The Role of Societal and Organisational Culture in Employees' Satisfaction and Organisational Commitment

The concept of culture is closely linked to the concept of knowledge and knowledge as social capital. To understand the impact of organisational culture on organisational behaviour (individual and collective) means to understand how knowledge (formal/informal), which is a result of the interaction (formal and informal, past and present) among staff members and between staff members and their external environment, influences individuals' behaviour, effectiveness and efficiency at work. The purpose of our study, conducted on a representative sample of Slovenian population, was to answer the question to what extent variables describing societal and organisational culture predict psychological variables of employees' attitudes towards work, i.e. their job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Characteristics of culture at the society and organisational levels, human resource management practices and organisational climate as explicit elements of organisational culture influence employees' attitudes towards work and their workplace. The knowledge that individuals have and transfer from their social environment to the organisation, and the knowledge of how things are done in the organisation affect key psychological variables explaining behavioural intentions and behaviour of employees in the workplace. Knowledge is a historical phenomenon in an organisation and has not only a denotative, but also an evaluative – affective role.