Climate & Culture

Climate & Culture – Agenda

What is climate & culture? Climate vs Culture

Theory Change Communication Group Dynamics Self-Determination

Assessing Organizational Culture Instrumentation

References

What is Climate & Culture?

Climate Share perception among employees regarding their

work group, unit, team, or organization (Fey & Beamish, 2001).

• Influenced by how an organization treats its members.

Culture “The way things get done around here” (Deal &

Kennedy, 1982). Philosophies, ideologies, concepts, ceremonies,

rituals, values, and norms shared by members of the organization that help shape their behaviors (Connor & Lake, 1988; Kilman, Saxton, & Serpa, 1985b; Owens, 2004; Rousseau, 1990).

Climate vs Culture (According to Fey & Beamish, 2001)

Climate Created at lower levels of

the organization-the context in which action occurs.

• Perceptions of observable practices

• Environment characteristics

• More changeable

• More static

• Psychology

Culture Created & communicated

from higher level in the organization-the meaning intended by & inferred from the actions.

• Perceptions of underlying values

• Shared values developed over time

• Less easily changed

• More dynamic

• Sociology & anthropology“We can’t change the weather

but we can control the climate.”

Change

People will change if they are motivated to do so, especially through rational arguments and attractive perks (Beck and Cowan, 2006).

Change must be orderly, constituent with principles and sanctioned by those ‘in authority’. The members perception of the leaders support for

change directly reflects in the members support for that change.

Leadership diversity training results in a positive change and culture and climate perception.

Change (continued)

Attacks on the older order will not work, they will only trigger resistance (Beck & Cowan, 2006).

For change to occur, determination, willingness and desire from the individual (I) and group (we) are needed.

• i.e. San Francisco‘s Delancy Street (Patterson, Grenny, & Maxfield, 2008)

Communication

Story-telling Develops a common spirit/culture (Bolman & Deal,

2001; DeMeritt, 2005 ) “Stories are an anchor to the past.” - Cohen Myths anchor an organizations values, which define

what an organization stands for (Bolman & Deal, 2003).• i.e. Southwest Airlines & eBay

Social Network Creates culture which (Capra, 2002):

• Involves multiple feedback loops through which values, beliefs, and rules of conduct are continually communicated, modified, and sustained.

Communication (continued)

Produces shared body of knowledge that shapes the culture’s distinctive way of life in addition to its values and beliefs.

• The culture’s values and beliefs affect its body of knowledge.

Reinforces network closure by creating a boundary of meaning and expectations which equates to limited access of people and information into the system.

Ceremonies & Celebrations (Kouses & Pozner, 2002) Builds healthier groups Critical for organizational vitality Must be personalized

• Complaints arise if impersonal

Group Dynamics

In a survey of a large U.S. multinational company’s employees, Hofstede (1984) recognized four dimensions of group dynamics.

The four dimensions represent leadership positions, structure and values of each group in different parts of the world.

Group Dynamics (continued)

4 Dimensions of Group Dynamics (Hofstede, 1984)

1. Power distance- A measure of power inequality between bosses and subordinates. Found in Mexico & Philippines.

2. Uncertainty avoidance- Greece and Portugal uses structure, rules and specialists to maintain control in the workforce.

3. Individualism- In countries like U.S., Great Britain and Australia, the importance of the individual is emphasized over collective interest.

4. Masculinity-femininity- Males are the one’s holding high-level positions in countries like Japan, Austria, Italy and Venezuela. Males feel the pressure making it to the top while woman aren’t.

Self-Determination

Culture influences motivation, quality of performance, psychological and well-being of the members (Peachey, 2006).

The concepts of trust, collaboration, communication, and common interests are essential to creating an effective organization (Sajan, 2005). Strengthening others requires that leaders provide a climate

conducive to learning. A learning climate is one where individuals feel safe, trust the system and people within the system, and are involved (Kouzes & Posner, 2002)

To create a climate for growth and opportunity, one must believe in others. Seek to believe their unseen potential (Covey, 1991).

