage ge

thei theirr

or orga gani nisa sati tion onal al cu cult ltur ure e

(s (see ee

Ogbonna 1993). For example in the initial days, it recruited graduates from only the top technical institutes in India and the selection process was very rigorous. This resulted in a great deal of homogeneity in the outlook outl ook of emplo employees yees towards work and organisa organisationa tionall life. Many of  these the se peo people ple hav have e sta stayed yed wit with h the org organi anisat sation ion for a con consid sidera erable ble length of time and have experienced the authenticity of the ‘people first’ policy especially when the organisation faced external challenges.  The researchers captured many stories which appeared widely shared in th the e orga gan nisat isatio ion n an and d which hich see eem med to play lay a majo ajor role role in perpetuating the culture of Firstware. One example is the story of how the company managed the difficulties presented by the downturn in the teleco tel ecom m sec sector tor in 200 2001 1 wit withou houtt com compul pulsor sory y red redund undanc ancies ies.. Ins Instea tead, d, 63

 

employees apparently volunteered to take a 20 per cent cut in their sala sa lari ries es an and d th this is he help lped ed to se see e the the co comp mpan any y thro throug ugh h this this pe peri riod od.. Another story which suggested concern for employees is that when the SARS epidemic struck South East Asia in 2002/2003, Firstware withdrew its people from the affected areas, risking dissatisfaction from some custom cus tomers ers.. The imp impor ortan tance ce of suc such h sto storie ries s for the ma maint intena enance nce of  values and the role they play in the acculturation of new employees is comm co mmon only ly em emph phas asis ised ed in th the e lite litera ratu ture re (s (see ee Wi Wilk lkin ins s 19 1983 83). ). Th Thes ese e stories tend to suggest a belief that there is a harmonious relationship between betw een empl employees oyees and their manager managers. s. A senio seniorr execu executive tive descr described ibed the nature nature of the relat relation ionshi ship p wit with h the empl employe oyees: es: I thi think nk we hav have e always been an ‘employee first’ company. That itself changed a lot of  things here; you have a lot of trust in the employee and in return he has ownership. There is an automatic attachment to the company and to the the pr prod oduc uctt th that at he mak akes es.. To Tomo morr rrow ow,, if we lo lose se hi him m du due e to so some me unfo un fort rtun unat ate e ci circ rcum umst stan ance ces, s, we stil stilll ha have ve the the fr free eedo dom m to ca call ll hi him m anytime, and he would be attached to the product . . . he is emotionally at atta tach ched ed.. To a gr grea eatt ex exte tent nt,, we id iden enti tify fy ou ours rsel elve ves s wi with th Fi Firs rstw twar are. e. Definitely, I think all of us do. Commitmen Commitmentt levels of the people here are very high. (Vice President aged 50, with Firstware for five years) The researchers observed a number of instances where the top managers appeared to exhibit genuine concern for employees. For example, the researchers witnessed a fainting episode at the head office reception one on e ev even enin ing. g. Th The e em empl ploy oyee ee co conc ncer erne ned d wa was s a trai traine nee e wh who o ha had d ju just st  joined the company. She was promptly rushed to hospital. Upon her

64

 

return to work the next week, she told one of the researchers that she was deeply touched that one of the senior managers visited her at the hospital and that the organisation showed a genuine concern for her during the time of her illness, with the HR department telling her that she should take as much time as she needed to recover. Many Man y of the int interv erview iewees ees sug sugges gestt tha thatt Fir Firstw stware are em emplo ployee yees s hav have e a great deal of faith in the senior managers and there appears to be a general belief that the interests of the top managers and those of other empl em ploy oyee ees s ar are e full fully y alig aligne ned. d. Su Such ch va valu lue e alig alignm nmen entt is co comm mmon only ly perceived to be a source of commitment in Firstware. In the words of a manager: I can take a decision on behalf of the company, knowing fully well that if I am able to justify my decisions people are there to stand by me. There are people in this organisation in the top management who supported me strongly. I was doing a review of all travel related issues and found that there were many areas in which we end up using attorneys, lawyers etc. I personally felt that we could do without them in some areas and we were spending significant amount of money each year on these people. I was not sure whether I could actually succeed with what I was thinking, but I saw a possibility for eliminating this. It was just just a st sta amp that that we go gott fr fro om the lawy lawyer er stat statin ing g th that at our documentation is ok. So I took a call and said let me try one issue without going to a lawyer. I just had to tell my immediate boss and he gave the go ahead. In one year, we ended up saving something like US$ 100, 10 0,00 000 0 on lawy lawyer er fees fees.. Th The e fa fact ct re rema main ins s that that,, may aybe be,, in an anot othe herr organisation, I would not stick my neck out to try this. (Head – Travel

65

 

Services & Outsourcing, aged 36, with Firstware for three years) The rese re sear arch ch te team am also also iden identi tifi fied ed man any y ri ritu tual als s an and d ce cele lebr brat atio ions ns of  organisational life that appeared to be widely shared and appreciated in the organisation. In this regard, there were examples of both symbolic and action consistency (Martin 1992) in this organisation and the rituals and celebrations of organisational life appeared to play a subtle but signif sig nifica icant nt ro role le in inf influe luenci ncing ng em emplo ployee yee com commit mitmen ment. t. Ind Indeed eed,, at the initial stages of the study, the researchers witnessed an interesting and relaxed approach to work wherein employees at all levels went to the in-house gymnasium at any time of their choosing during office hours rather than at designated hours. Other aspects of relaxed informality of  work included an in-house movie show on Friday evenings (extended from the practice of all employees going for a movie monthly when Fi Firs rstw twar are e was sm smal all) l).. Th The e co comp mpan any y al also so en enco cour urag aged ed co com mmu muna nall cele ce lebr brat atio ions ns

of

Indi Indian an

fest festiv ival als. s.

