Organizational culture as social control mechanism

Beyond sharing values and beliefs, organizational culture can serve as a powerful social control framework. This study aims to examine how cultural norms and expectations impact employee behavior within an organization. The study looked at the concepts of organizational culture, social control, and the influence of organizational culture on employees. This study employs Schein's model of the organization, to better understand the research problem. The model focused on three layers of culture in an organization: artifacts, espoused values, and basic underlying assumptions, and how these elements influence the behaviors and performances of employees in an organization. A qualitative desk review research method was employed, and relevant materials for the study were sourced from academic databases (Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and Academia) websites and gray literature. Based on the relevant literature reviewed, the study revealed that organizational culture is an important recipe in organizations and a potent mechanism for social control. Furthermore, organizational leaders and managers leverage the power of culture to achieve either beneficial or harmful organizational goals. Based on this review, this study recommends ethical consideration in leveraging the power of culture as a social control framework in organizations.