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Organizational Culture
What is organizational culture?
When is organizational culture functional? Dysfunctional?
How do employees learn about the culture of their organization?
Questions for Consideration
“Culture is the soul of the organization — the beliefs
and values, and how they are manifested. I think of
the structure as the skeleton, and as the flesh and
blood. And culture is the soul that holds the thing together and gives it life force.”
The pattern of shared values, beliefs and assumptions considered to be the appropriate way to think and act within an organization. Culture is shared
Culture helps members solve problems
Culture is taught to newcomers
Culture strongly influences behaviour
Artifacts of
Organizational
Culture
Material Symbols
Language
Rituals
Stories
Organizational
Culture
Beliefs
Values
Assumptions
Innovation and risk-taking
The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks.
Attention to detail
The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail.
Outcome orientation
The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on technique and process.
People orientation
The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization.
Team orientation The degree to which work activities are organized around teams
rather than individuals.
Aggressiveness The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather
than easygoing.
Stability The degree to which organizational activities emphasize
maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth.
Stories
Rituals
Material Symbols
Language
Organizational culture represents a common perception held by the organization members.
Core values or dominant (primary) values are accepted throughout the organization. Dominant culture
Expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organization’s members.
Subcultures Tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common
problems, situations, or experiences.
Selection
criteria
Socialization
Organization's
culture
Philosophy
of
organization's
founders
Top
management
Selection Identify and hire individuals who will fit in with the
culture
Top Management Senior executives establish and communicate the norms
of the organization
Socialization Organizations need to teach the culture to new
employees
Prearrival Encounter Metamorphosis
Socialization Process Outcomes
Commitment
Productivity
Turnover
Formal vs. Informal
Individual vs. Collective
Fixed vs. Variable
Serial vs. Random
Investiture vs. Divestiture
Fragmented
Networked
Low
High
Solidarity
Mercenary
Low High
Communal
Socia
bili
ty
Social glue that helps hold an organization together Provides appropriate standards for what employees
should say or do
Boundary-defining
Conveys a sense of identity for organization members
Facilitates commitment to something larger than one’s individual self-interest
Enhances social system stability
Serves as a “sense-making” and control mechanism Guides and shapes the attitudes and behaviour of
employees
Culture can have dysfunctional aspects in some instances Culture as a Barrier to Change
When organization is undergoing change, culture may impede change
Culture as a Barrier to Diversity Strong cultures put considerable pressure on employees to
conform
Culture as a Barrier to Mergers and Acquisitions Merging the cultures of two organizations can be difficult, if not
impossible
Have top-management people become positive role models, setting the tone through their behaviour.
Create new stories, symbols, and rituals to replace those currently in vogue.
Select, promote, and support employees who espouse the new values that are sought.
Redesign socialization processes to align with the new values.
Change the reward system to encourage acceptance of a new set of values.
Replace unwritten norms with formal rules and regulations that are tightly enforced.
Shake up current subcultures through transfers, job rotation, and/or terminations.
Work to get peer group consensus through utilization of employee participation and creation of a climate with a high level of trust.
Employees form an overall subjective perception of the organization based on such factors as degree of risk tolerance, team emphasis, and support of people. This overall perception becomes, in effect, the organization’s
culture or personality.
These favourable or unfavourable perceptions then affect employee performance and satisfaction, with the impact being greater for stronger cultures.
Just as people’s personalities tend to be stable over time, so too do strong cultures. This makes strong cultures difficult for managers to change.
One of the more important managerial implications of organizational culture relates to selection decisions. Hiring individuals whose values don't align with those of the
organization is not good.
An employee's performance depends to a considerable degree on knowing what he should or should not do.
Why Culture Doesn’t Change Culture develops over
many years, and becomes part of how the organization thinks and feels
Selection and promotion policies guarantee survival of culture
Top management chooses managers likely to maintain culture
When Culture Can Change There is a dramatic crisis
There is a turnover in leadership
The organization is young and small
There is a weak culture