The Effects of Organizational Culture on Business Management Performance in Palestine

Abstract

Organizational Culture is the set of shared values, beliefs and norms that influence the way employees think, feel and behave in the workplace. An organization's culture can have a pivotal impact on organizational management performance. This paper analyses the concept of organization's culture in manufacturing environment during the second Palestinian uprising (September 2000 – November 2004) against Israeli occupation. Israeli Defense Force (IDF) erected 648 check points that restrict Palestinians interlinks and the movement of their goods for security reasons. Palestinian economy was therefore in recession and businesses were feeling the pinch of reduced revenues. This empirical study draws upon a survey of 32 ISO 9000 certified manufacturing companies, which were asked to complete a questionnaire that focused on the means of encompassing aspects of organizational culture to guide employees' actions into emphasis on teamwork and sociality to foster loyalty and sense of tradition for business survival. This study has found that organizational clan (collaborate) culture type distinguishes the unique status of Palestinian organizations and in effect it places a premium on cohesion of teamwork participation and consensus. Clan culture has been effectively compatible with Palestinian organizational strategic objectives; it showed a strong source of motivation and behavioural control towards collective ends in economic crisis.