chap3 - q

a strategic approacha strategic approach to organizationalto organizational

cultureculture

Learning Objectives

– Define the terms organizational culture and socialization

– Explain the difference in how some employees talk about a positive culture and others describe a negative culture

– Describe the impact of an organization’s culture on individual and team behavior

CULTURE

What do we mean by “organizational culture?”

What is included in this term?

What is Organizational Culture?

As defined by Edgar Schein– A pattern of basic assumptions invented, discovered

or developed by a given group– As it learns to cope with the problems of adaptation

and integration– That has worked well enough to be considered valid – Taught to new members as the correct way to

perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems

Organizational Culture & Its Effects

Organizational culture involves shared– Expectations– Values– Attitudes

It exerts influence on – Individuals– Groups– Organizational processes

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Organizational Culture Characteristics

Passed on to new employees through the process of socialization

Influences our behavior at workOperates at different

levels

What Do Cultures Do?

Culture’s Functions

1. Defines the boundary between one organization and others

2. Conveys a sense of identity for its members

3. Facilitates the generation of commitment to something larger than self-interest

4. Enhances the stability of the social system

5. Serves as a sense-making and control mechanism for fitting employees in the organization

Organizational Culture Characteristics

Organizational Culture– Provides guidance on the following seven primary

characteristics;

1. Innovation and risk taking2. Attention to detail3. Outcome orientation4. People orientation5. Team orientation6. Aggressiveness7. Stability

Core of a Positive Culture

Cohesive organizational

culture

Historical foundation

Understanding what is

expected

Being part of a group

Interpersonal, intergroup

relationships

Sense of history, communicationsPositive problem solvingStores about founders/leaders

Leadership, role modelingNorms, values, expectations

Reward systemsCareer management, job securityRecruiting and staffingSocialization of new staff membersTraining and development

Member contactParticipative decision makingIntergroup coordinationPersonal exchange

Organizational Culture

Values– The conscious, affective desires or wants of

people that guide their behavior– Society’s ideas about right and wrong– Passed from one generation to the next

Organizations operate well only when shared values exist among employees– Personal values guide both on- and

off-the-job behavior

Organizational Subcultures

Many may exist under the dominant corporate culture– Some have positive effects, others negative – Programmers work in a subculture under the

dominant culture of Microsoft; each organizational division has a “subculture,” which may also have subcultures

Cultural conflict– Seldom investigated prior to mergers– Has caused many to fail

Organizational Cultures

Culture is a descriptive term: Dominant Culture

– Expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organization’s members

Subcultures– Minicultures within an organization, typically defined by

department designations and geographical separation Core Values

– The primary or dominant values that are accepted throughout the organization

Strong Culture– A culture in which the core values are intensely held and

widely shared

How Organizational Culture Is Formed

Stems from the actions of the founders:– Founders hire and keep only employees who

think and feel the same way they do.

– Founders indoctrinate and socialize these employees to their way of thinking and feeling.

– The founders’ own behavior acts as a role model that encourages employees to identify with them and thereby internalize their beliefs, values, and assumptions.

Keeping Culture Alive

Selection– Concerned with how well the candidates will fit into the

organization– Provides information to candidates about the

organization Top Management

– Senior executives help establish behavioral norms that are adopted by the organization

Socialization– The process that helps new employees adapt to the

organization’s culture

© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

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Stages in the Socialization Process

Prearrival– The period of learning prior to a new employee joining the organization

Encounter– When the new employee sees what the organization is really like and

confronts the possibility that expectations and reality may diverge Metamorphosis

– When the new employee changes and adjusts to the work, work group, and organization

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Organizational Types of Culture

Fo

rmal

Co

ntr

ol

Ori

enta

tio

n

Flexible

Internal External

Stable

Clan Culture Entrepreneurial Culture

Bureaucratic Culture

Market Culture

Forms of Attention

Organizational Types of Culture

Bureaucratic Culture– Emphasizes rules, policies, procedures, chain of

command, central decision making

Clan Culture– A working family, tradition and rituals, teamwork

and spirit, self-management, social influence

Organizational Types of Culture

Entrepreneurial Culture– Innovation, creativity, risk taking, aggressively seeking

opportunities– Change, individual initiatives, autonomy are standard

practices

Market Culture– Emphasis on increased sales and market share,

financial stability, profitability– Workers have contractual relationship– Little feeling of teamwork, cohesiveness

Merging Cultures

Less than 25% of all mergers and acquisitions are successful– Analytical analysis to pursue a merger

is usually based on financial criteria– Culture is a “soft” criteria

that isn’t considered

Merging Cultures

Merging firms should consider– Values, expectations, styles, goals– Information technology systems– Compensation and rewards systems– The human resource talent pool– Both the dominant and subcultures

Influencing Culture Change

Cultures are elusive and hidden– They cannot be adequately diagnosed, managed,

or changed– Deliberate attempts at culture change

are not practical

Cultures sustain people through periods of difficulty and anxiety– Because culture provides continuity and stability,

people naturally resist change

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Outcomes Associated with Organizational Culture

1. Significantly correlated with employee behavior and attitudes

2. Congruence between an individual’s values and the organization’s values was associated with 1) organizational commitment, 2) job satisfaction, 3) low intention to quit, and 4)low turnover

Question?

Amy recently started a new job. Everyone she interviewed with seemed very personable and easy-going. She was quite surprised when during her first week on the job she witnessed a loud and argumentative confrontation in the hallway between two of her coworkers. People seem so different than the way she expected them to be. Amy is in which stage of the socialization process? 

A. Change and acquisition

B. Anticipatory socialization

C. Adaptive

D. Encounter

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Apple Computers

What artifacts of Apple are famous & which do you know of ?

What is its culture? How do you know? Are employees a competitive advantage?

Why or why not? Do they have a high-involvement

management approach?