Su Such ch

ex expr pres essi sion ons s

of

sy symb mbol olic ic

consistency also led to action consistency in that employees from a wide section of the company appeared to participate in these events. One employee narrated a story where an overseas customer  The International Journal of Human Resource Management 663 visited the company on the day of ‘Holi’ (the Indian festival of colours where people apply and sprinkle colours on one another) and was amazed to see people from the CEO to the security staff play-acting in the spirit of  ‘Hol ‘H oli’ i’.. Th This is vi visi sito torr wa was s sa said id to ha have ve fo foun und d th the e sp spon onta tane neit ity y an and d enthusiasm of staff so contagious that he joined in the rituals. One of 

66

 

the software engineers explained how these festivities increased the satisfaction and commitment of the employees: A significant aspect of organisational culture of Firstware claimed to be prevalent across the organisation is the extent of empowerment and professional freedom employees enjoy. This emerged in different ways during the interviews but was commonly captured by the example of the absence of ‘micro management’ and freedom to take decisions. In this regard, the person responsible for recruitment (called Resourcing in Firstware) showed the researchers documents said to be cases of  many candidates who were recommended for employment by senior managers and (in some cases Directors) but who were subsequently unsuccessful because the interviewing managers believed that other candidates candi dates were better. Such examples are rare in a coun country try like India wher wh ere e

th the e na nati tion onal al cu cult ltur ure e

pr prom omot otes es ne nepo poti tism sm.. Ho Howe weve ver, r, ma many ny

employees viewed this as leading to a high level of ownership and comm co mmit itme ment nt.. Fo Forr ex exam ampl ple: e: He Here re,, ba basi sica call lly y wh what at I feel feel is that that the the amount of freedom you get to do what we want to do, without any orde derrs or wit ith hou outt much of bur urea eauc ucrrac acy y or th thin ing gs li lik ke that that,, is remarkable. Therefore, you have a lot of freedom to work the way you want wa nt to wo work rk.. On One e go good od th thin ing g ab abou outt Fi Firs rstw twar are e is that that we id iden enti tify fy ourselves with its products. We concentrate on the output and we have the freedom and innovativeness to bring out the best. Nobody tells you that this is the work or this is to be done. It’s basically left to you. So you can innovate, you can stretch the boundary and people do that. (Project Leader, aged 30, with Firstware for two years) Interestingly,

67

 

even ev en th thos ose e wh who o disa disagr gree eed d wi with th th the e co com mpa pany ny’s ’s ap appr proa oach ch on th the e management of human resources did not feel inhibited to express their views. For example, as the researchers assured one interviewee (who had very been very critical of some of the aspects of company policy) of  total anonymity, the interviewee responded: ‘you can play this tape to the CEO, I have told him most of these things.’ This suggests that the communication channels incorporating different mechanisms such as ‘skip ‘sk ip lev levels els’’ and ‘es ‘escal calati ation on to HR HR’, ’, enc encour ourage age em emplo ployee yees s to voi voice ce issues iss ues openl openly y for manag managers ers to dea deall wit with. h. One ma manag nager, er, wh who o joi joined ned Firstware after a long employment in the public sector, explained his initial surprise at this style of working:  Those were my early days in Firstware. I was quite used to the unquestioned respect for the top management views characteristic of  Indian organisations.

Organisational culture and commitment: A differentiation view point p oint  The differentiation perspective is characterised by inconsistency, subcultural consensus, and exclusion of ambiguity (Martin 1992, 2002). In th the e ca case se of Fi Firs rstw twar are, e, in sp spit ite e of th the e se sem mbl blan ance ce of co cohe hesi sion on,, organisation-wide consensus, high claims of integrity, and ‘people first’, ther there e we were re ma many ny as aspe pect cts s of cu cult ltur ure e that that we were re di diff ffer eren enti tiat ated ed an and d freque fre quentl ntly y inc incom ompat patibl ible e wit with h suc such h cla claims ims.. The These se eme emerg rged ed fro from m the people in supervisory and managerial positions in the service business and the functional departments such as HR, as well as from contract emp em plo loye yees es.. This his can be bet ette terr un unde derrstoo stood d in th the e li ligh ghtt of the

68

 

develo dev elopm pment ents s in the com compan pany y bef before ore and aft after er yea yearr 200 2000. 0. Pri Prior or to 2000, 200 0, the com compan pany y foc focuse used d exc exclus lusive ively ly on the ma manuf nufact acturi uring ng and marketing mark eting of teleco telecommu mmunicat nications ions software product products. s. In 2000 2000,, a new service business was introduced and this had a number of implications. In this regard, it should be noted that the service business is almost opposite to the product business in that in products the emphasis is on rigorous research with a long term focus, whereas the service business emphasises fulfilling client requirements, often with a short-term focus. Unlike the small numbers of people required in the product business, the service business requires people in very large numbers. Archival data shows that Firstware employed 481 people on 1st January 2000 and this number grew to 903 by 31st December 2000 and was over 2000 in 2005. Against the background of similar growth in the IT sector in India at that time, it became relatively difficult to get the required numb nu mber er of pe peop ople le po poss sses essi sing ng th the e ri righ ghtt sk skil ills ls fr from om th the e te tech chni nica call camp ca mpus uses es Firs Firstw twar are e tr trad adit itio iona nall lly y recr recrui uite ted d fr from om.. Ma Many ny ma mana nage gers rs (especially those who staffed the new service business) were recruited fr from om

ot othe herr

or orga gani nisa sati tion ons s

wh wher ere e

th the e

cu cult ltur ural al

or orie ient ntat atio ions ns

we were re

understandably different and where, for example, business orientations ty typi pica call lly y

ha had d

pr prec eced eden ence ce

ov over er

pe peop ople le..

