Human resource management practice I also available by michael armstrong

Part 

2

  People and Organizations

120

teamwork and flexible roles (also known as  

a lattice organization).

 

●

Matrix organization – an organization that 

consists of a functional structure with a 

number of different disciplines and a project 

structure consisting of project teams drawn 

from the disciplines.

 

●

Network organization – a collection of 

interrelated organizations that extends 

beyond the boundaries of any single 

organization.

 

●

Virtual organization – an organization that 

mainly uses electronic means for its members 

to interact with one another thus minimizing 

face-to-face contacts.

Organizational culture

The culture of an organization has been described 

by Deal and Kennedy (2000: 4) as ‘the way we do 

things around here’. It is more complex than that,  

as  other  definitions  given  below  indicate.  But  this 

simplistic definition at least demonstrates that it is 

an all-pervading notion that affects the way in which 

people behave and has to be taken into account as a 

contingency factor in any programme for develop-

ing  organizations  and  HR  policies  and  practices. 

Organizational  culture  offers  a  shared  system  of 

meanings which is the basis for communications and 

mutual  understanding.  If  these  functions  are  not 

fulfilled  in  a  satisfactory  way,  culture  may  signifi-

cantly reduce the effectiveness of an organization. 

This  is  why  it  is  important  for  HR  specialists  to  

understand  the  concept  of  organizational  culture 

and how it affects organizations.