Organizational Culture
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Define the common characteristics making up organizational culture Contrast strong and weak cultures Identify the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on people List the factors that maintain an organizations culture Identify and describe the phases of organizational socialization Clarify how employees learn an organizations culture Explain how an ethical culture can be established Characterize a customer-responsive culture
Organizational culture
Set of key characteristics that the organization values that distinguishes the organization from other organizations
Characteristics of Organizational Culture
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Innovation and risk taking Attention to detail Outcome orientation People orientation Team orientation Aggressiveness Stability
Culture is a Descriptive Term
Organizational culture is concerned with how employees perceive the seven characteristics of an organizations culture, not whether or not they like them
Do Organizations Have Uniform Cultures?
A dominant culture expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organizations members Subcultures tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common problems, situations, or experiences that members face
Strong vs. Weak Cultures
In a strong culture, the organizations core values are both intensely held and widely shared Strong cultures will:
Have great influence on the behavior of its members Result in lower employee turnover
Organizational Culture vs. National Culture
National culture has a greater impact on employees than does their organizations culture Expect that organizations hire employees who are a good fit with the organizations dominant culture even though they may not fit the national culture
Cultures Functions
Boundary-defining role Conveys a sense of identity Facilitates the generation of commitment Enhances social system stability Sense-making and control mechanism
Culture as a Liability
Shared values do not agree with organizations effectiveness Dilemma of hiring a diverse workforce but wanting people to fit into a single culture Cultural incompatibility in mergers and acquisitions
How a Culture Begins
Ultimate source of an organizations culture is its founders Culture is created in three ways:
Founders hire and keep those who think and feel the same way they do They indoctrinate and socialize these employees to their way of thinking and feeling Their behavior acts as a role model encouraging employees to identify with them
Keeping a Culture Alive
Selection seek out those who would fit in Top Management Senior executives establish norms of behavior through what they say and do Socialization help new employees adapt to the culture
How Employees Learn Culture
Stories Rituals Material Symbols Language
Managing Cultural Change
Cultural change is most likely to take when the following conditions exist:
Dramatic crisis exists or is created Turnover in leadership Young and small organization Weak culture
Creating an Ethical Organizational Culture
Be a visible role model Communicate ethical expectations Provide ethical training Visibly reward ethical acts and punish unethical ones Provide protective mechanisms
Creating a Customer Responsive Culture
Companies recognize this is the path to customer loyalty and long-term profitability Variables that are routinely evident:
Type of employees Low formalization Widespread use of empowerment Good listening skills Role clarity Organizational citizenship behavior
Managerial Action to Make Culture More Customer Responsive
Selection Training Structural design Empowerment Leadership Performance evaluation Reward systems
Implications for Managers
Create the culture you want when the organization is small If established culture needs to be changed, expect it to take years
Summary
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Defined the common characteristics making up organizational culture Contrasted strong and weak cultures Identified the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on people Listed the factors that maintain an organizations culture Identified and described the phases of organizational socialization Clarified how employees learn an organizations culture Explained how an ethical culture can be established Characterized a customer-responsive culture