Inde Indeed ed,,

th thro roug ugho hout ut

th the e

organisation, the researchers observed that the managers recruited in this way were often referred to as ‘laterals’ or ‘outsiders’. It was also noticeable that the views of the ‘laterals’ differed from the views of the man anag ager ers s wh who o ha had d gr grow own n wi with th th the e co comp mpan any. y. Ho Howe weve ver, r, of mo more re significance is that the views of the staff in the new service business

69

 

(predo (pr edomin minant antly ly ‘la ‘later terals als’) ’) dif differ fered ed ma marke rkedly dly fro from m the vie views ws of the people in the traditional product business. In a un univ iver ersi sity ty,, at th the e re rese sear arch ch le leve vel, l, th ther ere e mig ight ht be a few few re search; you make 2000 20 00 people take students. You do not make 2000  people do research; an undergraduate and or a graduate course and the culture of the researchers has to be different from those doing an undergraduate course. . . . There has to be more control at the graduate level because most of them are not as mature as the research students. HR  still continues to harp on what is relevant for research scholars; whereas the culture is to change to be as relevant for undergraduate courses. (Programme Manager aged 36, with Firstware for five years). These conflicts were apparently subtle , but the probing of the research team

shed some light on many aspects of disagreements. Managers in the service

business

commonly

complained

that

HR

an and d

the

top

mana ma nage geme ment nt we were re no nott re rece cept ptiv ive e to thei theirr bu busi sine ness ss co conc ncer erns ns.. Ou Ourr observations revealed that conflict between the service and product businesses were frequently manifested in political manoeuvring, which had implications for individual and collective perception of justice in the organisation. For example, a senior manager in the service business pointed out that even when they had a strong case for a business proposal, prop osal, people on the 7th floor (the top mana managem gement ent team, which is principally made up of people from the products business, is located on the 7th floor) commonly turned down such proposals particularly if they clashed with their own views of what the company should be doing. The examp exa mples les cit cited ed inc includ luded ed iss issues ues of em emplo ployee yee per perks ks or ben benefi efits ts and conditions of overseas work. However, interestingly, another manager

70

 

in the the se serv rvic ice e bu busi sine ness ss un unit it indi indica cate ted d that that they they ha had d foun found d wa ways ys of  ‘equalising power’ and that they frequently used their relationship with customers to influence the decisions of the organisation:  The

researchers

also

observed

many

aspects

of

action

inconsiste incon sistency ncy wher where e there was incon incongruen gruence ce betw between een the espo espoused used content themes and managerial actions. One of the expressions of the conten con tentt the theme mes s of ‘pe ‘peopl ople e fir first’ st’ in Fir Firstw stware are was cla claime imed d to be the policy of no lay offs, even in difficult business conditions. However, as the int interv erview iews s pro progre gresse ssed, d, the res resear earche chers rs unc uncove overed red a num number ber of  instances where people were asked to leave in 2001 when there was a downturn in business profitability. Such differing interpretations present an interesting insight into the culture of the organisation. Informants pointed out that the people who were considered to be low performers were given time to find another job and leave Firstware. Other aspects of differentiation uncovered during data analysis rela relate ted d to sy symb mbol olic ic inco incons nsis iste tenc ncy, y, wh wher ere e stor storie ies s ha had d co conf nfli lict ctin ing g interpretations. For example, one of the values claimed to be part of  Firstware culture was the unwavering emphasis on people over profits and an d th ther ere e we were re man any y st stor orie ies s wh whic ich h ap appe pear ar to ha have ve he help lped ed th the e preservation

of

this

value.

However,

there

were

conflicting

interpretations of stories around this theme. For instance, one widely shared story is that in the wake of a major fall in its profitability in 2001, employees throughout the organisation took a 20% cut in their salaries to av avoi oid d lay lay of offs fs J. Ma Math thew ew an and d E. Og Ogbo bonn nna a an and d th that at th thes ese e we were re reversed when profitability improved in later years. Many employees in

71

 

the service business unit interpreted this story differently and generally belie be lieve ved d th that at the the sa sala lary ry cu cutt wa was s fo forc rced ed on pe peop ople le.. In this this re rega gard rd,, instea ins tead d of vie viewin wing g the sto story ry as ind indica icativ tive e of tog togeth ethern erness ess and hig high h commitment to the organisation, it was perceived by some employees as an exa examp mple le of a top ma manag nageme ement nt imp impose osed d str strate ategy gy tha thatt lac lacked ked fairness. In th the e wo word rds s of on one e of th the e em empl ploy oyee ees s wh who o wa was s a so soft ftwa ware re engineer at that time: We had to take what I can only describe as a compulsory 20% cut in our salaries. I was one year into the organisation at that time. My salary was not high. The senior management should have taken a greater cut. I was the only earning member in my family and I had to support my extended family. I was heart-broken. I lost interest in what I was doing. Honestly, I looked for options to move out. I got offers, but they were in places far away and I had my own compulsions to be in this location. (Senior Software Engineer aged 27, with Firstware for five years) Others in the service business unit highlighted action inconsistencies in adherence to values. They questioned meritocracy and fair treatment whic wh ich h we were re wi wide dely ly cl clai aime med d to be the the na natu tura rall resu result lts s of the the va valu lue e congruence between employees and management. They pointed out that th at th ther ere e is a hu huge ge ga gap p be betw twee een n wh what at is es espo pous used ed an and d wh what at is practised and cited a number of instances to support their claims. It was also interesting to note that the contract employees (about 50 of them) in the IT support functions tended to feel that they were excl ex clu ude ded d

fro fr om

th the e

orga gan nisat isatio ion. n.

Suc uch h

em emp plo loye yees es

we werre

ea eas sil ily y

72

 

distin dis tingui guishe shed d wit within hin the or organ ganisa isatio tion. n. Fo Forr exa examp mple, le, the re resea search rchers ers observed that they tended to sit together in the food court during lunch and did not integrate with other members of the organisation. When asked to comment on the culture of Firstware, one of them asked a poignant question, ‘Are you asking about their culture or our culture?’  They were particularly unhappy about what they considered to be the differential practice of the ‘people first’ policy at Firstware:  Thus, data analysis shows that many aspects of the culture of  Firstware are inconsistent, with examples of differences in orientation and an d pe perc rcep epti tion on am amon ong g dive divers rse e gr grou oups ps in the the orga organi nisa sati tion on.. Th Thes ese e differences impact not only on management of human resources but also als o on ind indivi ividua duall and col collec lectiv tive e per percep ceptio tion n of the their ir rol roles es and the their ir levels of commitment to the organisation.

