Macro organizational Behaviour

Session: Organisational Culture

PGP 2021
V. Vijaya

This material has been prepared by Prof. Vijaya for the PGP students of IIM Trichy for the purpose of private education,
research, and instructional use only. Not to be used for any other purposes including sharing it with others, which are not
authorized by the faculty. All Rights Reserved.
 What is Organizational Culture?
• Organizational culture: The set of shared values and norms that controls
organizational members’ interactions with each other and with people
outside the organization
– Can be a source of competitive advantage
– Can be used to increase organizational effectiveness
• Values: General criteria, standards, or guiding principles that people use to
determine which types of behaviors, events, situations, and outcomes are
desirable or undesirable
– Terminal value: A desired end state or outcome that people seek to
achieve
– Instrumental value: A desired mode of behavior
• Norms: Standards or styles of behavior that are considered acceptable or
typical for a group of people
 How is an Organization’s Culture Transmitted ?
• Socialization: Members learn and internalize the values and norms of an
organization’s culture
• Role orientation: The characteristic way in which newcomers respond to a
situation
– Institutionalized role orientation
– Individualized role orientations
 How is an Organization’s Culture Transmitted?
– Collective tactics: provide
newcomers with common
learning experiences
designed to produce a
standardized response to a
situation
– Individual tactics: each
newcomer’s learning
experiences are unique, and
newcomers can learn new,
appropriate responses for
each situation
– Formal tactics: segregate
newcomers from existing
organizational members
during the learning
process
– Informal tactics:
newcomers learn on
the job, as members of
a team
 How is an Organization’s Culture Transmitted?
– Sequential tactics: provide
newcomers with explicit
information about the sequence – Fixed tactics: give
in which they will perform new newcomers precise
activities or occupy new roles as knowledge of the timetable
they advance in an organization associated with completing
each stage in the learning
– Random tactics: training is based
process
on the interests and needs of
individual newcomers because – Variable tactics: provide no
there is no set sequence to the information about when
newcomers’ progress in the newcomers will reach a
organization certain stage in the
learning process
How is an Organization’s Culture Transmitted?
– Serial tactics: employed, – Divestiture: newcomers receive
existing organizational negative social support and existing
members act as role models organizational members withhold
and mentors for newcomers support until newcomers learn the
– Disjunctive processes: require ropes and conform to established
newcomers to figure out and norms
develop their own way of – Investiture: newcomers
behaving immediately receive positive social
support from other organizational
members and are encouraged to be
themselves
Where an Organization’s Culture Comes From
Stock options,
salaries

Sociability and Organic or

solidarity mechanistic
Careful selection Control
of people for systems
organization-fit
 What holds the modern company together?
• Without culture, a company lacks values , direction, purpose - Culture is
community
• Sociability = sincere friendliness among the members
• Solidarity = Community’s ability to pursue shared objectives quickly and effectively

Solidarity Four Dimensions of culture

Advantages Mercenary Communal

Strategic focus, High Mastiff wear British Borneo Petroleum
quick response to Syndicate
competitive Fragmented Networked
threats, Low UBS HUL
meritocracy no
favouritism Low High

Disadvantages – SociabiIiIity
What is in it for me Advantages – Creativity, team work, morale, natural stretching
if not clear, turf beyond formal requirements
battles Disadvantages – Tolerance of poor performance Need for
consensus, compromises; not the best solution
 Zappos
• How is culture getting shaped?
• What is a holocracy? How can it impact culture?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSHG3EU1EZ4