Mains Practice Questions

Approach

• Define work culture
• Analyse its importance as a component of effective governance
• Differentiate between Indian work culture and Western work culture
• Conclude in an appropriate manner

Ans.

Introduction:

Work culture is regarded as a set of practices, values and shared beliefs within an organization. It has a significant role in the way an organization functions. It is a way of life at the workplace as well as for society. Components of work culture are its vision, values, practices, people, and place. Organizations are made of people & institutions, and work culture reflects the quality of both. Worldwide successful governments and organizations are those which have a good work culture apart from other factors.

Body

Work culture as an important component of effective governance as mentioned below-:

• A good work culture imbibes the habit of punctuality and empathy which helps the officials/organization’s members to serve their objective/duty in better ways.
• E.g.- The lackadaisical attitude of officials working in few government institutions, hinders overall growth and image of the institution in the eyes of the public.
• A healthy work culture promotes competition and spirit of the team in the organization which helps individuals to grow and work without fear.
• A work culture that respects diversity, attracts better talent, thus serves the public in the best possible manner while a work culture, showing partiality, favoritism, nepotism, etc. demotivates talented and hard-working people.
• A work culture where a team works in cooperation, helps people learn from each other’s errors and success. Thereby bringing the best out of the team.

Difference between Indian and Western work culture: The differences can be seen in the work culture of both regions because work culture in any country or any organization is influenced by local cultural practice, attitude, laws, government policies, etc.

• In all Western countries, especially the USA, people strictly adhere to time. They attend the meetings sharply in scheduled timings. On the contrary, in India, they are not very imperative on deadlines and keep negotiating for extension of the timeline.
• One more major difference is the work-life balance. In Western work-culture, they give more value to the time spent on their personal life. Most of the Indians think the workplace as an opportunity to build their future and put forth extensive efforts to climb. Because of the same they carry a lot of pressure which impacts their personal life.
• The relationship between the boss and subordinates is believed to be more formal and hierarchical in India. Whereas in western work culture the relation between boss and subordinate is not more formal.
• In Indian work-culture, people do not accept change easily. A lot of resistance is encountered in order to implement change. In western work-culture, people are adaptive and conducive to change.

Bureaucratic hurdles and a laidback approach to work in the government circles could result in delays in processing, an overload of paperwork and a general lack of confidence in the system. Therefore immense patience is very much necessary for any business transaction in India. On the contrary western countries are known for their professional attitudes in every front.

Conclusion

Work culture is a consequence in an organization formed by a set of values and beliefs, carried forward for a long time and has a substantial impact on the behaviour, quality, and quantity of work done by the employee in an organization. A good work culture can shape the outcomes and the perception in the eyes of the public and it attracts the best available talent which in turn serves the organization better. Therefore the presence of a healthy and constructive work culture is of utmost importance.