Organisational culture and commitment: A fragmentation viewpoint Data generated from Firstware suggests that certain elements of  the company culture, particularly those that relate to commitment, can be ana analys lysed ed fro from m a fra fragm gment entati ation on per perspe specti ctive. ve. The fra fragm gment entati ation on perspe per specti ctive ve cap captur tures es amb ambigu iguity ity,, mu multi ltiple ple int interp erpret retati ations ons of cul cultur ture, e, contr con tradi adicti ctions ons,, and iro ironie nies s (Ma (Marti rtin n 199 1992, 2, 200 2002). 2). The ana analys lysis is of the interviews and other data reveal a number of ambiguities, many of  which emerged in the form of conflict between content and themes. The mana ma nage gers rs an and d em empl ploy oyee ees s in su supe perv rvis isor ory y po posi siti tion ons s in the the se serv rvic ice e business unit typically highlighted such issues. Furthermore, although there was evidence of consensus within subcultures, this did not always extend across subcultures. For example, the general dissatisfaction of 

73

 

the th e

The

Inte Interrnatio ationa nall

Jou ourrna nall

of

Hu Hum man Res eso our urce ce

Ma Mana nag gem emen entt

empl em ploy oyee ees s in the the se serv rvic ice e bu busi sine ness ss un unit it su sugg gges este ted d an in inco comp mple lete te realisation of Firstware’s ‘people first’ policy as well as the desire of the serv se rvic ice e em empl ploy oyee ees s to re re-o -ori rien enta tate te the the cu cult ltur ure e of the the co comp mpan any y to a ‘business ‘busi ness first’ appro approach. ach. The follow following ing vigne vignette tte highl highlights ights the belief  that that the the co cons nseq eque uenc nces es of th the e ‘peo ‘peopl ple e fi firs rst’ t’ po poli licy cy we were re fr freq eque uent ntly ly unintended and commonly counterproductive for business success: A delivery date is there and let us say you have tight estimation that you willl del wil delive iverr a produ product ct in five days . . . sud sudden denly, ly, on the thir third d day day,, an employee applies for leave, now what will you do? Under the ‘people first’ policy, you will have to give him leave. Interviewer: Like somebody falls ill? Not only ill . . . some personal reason, not even ill. You can’t do anything about it. He needs time off. He says [name] I have to go, at that point of time; you know that if he goes, you can’t deliver on time, so we sli slip p . . .In .Inter tervie viewer wer:: Wo Would uld you sti still ll grant grant the them m lea leave ve in suc such h situations?  The researchers observed several other examples linked to the above issue. One day one researcher was having lunch at the food court, where a senior HR manager was speaking to a senior manager of  a service business unit who said: ‘[a major client of the firm] had a serious problem and none of the software engineers were available to resolve it. The project leader was granted leave in the middle of the proj pr ojec ectt an and d th the e cl clie ient nt wa was s ye yell llin ing g at me me.’ .’ In Inte terv rvie iews ws wi with th se serv rvic ice e busi bu sine ness ss un unit it ma mana nage gers rs also also hi high ghli ligh ghte ted d ma many ny in inst stan ance ces s wh wher ere e employees refused to go to less attractive client locations which did not

74

 

have the facilities offered at Firstware (for example, employees were eager to go to Europe or US but were very reluctant to go to China). The mana ma nage gers rs argu argued ed th that at they they we were re un unab able le to ex exer erci cise se ma mana nage geri rial al authority in such instances because Firstware’s culture did not permit managers to compel employees to act against their self interest. Data analysis suggests that employees across the business highlighted many ambiguities arising from Firstware culture. One key ambiguity noticed was that the attempt by senior executives to foster a close and happy work environment was mistakenly interpreted as an indication of senior managers being ‘soft’ on bad performance. A number of interviewees ar argu gued ed th that at th this is wa was s ha havi ving ng a ne nega gati tive ve im impa pact ct,, es espe peci cial ally ly on the the commitment of high performing employees. An example of this was cl clai aime med d to be link linked ed to ap appr prai aisa sals ls,, wh whic ich h we were re of ofte ten n pe perc rcei eive ved d as mea eani ning ngle less ss as th the e

cu cult ltur ure e

of no nonc ncon onfr fron onta tati tion on (a (an n un unin inte tend nded ed

consequence of people first policy) was interpreted in such a way that st staff aff wer were e alw always ays giv given en hig high h rat rating ings. s. Th The e res resear earche chers rs wer were e ab able le to inspect some appraisal ratings and found that all 60 appraisal forms selected at random were awarded top rating. The head of HR openly acknowledged this and observed: We need to strengthen our managers to become competent to handle that which is difficult. They need to do what a doctor does. Doctor cares, but he is not soft, he is not nice. If he believes that your leg has to be cut, he cuts it. He cares for you, that is why he cuts your leg. He says, ‘there is cancer which will kill you, so I have to cut this leg’. If  he was a soft guy and a nice guy and says, ‘no, no, I don’t want to cut

75

 

your leg, I don’t want to give you pain’, he kills you. And most of our mana ma nage gers rs are are kill killin ing g th the e wh whol ole e bu busi sine ness ss.. To Toda day y on one e of our our ma majo jorr problems in this organisation is that most managers are soft on bad performance. This has an impact on good performance and this brings down commitment of people who do well. Procedurally you are being unjust. Other informants pointed out the action ambiguity observed in the th e poli policy cy of fl flex exib ible le wo work rk ti time mes s an and d th the e ab abse senc nce e of atte attend ndan ance ce monitori mon itoring. ng. Inde Indeed, ed, a numb number er of info informan rmants ts raise raised d inter interestin esting g mor moral al difficulties in relation to this. A commonly cited concern was that staff  abuse of generous company policies resulted in the customer paying hi high gher er pr pric ices es an and d th ther ere e we were re so som me wh who o felt felt un unco comf mfor orta tabl ble e wi with th exploiting the customer in this way: Assume that only 5 per cent misuse this. Who pays the price? It is the customer who will ultimately pay the price. Would that not go against our claims of integrity? Ambig igu uit ity y

