The communication process in any given organization can be described through the organizational culture theory, where a set of assumptions and beliefs within a unit determines the comprehensiveness and validity of the information exchange between a wide range of individuals. The workplace communication problem is the presence of a toxic organizational culture that negatively affects the corporate brand and employees’ association with the latter. The inquiry is significant and important because such a communication issue stems from the improper culture, which diminishes the capability of employees. Therefore, the communication that originates from the hostile and dysfunctional organizational culture can affect the company’s brand, which further worsens employee interaction.
Summary
All organizations, regardless of their form of ownership and goals of the activity, are created and live in a certain environment called culture. It largely determines the meaning of their existence, acts both outside and inside the organization. Considering organizations as communities with a uniform understanding of their goals, purpose, and place, values ​​and behavior, gave rise to the concept of organizational culture. The organization forms its own image, which is based on the specific quality of products and services provided, rules of conduct, and moral principles of employees, reputation in the business world. This is a system of generally accepted ideas and approaches in the organization to the formulation of the case, to the forms of relations and to the achievement of results of activity, which distinguish this organization from all others. Organizational culture is an important component and condition for the existence of an organization.
The theory of organizational culture is highly relevant to the given workplace due to the lack of functional attitude and set of beliefs among the employees. Such a culture severely decreases the attractiveness of the company, which manifests itself in the brand image. The workers then will most likely adopt the culture and perpetuate this toxic workplace environment, which will result in major dissatisfaction. A study suggests that there is a strong correlation between organizational culture and job satisfaction, whereas leadership primarily affects job performance (Pawirosumarto, Sarjana, & Gunawan, 2017). In order to further support the statement that organizational culture is a predictor of satisfaction levels among employees, it is important to refer to the study, which shows that aggressive organizational traits negatively influence job satisfaction (Sharma, 2017). Cultural patterns adopted and learned in a given organization have a significant impact on various aspects of the activities of members of the organization. In particular, it affects power and control relationships, attitudes toward work, interpersonal relationships within groups, intergroup relationships. This also includes relationships with the external environment, as well as technology, motivation. In addition, culture determines the integration processes, especially at the consolidation level, and the specifics of role requirements.
Brand
Brand identity is one of the main factors that employees associate with when working for their employers. It is stated that organizational culture can affect the brand identity, which can manifest itself in poor employee association that facilitates poor communication (Rashid & Ghose, 2015). Another study of Greek banking institutions found that organizational culture has a significant effect on all six dimensions of job satisfaction metric values (Belias, Koustelios, Vairaktarakis, & Sdrolias, 2015). The corporate culture of the company makes it possible to implement the goals of the brand. Recognition, favorable image, effective interaction, impact on consciousness and understanding, all this creates an effective and strong brand. Thus, the brand’s mission is consonant with the goals of forming an organizational culture. Building a corporate culture is one of the most important goals of modern executive leadership.
Organizational culture is an important strategic tool for the development of a company. This contributes to the creation of a positive reputation of the company, increases the involvement of employees in the affairs of the company, thereby forming staff loyalty to the organization. The culture also cultivates a sense of community for absolutely all members of the corporation, reinforces the concept of social sustainability in the company, provides stereotypes of behavior, and forms consumer loyalty. Formation of organizational culture is a difficult task at many levels, but among the most difficult is the choice of the type of corporate culture and its implementation. Among the many questions that need to be answered in approaching these challenges, the most important is understanding what an ethical organizational culture is and how it affects the performance of an organization. The latter includes planning and implementing a plan for cultural change.
The concepts of brand and organizational culture are closely interconnected, and when creating an organization’s brand, the interests and needs of the target audience, which are consumers, suppliers, contractors, and society as a whole, must be taken into account. In modern market conditions, buyers focus their attention primarily on the product or its properties, but on the brand of the product and the image of the corporation that produces this product or service. The brand shows the degree of consumer loyalty and demonstrates their satisfaction with the products that the corporation provides. Due to the focus of the corporate brand on the corporate mission of the company, one can focus on the formation of the newest philosophy of the corporation.
Increasing employee loyalty is created through the formation of positive relationships and the involvement of all personnel in the company’s activities, and not through strict norms and standards governing the work of employees aimed at increasing customer satisfaction. It follows that all company management processes are formed under the corporate brand. The activities of corporations are multifaceted and include not only economic or urban content, but also covers the area of ​​work with personnel, which is human capital. Thus, the main task of corporate branding is aimed at creating and maintaining the corporate spirit of both an integral work team and each individual employee. This also includes rallying employees with common interests and accepting the mission and goals of the corporation.
Resolution
The overall improvement of the organizational culture will inevitably yield a positive brand image of the company, which can be applied to improve the workplace communication problem. This, in turn, will result in the major betterment of the brand and its association with employees, who will experience more satisfaction regarding their job. A research conducted on high school teachers shows that organizational competence in communication and its culture determines both job performance and satisfaction among the educators (Arifin, 2015). In addition, interprofessional teamwork can improve the organizational culture, which can a plausible solution for the communication issue that stems from the latter and affects both brand and employee job satisfaction (Korner, Wirtz, Bengel, & Goritz, 2015). Corporate culture is a complex structure of specific prescriptions that provide a general framework for behavior that will be accepted by the members of the company. It is a type of benchmark for employees since it regulates the rules of behavior, the norms of relationships between the employees of the company, the attitude to the activities of the corporation. Compliance with corporate norms leads to the creation of well-functioning and formed systemic relations within the structure.
The task of most of the activities being carried out is nothing more than obtaining additional resources and justifications in the growing confrontation between companies. An increase in respectability, as well as the manifested loyalty of the groups to which the work of organizations is directed, leads to a rise in the trust of the target audience, thereby forming a stronger market position of the corporation. These factors allow the formation of long-term strategic ties with partners, both new and existing. A supportive corporate environment while implementing an effective communication culture is one of the most effective methods of engaging and motivating personnel. This is due to the fact that when an employee realizes material needs, he has a desire to win a worthy position in the team, a desire to self-actualize, and receive recognition at the same time.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to indicate the fact that an organization’s culture can severely diminish the communication among the employees, which also affect the brand of the company. The latter perpetuates the notion that the current employees are incapable of proper communication, which leads to inefficiency and employee dissatisfaction. This can be the result of organizational culture reinforcing unprofessionalism and workplace toxicity in interaction. By improving the organizational culture, a company can better its brand image, which will improve employee satisfaction due to their association with their employers.
References
Arifin, H. M. (2015). The influence of competence, motivation, and organisational culture to high school teacher job satisfaction and performance. International Education Studies, 8(1), 38-45.
Belias, D., Koustelios, A., Vairaktarakis, G., & Sdrolias, L. (2015). Organizational culture and job satisfaction of Greek banking institutions. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 175, 314-323.
Korner, M., Wirtz, M. A., Bengel, J., & Goritz, A. S. (2015). Relationship of organizational culture, teamwork and job satisfaction in interprofessional teams. BMC Health Services Research, 15(243), 1-12.
Pawirosumarto, S., Sarjana, P. K., & Gunawan, R. (2017). The effect of work environment, leadership style, and organizational culture towards job satisfaction and its implication towards employee performance in Parador Hotels and Resorts, Indonesia. International Journal of Law and Management, 59(6), 1337-1358.
Rashid, S., & Ghose, K. (2015). Organisational culture and the creation of brand identity: Retail food branding in new markets. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 33(1), 2-19.
Sharma, P. (2017). Organizational culture as a predictor of job satisfaction: The role of age and gender. Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, 15(1), 35-48.