Organizational Culture's Effects on a Manager's Role

Each business has an organizational culture no matter how big or small. A business can informally develop a culture without the guiding hand of management or ownership, or the company can create its own culture using a system of values and performance standards. A manager's role in a company's culture depends on how the business wants the manager to interact with other employees and how much authority the business gives the manager.

Manager as Disciplinarian

A small business' organizational culture may force a manager into the role of disciplinarian to police and correct employee behavior. A manager functioning in this role may issue verbal or written warnings to employees not operating according to the company's mission statement or operational standards and conduct performance reviews to make employees aware of what areas require improvement. A manager in a disciplinarian role may have a difficult time establishing interpersonal relationships with other employees because workers see the manager as an authority figure first and a coworker a distant second.

Interaction With Employees

Conversely, an organization with a disseminated leadership culture where each employee takes part in a company's business strategy may install managers in roles indistinguishable from floor-level employees. A small business with only a handful of employees can accomplish this easily. A disseminated leadership culture allows managers to build better working relationships with employees while still supervising employee performance and reporting to company owners. Managers in this model achieve a more relaxed form of interaction with subordinates because employees see them as actual human beings and not simply the manifestation of the employer's will.

Setting the Example

Regardless of the organizational culture, a manager must serve as the model for that culture for other employees to emulate. For example, a small-business owner wishing to see more employee teamwork must have a manager who is able to work directly with employees and foster a team atmosphere. Since the culture of a business may shift over time, this also requires a manager to be versatile and easily adaptable to change. The quicker a manager can illustrate the proper model of a company's desired culture, the faster employees will adopt it.

Rewarding Proper Behavior

A manager's role within a small business' culture may require her to reward employees who properly display the company's desired qualities. Rewards can take the form of simple praise within the workplace or may include higher grades on performance reviews, which can lead to promotions and higher rates of pay. Rewarding employees for perpetuating proper organizational culture shows workers that owners and management value each worker's place in the company and are serious about maintaining standards.