in sy sym mbo bols ls an and d ac acttio ion ns

is th thus us fund fundam amen enttal to th the e

fragmentation of culture at Firstware. Indeed, one software engineer who had recently joined the company recounted the difficulty he had in reconciling many aspects of the company culture. He described the culture as pieces of a jigsaw which do not always fit together and which do no nott alw always ays sup suppor portt eac each h oth other. er. Ano Anothe therr exp experi erienc enced ed emp employ loyee ee nar arrrat ated ed th the e pot oten enti tial al cos ostt of su such ch fr frag agm men ente ted d cu cult ltu ure to the or orga gani nisa sati tion on:: At th the e to top, p, we alwa always ys li like ke to be beli liev eve e th that at we ha have ve everythin every thing g caref carefully ully planned but let’s be hone honest: st: things can get rather chaotic down here. There are times when I feel that right and left hands are not working together. . . . I’m sure that we can make 2–3 per cent

76

 

more profit if we are able to get everyone to sing from the same hymn book. (Technical Leader, aged 31 years, with Firstware for seven years)  The ‘jigsaw’ analogy is perhaps best illustrated by the anxiety expressed by informants in relation to the turbulence of the external business environment. The interviews revealed that although Firstware is a highly profitable organisation, many employees see the external busi bu sine ness ss en envi viro ronm nmen entt as ve very ry un unce cert rtai ain n an and d ma many ny reve reveal aled ed thei theirr anxieties over their future. Such anxiety and fear prompted employees to bel believ ieve e tha thatt the prese present nt boo boom m in inf inform ormati ation on and com commu munic nicati ation on technology in India is transient and that they should amass as much weal we alth th as po poss ssib ible le fo forr fe fear ar th that at the the bo boom om wi will ll be ov over er so soon on.. Th This is probably explains the very high rate of attrition in the company and the industry (archival records suggests that attrition is close to 20 per cent in Firstware), in that employees readily accept jobs that are perceived to offer more financial benefits. Thus, the fear of the industry collapsing has had a major impact on the nature of commitment in the organisation. In the words of one manager: Software is nothing but a tool for a core industry like telecom, aviation or anything like that. So your yo ur cy cycl cles es de depe pend nd en enti tire rely ly on thei theirr cy cycl cles es.. In 20 2001 01,, we su suff ffer ered ed because it was a telecom crash. More than 200,000 people in US alone lostt the los their ir job jobs. s. Luc Lucent ent had 135 135,00 ,000 0 em emplo ployee yees s (co (contr ntract act peo people ple are separate) before that crash; today it is 35,000. Nortel had 105,000; today it is 30,000. 2001 is not very far back; people are deeply worried of what they did last time. When you fire people in the UK and USA you have to pay a huge amount of money to them, depending on how long

77

 

they worked, but instead, they now come and offload work to Indian companies who take the risk of hiring these people and firing them tomorrow. People have this in mind at all times and these fundamental aspects of the industry affect commitment and attrition. People are very scared. This is why there is high attrition. We lose close to a quarter of  ourr st ou stre reng ngth th ye year arly ly.. ( Prog Progra ram mme Ma Mana nage gerr ag aged ed 36 ye year ars, s, wi with th Firstware for five years) It was also interesting to find a number of  informants who argued that commitment in the case of Firstware was not a function of the organisational culture. They argued that Firstware employs predominantly software engineers and that a vast majority of  the employees are young people in their late twenties (the archival data suggests that the average age is 28). They note that such employees equa eq uate te ca care reer er su succ cces ess s wi with th un unde dert rtak akin ing g ch chal alle leng ngin ing g pr proj ojec ects ts wi with th leading multinational corporations (MNCs) and such employees argue that the opportunity opportunity to work on complex projec projects ts and learn from The International Journal of Human Resource Management. These was more important than seeking an ideal work environment. This shows that the intrinsic motivation of these employees is very high. Viewed from this perspective, commitment is not a function of the work environment but rather an expression of the individual’s drive to excel. The researchers stayed overnight in the building on three occasions and noticed that a number of people had voluntarily extended their working hours to the next day in their effort to complete various projects. One of the senior software engineers pointed out: where I was working previously, had micro monitoring. Mind you, it employs over 50,000 people. It is not an

78

 

employee first company, of course, but the attrition is not higher than Firstwar Firs tware. e. Ther There e were systems and proc processe esses s for almo almost st every everything thing.. Here, everything is flexible and often I do not know what to do with all that flexibility. I am working day and night here but then I worked day in and day out on projects at XYZ. Certainly people work with dedication there as they do here despite the differences in culture. Commitment in XYZ is not low by any standard. (Senior Software Engineer aged 27, with wi th Firs Firstw twar are e fo forr tw two o ye year ars) s) Th Thus us,, vi view ewed ed fr from om a fr frag agme ment ntat atio ion n perspective, the culture of Firstware is characterised by ambiguities, contradictions, ironies, and multiple interpretations of critical issues and events. Overall, the adoption of the three perspective framework in exploring or organ ganisa isatio tional nal cul cultur ture e and com commi mitm tment ent hig highli hlight ghts s som some e int intere eresti sting ng fi fin ndi din ngs in relat elatio ion n to the im impa pact ct of orga gan nis isat atio iona nall cu cult ltur ure e on commitment. Data analysis from the integration perspective appear to suggest an unproblematic link, with high commitment viewed as the logical outcome of the pursuit of top management espoused policies of  cultur cul tural al heg hegemo emony. ny. In con contra trast, st, dat data a ana analys lysis is fro from m a dif differ ferent entiat iation ion pers pe rspe pect ctiv ive e su sugg gges ests ts th the e ex exis iste tenc nce e of su sub b cu cult ltur ural al tens tensio ions ns an and d conf co nfli lict cts, s, wh whic ich h of ofte ten n resu result lted ed in the the pu purs rsui uitt of de depa part rtme ment ntal al an and d busine bus iness ss uni unitt pol politi itical cal pos positi ition oning ing and ma manoe noeuvr uvring ing tha thatt fre freque quentl ntly y underm und ermine ined d or organ ganisa isatio tional nal com commit mitmen ment. t. Fin Finall ally, y, the ana analys lysis is of the data froma fragmentation perspective suggests that many aspects of  the organisa organisatio tion’s n’s cul cultur ture e wer were e in a sta state te of flu flux, x, wit with h pol polici icies es and practi pra ctices ces tha thatt wer were e fre freque quentl ntly y am ambig biguou uous s and inc incom ompat patibl ible. e. The These se

79

 

findings suggest a range of contributions and implications for theory and practice which are discussed below.

