Organizational
Behaviour
“cumshaw”
Perception
process which individuals organize and interpret their
sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their
environment
Factors that Influence Perception
factors in the perceivers:
Chapter 9 – Organization Culture
Def – system of shared meaning held my the members to
distinguishes the organization from others.
Characteristics
1. Innovation/Risk Taking - degree to which employees are
encouraged to do both
2. Attention to Details – the degree which employees focuses on
precisions and attention to details
3. Outcome Orientation – the degree which organizations prioritize
the result instead of the process
4. People Orientation – degree to which management decisions
consider the effect on people within the organization
5. Team Orientation – degree to which work activities are organized
around teams rather than individual
6. Aggressiveness – degree to which people are competitive
7. Stability – degree to which activities emphasize on maintaining the
status quo
Functions
Boundary-Defining Roles
Helps to differ one organization to another, gives each
organization its unique identity
Conveys a Sense of Identity for Members
Workers feel they belong to the company, gives them a sense of
family
Facilities the Generation of Commitment
Commit to company goals not just self-interest, increase
employees’ loyalty
Enhances the Stability of the Social System
Like glue, hold members together, allows them to understand
each other better and work together
Serves as a Sense-Making & Control Mechanism
Controls behaviour without needing much formalization, as
workers are socialized or even pressured to conform to norms of
the organization.
Liability
Institutionalization
When an organization undergoes institutionalization, it becomes
institutionalized
Culture valued for itself, not for the goods and services
Has a life on its own, and maintaining it becomes more
important than other goals
EX – Arthur Anderson the audit firm had an extremely
competitive culture which resulted in workers ignoring ethical
standards that risk losing their job, just to remain in the
competitive standing.
Barrier to Change
The shared values are not in agreement with those that will
further the organization’s effectiveness
This usually occurs when an organization’s environment is
dynamic
When an environment is undergoing rapid change, an
organization’s entrenched culture may no longer be appropriate
Consistency of behaviour is an asset to an organization when it
faces a stable environment, it will however burden the
organization and make it difficult to respond to changes in the
environment
EX – Japanese organizations with high people orientation limits
the company’s ability to sustain during economic downturn as
they refuse to downsize
Barriers to Diversity
Strong cultures put considerable pressure on employees to
conform
They limit the range of values and styles that are acceptable
Hire diverse individuals because of the alternative strengths
these people bring to the workplace
These diverse behaviours and strengths are likely to diminish in
strong culture as people attempt to fit in
Eliminates the unique strengths that people from different
backgrounds bring to the organization
Institutional bias or insensitive to people who are different
EX – Japanese organizations’ masculine cultures, limit the
promotion opportunity.
Barriers to Acquisitions & Mergers
Many acquisitions fail shortly after their consummation due to
conflicting cultures
When 2 organizations with opposite culture merge, the
employees are forced to adopt the values of each others
Lead to discomfort, conflict and inefficiency at work
In the long run, it may lead to failure of the merger
EX – The merger between AOL and TIME WARNER was one
of the biggest in America history but failed due to conflicting
cultures between the two.
How to Maintain O.C.
DSelection Process
- Identify and hire individuals who have the knowledge, skills and
abilities to perform the job within the organization successfully
- The final decision as to who is hired will be influenced by the
decision maker’s judgement of how well the candidates will fit
into the organization
- This ensures a proper match, resulting the hired employee to
have values essentially consistent with those of the organization
- Provides information to applicants regarding the organization
- Candidates can learn about it, if they perceive a conflict between
their values and those of the organizations, they can self-select
themselves out of the applicant pool
Actions of Top Management
- The actions of top management also have a major impact on the
organization’s culture
- Through what they say and how they behave, senior excecutives
establish norms that filter down through the organization
- EX – whether risk taking is desirable, what actions will pay off
in terms of pay raises, promotions and other rewards
Socialization
- The organization wants to help new employees adapts to its
culture
- Organizations seek to mold the outsider into an employee “in
good standing”
- Employees who fail to learn the essential role behaviour risk
being labelled “rebels”, which often lead to expulsion
- But the organization will socialize with every employee
throughout their career
- This further contributes to sustaining the culture
How Employee Learn about Culture
Stories
- Contains a narrative of events about the organization’s founder,
rule breaking, rags to riches success, reduction in the workforce,
relocation of employees, reactions to past mistakes, and
organizational coping.
- These stories anchor the present in the past and provide
explanations and legitimacy for current practices
Rituals
- Repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the
key values of the organization, what goals are most important,
which people are important and which are expandable
Material Symbols
- The layout of corporate headquarters, they types of automobiles,
top executives are given a few examples of material symbols.
- These materials symbols convey to employees who are
important the degree of egalitarianism desired by top
management and the kinds of behaviour that are appropriate
Language
- Use language as a way to identify members of a culture/
subculture
- Members attest their acceptance of the culture and preserve it
- Organizations develop uniques terms to describe different things
as times past
- New employees are frequently overwhelmed with the acronyms
and jargon
- EX – after 6 months on the job, an employees can learn most of
the language and become fully part of their language