Self-determination (continued)

The more diverse an organizational culture the more adaptive the organization will function in an environment of change and innovation (Beheri, 2007;Unger, 2007). i.e. Higher education system (Contreras, 2007)

The perception of the level of fairness, affiliation, managerial effectiveness, and positive-ness of the cultural leader directly correlates to the member’s intrinsic motivation and motivation (Cranmer, 2007; Jenkins, 2006). i.e. Nurses study (Beheri, 2007), Bad mood = Bad business

(Goleman et. al, 2002)

Assessing Organizational Culture

There are many factors that define anorganization’s culture. Each area can be assessed as high, moderate or low. Degree of hierarchy; Structure, Value

authority Degree of Urgency; Push projects

quickly, quality valued over efficiency People/Task orientation; People over

task, equal value, task over people Assertiveness/courtesy dimensions;

communication styles and patterns Functional orientation; main focus of

organization Institutional “personality” issues;

“feeling” of the organization Values; what is really valued (Fyock &

Brannick, 2002)

Values

Institutional “personality”

issues

Functional Orientation

Assertiveness/Courtesy

Dimensions

People/TaskOrientation

Degree of Urgency

Degree of Hierarchy

Organizational Culture

InstrumentationRules to follow when choosing an instrument for discovering climate and culture (Davis et. al, 2003).

Choose an instrument to meet the purpose; Mixed methods are used to triangulate the data

Observation to describe artifacts Questionnaire to determine values Interviews to discover assumptions;

Form a common language The terms climate and culture are metaphors that are

ascribed different meanings for different people and organizations;

There are differences in the public face and private face of employees.

References

Beck, D., & Cowan, C. (2006). Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd.

Beheri, Wadea,(2007). Nursing diversity: The knowledge of cultural diversity and its impact on the interaction level within the nursing workforce. A dissertation presented to George Mason University AAT 3246919

Bolman, L.G., & Deal, T.E. (2001). Leading with soul: An uncommon journey of spirit. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Bolman, L.G., & Deal, T.E. (2003). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Capra, F. (2002). The hidden connections: Integrating the biological, cognitive, and social dimensions of life into a science of sustainability. New York: Doubleday.

Connor, P. E., & Lake , L. K. (1988). Managing organizational change. New York : Praeger.

Contreras, C. (2007), Organizational structure and culture: Promising practices that lead to cultural and intellectual diversity, The University of Wisconsin- Madison ATT 3261466.

Covey, S. R. (1991). Principle-centered leadership. New York: Free Press. Crammer, D. (2007). Autonomy and control in the workplace: Assessing managerial

styles and employee perceptions of work climate, A dissertation presented to Capella University, AAT3258754.

References (continued)

Davis, H., Mannion, R., Martin, M. & Scott, T. (2003). The quantitative measurement of organizational culture in heath care: A review of the available instrument. Retrieved October 2007, from http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-103731435.html

Deal T. E. and Kennedy, A. A. (1982) Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life, Harmondsworth, Penguin Books.

DeMeritt, E. (2005). An examination of the effect of organizational storytelling on the administrative climate of church-based schools as a model for leadership of nonprofit organizations, Dissertation for Capella University. AAT3164689.

Fey, Carl F. & Beamish, Paul W. (2001). Organizational climate similarity and performance: International joint ventures in Russia. Retrieved October 2007, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4339/is_5_22/ai_82493161/pg_2

Fyock,C.,& Brannick,J, (2002) Assessing Organizational Culture. NetSpeed Books. Goleman, D., Boytatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2002). Primal leadership: Realizing the power

of emotional intelligence. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related

Values. Newbury Park, CA.: Sage. Jenkins, D ( 2006). Examining the relationship between the satisfaction of basic

psychological needs, employee well-being , and commitment. A dissertation presented to Carleton University 9Canada). AAT MR13615

References (continued)

Kilmann, R. H., Saxton, M. J., & Serpa, R. (1985a) Introduction: Five key issues in understanding and changing culture. In R. H. Kilman, M.J. Saxton, & R. Serpa (Eds)., Gaining control of the corporate culture (pp.1-16). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z. (2002). The leadership challenge (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Owens, R. G. (2004). Organizational behavior in education: Adaptive leadership and school reform (8th ed.). Boston : Allyn & Bacon.

Patterson, K., Grenny, J., Maxfield, D. (2008). Influencer: The power to change anything. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Peachey, T (2006). An examination of the effects of culture, climate, structural, and technological factors on knowledge management effectiveness, Att 324593

Rousseau, D. M. (1990). Assessing organizational culture: The case for multiple methods. In B. Schneider (Ed.), Organizational climate and culture (pp.153 - 192). San Francisco : Jossey-Bass.

Sajan, J (2005), Morale I Everyone’s responsibility, a dissertation presented to Royal Roads University( Canada). AAT MR 17573.

Unger, S (2007). Butterflies and chaos: Exploring the symbiotic relationship between vendors and clients at the edge of chaos. A Disorientation presented to Royal Roads University (Canada). AAT MR23652