Contributions and implications  The objective of this study was to explore and analyse the impact of  organisational culture on organisational commitment in the context of a sector (software) that is renowned to be dynamic and people-centred.  The findings of an investigation of these organisational processes in an Indian Ind ian so softw ftware are org organi anisat sation ion su sugge ggest st a ran range ge of con contri tribut bution ions s and implications for theory and practice. The first contribution of the study is linked to the adoption of the three perspective framework in the study

of

organisational

culture

and

commitment

in

a

single

organisation. Although researchers have called for scholars to adopt a wider range of perspectives in analysing the culture of organisations, and spe specif cifica ically lly to inc incor orpor porate ate the thr three ee per perspe specti ctive ve fra framew mewor ork k in exploring the culture of single organisations, few scholars have taken this suggestion forward. The logic of this approach to organisational analysis is derived from the consideration that organisational members are embedded in practices which are constituted in social norms and whic wh ich h

are are

char charac acte teri rise sed d

by

nu num mer erou ous, s,

so some meti tim mes

in inco com mpa pati tibl ble e

meanings. Such multiplicity of meanings suggests that different ‘orders’ can exist simultaneously both within and across subcultures: a situation which can only adequately be captured through multiple interpretive analytical lenses. The findings of this study suggest that by adopting the three

80

 

 J. Mathew and E. Ogbonna Ogbonna perspective approach it is possible to identify the the mu mult ltip ipli lici city ty of me mean anin ings gs that that ch char arac acte teri rise se va valu lues es in a si sing ngle le organisat orga nisation ion and to docu document ment the exis existence tence of shar shared ed valu values, es, while at the sam same e tim time e unc uncove overin ring g dif differ ferenc ences es and inc incom omple plete te rea realis lisati ation on of  valu va lues es,, as we well ll as th the e co cont ntra radi dict ctio ions ns an and d am ambi bigu guit itie ies s th that at may characterise cultural values in the same organisation and the potential impa im pact ct of th thes ese e on orga organi nisa sati tion onal al co comm mmit itme ment nt.. Th Thus us,, this this stud study y supports the growing call for research into the organisational culture to adopt multiple perspectives and frameworks (Martin 1992; 2002, Harris and Ogbonna 1998; Alvesson 2002) in analysing the culture of a single organisation. The findings of this study suggest that this call should be extended to include studies of organisational culture and commitment. A sec second ond con contri tribut bution ion of the stu study dy is the del deline ineati ation on of alt altern ernati ative ve conc co ncep eptu tual aliz izat atio ions ns

of

th the e

im impa pact ct

of

or org gan anis isat atio ion nal

cu cult ltur ure e

on

commitment. Previous research into the links between organisational cultur cul ture e and com commit mitme ment nt has bee been n spa sparse rse,, wit with h cul cultur ture e fre freque quentl ntly y confused with climate in such evaluations (see Denison 1996). Such res ese ear arch ch co com mmonly poin oints to a posi siti tive ve as asso soci ciat atio ion n be bettwe ween en or organ ganisa isatio tional nal cli climat mate e and com commit mitme ment. nt. The few stu studie dies s tha thatt hav have e examined exam ined cultu culture re mor more e spec specifical ifically ly reach reached ed simil similar ar concl conclusion usions: s: that suppor sup portiv tive e or organ ganisa isatio tional nal cul cultur ture e can hav have e a pos positi itive ve inf influe luence nce on organisational commitment. However, while acknowledging that culture can ca n ha have ve a pe perv rvas asiv ive e im impa pact ct on co comm mmit itme ment nt,, th the e cu curr rren entt stud study y suggests that this relationship is not as simple or as straightforward as prev pr evio ious us rese resear arch cher ers s ha have ve as assu sume med. d. View Viewed ed fr from om an in inte tegr grat atio ion n

81

 

pers pe rspe pect ctiv ive, e, th the e fi find ndin ings gs of th this is stud study y le lend nd cred creden ence ce to ex exta tant nt conceptua conce ptualisati lisations ons of direc directt links between cultu culture re and comm commitmen itment, t, in that culture is presented as having the potential to provide a sense of  cohesion and unity, thereby having a strong influence on commitment, especially affective commitment. In the current case, it can be argued that the company attempted to achieve such commitment by pursuing cult cu ltur ural al

po poli lici cies es

of

or orga gani nisa sati tion onal al

he hege gemo mony ny

in incl clud udin ing g

se selec lecti tive ve

recruitment, empowerment, and generous employee benefits package. Howe Ho weve ver, r, an al alte tern rnat ativ ive e an anal alyt ytic ical al pe pers rspe pect ctiv ive e (d (dif iffe fere rent ntia iati tion on or fragmentation perspective) of culture points to varying interpretations and conceptualisations of the impact of culture on commitment. For example, the conflict and political manoeuvring between the different busi bu sine ness ss gr grou oups ps an and d th the e wa ways ys in wh whic ich h so some me of the the po poli lici cies es (f (for or example the ‘people first’ policy) were interpreted by various groups in the the orga organi nisa sati tion on we were re se seen en as im impa pact ctin ing g ne nega gati tive vely ly on em empl ploy oyee ee commitment.

Furthermore,

the

analysis

of

the

data

from

a

fragmentation fragment ation pers perspecti pective ve revea reveals ls ambi ambiguiti guities, es, dicho dichotomi tomies, es, iron ironies, ies, and contradictions that characterise internal and external organisational relations and that make it difficult to develop clear and unc nco omplica licate ted d com co mmit itm men ent. t.

lin linka kage ges s To

th this is

be bettwe ween en

ex exte ten nt,

orga gan nis isat atio ion nal

rath ather

tha han n

pres esen entt

cu cult ltu ure sim impl ple e

and an and d

unpro unp roble blema matic tic ass associ ociati ations ons bet betwee ween n cul cultur ture e and com commit mitme ment, nt, thi this s study stu dy sug sugges gests ts tha thatt the lin links ks bet betwee ween n com commi mitm tment ent and cul cultur ture e are contested cont ested,, typic typically ally unpr unpredict edictable, able, tran transient sient,, and conte context-s xt-specifi pecific. c. In this regard, given the relative dearth of research linking organisational

82

 

culture and commitment, these findings contribute an important step towards theory building in this area. The findings of this study also suggest some implications for human resource management in India in general and for the Indian software sector in particular. First, the study contributes to calls for more studies of human resource management in India by providing an empirical evaluation of key issues within human reso resour urce ce

ma mana nage geme ment nt

(org (organ anis isat atio iona nall

cu cult ltur ure e

an and d

co comm mmit itme ment nt). ).

Second, the study supplies one of the few research-driven examinations examinations of

the

software

The

International

Journal

of

Human

Resource

Mana Ma nage geme ment nt indu indust stry ry in Indi India. a. In this this re rega gard rd,, the the stud study y pr prov ovid ides es in insi sigh ghts ts into into th the e co comp mple lexi xiti ties es in the the pe perc rcep epti tion on of orga organi nisa sati tion onal al culture, thereby presenting particular opportunities and difficulties for huma hu man n

re reso sour urce ce

man anag ager ers. s.

Th Thir ird, d,

th the e

stud study y

de dem mon onst stra rate tes s

th the e

proble pro blemat matic ic nat nature ure of cul cultur ture–c e–com ommit mitme ment nt lin linkag kages es and in so doi doing ng highlights the significance of unpredictability and context-specificity in such linkages. This is particularly relevant in the light of the high levels of em empl ploy oyee ee tu turn rnov over er an and d in th the e co cont ntex extt of wo work rker ers s in de deve velo lopi ping ng economies who increasingly place emphasis on extrinsic rewards. All these factors pose significant challenges to human resource managers in India and elsewhere wishing to improve organisational effectiveness through aligning organisational culture and organisational commitment.  The above discussion leads to another contribution of this study which is re rela late ted d to th the e rese resear arch ch me meth thod ods s ad adop opte ted. d. Pr Prev evio ious us stud studie ies s in into to organisational commitment and culture have tended to be quantitative, with little understanding of the ways in which these processes are fully

83

 

played playe d out in orga organisat nisational ional settin settings. gs. The findi findings ngs of this study lead to the suggestion that the adoption of qualitative approaches in the study of or orga gani nisa sati tion onal al cu cult ltur ure e an and d co comm mmit itme ment nt is mo more re li like kely ly to yi yiel eld d significant insights, in that it would help the researcher to develop an unders und erstan tandin ding g of the org organi anisat sation ional al con contex textt and pro proces cesses ses thr throug ough h which individuals and groups ascribe meaning to their working lives. Such an approach is also likely to lead to a better appreciation of how the resulting employee behaviours and norms impact on organisational commi com mitme tment. nt. Alt Althou hough gh no cau causal sal lin links ks can be cla claime imed d by stu studyi dying ng commitmentt and culture in this way, this approach is more likely to lead commitmen to an un unde ders rsta tand ndin ing g of th the e so soci cial al co cont ntex extt in wh whic ich h ex expr pres essi sion ons s of  commitment may occur, enabling the researchers to understand how the cultural manipulation of such contexts may influence the nature and expression of commitment. commitment.  The above raises the question of whether analyses of culture and commi com mitme tment nt sho should uld not onl only y be con contex text-s t-spec pecifi ific c but sho should uld als also o be sector/i secto r/indu ndustr stry y con contin tingen gent. t. Th The e pec peculi uliari aritie ties s of the Ind Indian ian bus busine iness ss envi en viro ronm nmen entt ma make ke th this is an inte intere rest stin ing g co cont ntex extt fo forr th the e stud study y of  organisational culture and commitment. For example, the impact of the business-friendly legal environment which makes it easy to ‘hire and fire’ fir e’ emp employ loyees ees in the sof softwa tware re sec sector tor and to ma maint intain ain per perman manent ent labour market flexibility cannot be underestimated underestimated.. As many informants disclosed, employee commitment is sometimes based on instrumentality, and shaped by the availability of alternative employment that matches the peculiarities of individual circumstances

84

 

(for example, the behaviour of a breadwinner in an extended family system is more likely to be shaped by a desire to remain in employment that offers the greatest financial reward rather than the one that offers the the

be best st op oppo port rtun unit ity y

fo forr

indi indivi vidu dual al ps psyc ycho holo logi gica call

fu fulf lfil ilme ment nt (s (see ee

Hofstede 1984)). Similarly, evaluations of culture and commitment are likely to be influenced by the dynamic nature of the software sector. For example, the recent rapid growth and development of this sector has bestowed specialist software professionals with a power capacity which many have exploited to negotiate enhanced packages irrespective of  the nat natur ure e of cul cultur tural al and com commi mitme tment nt pra practi ctices ces pro promo moted ted by the their ir respective organisations (see Ogbonna and Harris 2006). Thus, rather than th an

pe perrce ceiv ive e

co cont ntex extt-s spe peci cifficit icity y

as

a

li lim mit itat atio ion n

in

stu tudi dies es

of 

com co mmit itm men entt this his stu tudy dy sug ugg ges ests ts tha hatt a foc ocu us on the mul ulti tip ple part pa rtic icul ular arit itie ies s of indi indivi vidu dual al co cont ntex exts ts sh shou ould ld he help lp to in info form rm theo theory ry building in this interesting area of organisational research. A practical implication of this study is in relation to subcultural conflict which may ar aris ise e wh when en an or orga gani nisa sati tion on intr introd oduc uces es a ne new w bu busi sine ness ss op oper erat atio ion. n. Managers should note that it may not be desirable or even possible to suppr sup press ess suc such h con confli flict. ct. Ins Instea tead, d, the they y sho should uld see seek k to rec recog ognis nise e the differ dif ferenc ences es in or orien ientat tation ion of eac each h sub subcul cultur ture, e, to und unders erstan tand d tha thatt J. Math Ma thew ew an and d E. Og Ogbo bonn nna a co com mmi mitm tmen entt may be de deri rive ved d fr from om an and d di dire rect cted ed to mu mult ltip iple le so sour urce ces s (w (whi hich ch ma may y or may no nott in incl clud ude e th the e organisation) and to develop the appropriate support systems to ensure a

business

focused

solution.

Such

an

approach

requires

an

acknowledgement of the co-existence of multiple cultures and multiple

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commitmen comm itments ts in orga organisat nisations ions.. Thus Thus,, rath rather er than seek to encou encourage rage commitment and cultural hegemony, managers should aim to identify ways way s of har harnes nessin sing g spe specif cific ic sub subcul cultur tural al cha charac racter terist istics ics tha thatt may be conducive to particular types of commitment required for the success of  individual business units. The International Journal of Human Resource Management.

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FINDINGS •

Organization culture is the life blood of the organization and the factor is most effective in maintaining a strong buyer-seller relationship is the value of the business.

•

Trust and commitment is a foundation for building up strong buyer-seller relationship. Thee one Th one is th thee impo import rtan antt an and d stro strong ng fa fact ctor or of he heal alth thy y or orga gani niza zati tion on cu cult ltur uree is Productivity.

•

Managing the buyer and supplier relationship has become a key focus for any company. Global supply chain management involves think about the principles of relationship  between buyer and seller. seller .

•

The one is the most effective characteristics of effective supply chain management is Supply chain member’s coordination’s and the buyer-supplier buyer-supplier relationship relationship is a growing significant part in international business.

•

The organization gives more emphasis on buyer-seller relationship and the buyersupplier relationship plays a vital role, especially in choosing the key supplier within the Global Supply Chain Management.

•

Strong buyer and suppler relationship build up the value of business organization. Buyer-seller relationship have very important and effective role in the success of any company.

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CONCLUSION This project report is based on study the role of organizational culture and its importance to the organization in Telecom Sector of India. The concluding points of this  project report are as follows: A business organization consists of people as its building  blocks who with their unique talents of skill, knowledge, expertise and attitude, come together to achieve the goals and objectives of the enterprise. Each of the individual brings his/her personal traits of likes, dislikes, emotions, values, etc. to the organization. Again, each individual having been born and brought up in a unique environment, has a distinct way wa y of th think inking ing,, react reactin ing g to variou variouss stim stimul ulii and perfor performi ming ng his/he his/herr task. task. But, But, an organization organiza tion can ill afford the luxury of dichotomy dichotomy of behavior of its members in terms of  methods and means they adopt or would like to adopt, to utilize the material and human assets of the enterprise for achieving its goals. Therefore, in an organizational set-up, there is a definite need for generating and developing a uniform patter pattern n of actions and relations down the line of command and in the various functional departments. This calls for  creat creatio ion n of an en envir vironm onmen entt th that at fine fine tunes tunes an and d modul modulate atess the the person personali ality ty trai traits ts of  individual individu al members to fit a desired organizational organizational behavior pattern. This is the genesis of  need for developing an `Organizational Culture'. Organizations differ in the extent to which they value these core characteristics. With Wi thin in th thee same same in indus dustr try, y, diffe differen rentt compan companies ies may may empha emphasiz sizee these these deter determi minan nants ts diffe differen rentl tly. y. This This is the reaso reason n why two two diffe differe rent nt organi organiza zati tions ons pr produ oduci cing ng ident identic ical al  products, operating o perating under un der identical marketing conditions co nditions and using similar technologies in

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their th eir co core re opera operati ting ng syste systems ms,, give give differ different ent vibes vibes and fe feel eling ingss to an outsid outsider, er, thus thus  proclaiming different organizational cultures cu ltures across organizations. organizat ions. Culture is an abstract entity. But, it has practical meaningfulness particularly in the organizational context. Culture creates the identity of an organization. It lends specific  business climate where employees are nurtured. The buyer-seller relationship, indeed, reflects assimilation of two organizations bearing distinct cultural identities. This article identifies the cultural complexities and the process by which it moulds the relational dynamics between the buyer and the seller. The article further explores some contextual incidents with reference to effective assimilation of culture, fostering the relationships  between the buyer and the th e seller in real world scenario. scen ario.

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RECOMMENDATIONS  Organizational culture is the shared values or common perceptions that are held by

each member of an organization.  The development of an organizational culture has been left to chance and not included

as part of management's responsibilities or accountabilities.  The management team expressed initial confidence in their ability to build a new

facility to capitalize on this knowledge and experience.  Organizations must consciously decide what their culture will be. If it is allowed to

develop or evolve over time without a direction or plan, the results may not be either  appropriate or effective for the organization.

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LIMITATIONS

•

Time constraints

•

Economical constraints

•

Difficulty in finding secondary data sources.

•

Inherent difficulty in assessing the qualitative factors of human nature.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY  Argyris, C. and D.A. Schon, Organizational Learning, Reading, Addison-Wesley,

1978.  Cohen, Managing Knowledge in the New Economy, The Conference Board Inc., New

York, 1998. Takeuc hi, H., The Knowledge Creating Creatin g Company, Oxford University, Univ ersity,   Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi,  New York, 1995. Sanchez, hez, Managing Managing Articu Articulate lated d Knowledg Knowledgee in Compete Competencence-base based d Compet Competiti ition on in  Sanc Knowledge as Business Resource, Velentin (ed.), Samfundsliterature, Copenhagen, 1998.

Webliography

www.telecomindustry.com