Another way to create dissatisfaction is to distribute attitude surveys that ask

people how satisfied they are with the organization’s goal and to suggest ideas for
changes. The results of the survey are distributed throughout the organization
so that people can see the dissatisfaction level and will begin to buy into a new
culture and other organizational changes.
The key at this point is to seek input from employees in the process. A suc-
cessful cultural transformation requires commitment from all levels of the
organization. When employees have an opportunity to be an actual part of the
change, they are more likely to be committed to it (Van Slyke, ). Once you
have started the process of transformation, it is important that it be maintained.

Maintaining the New Culture

If the new culture is expected to last, developing new reward systems and
selection methods should occur. Rewarding current employees for success-
fully participating and cooperating with the new system is imperative (Kotter &
Cohen, ). These rewards can include pay for performance in jobs that have
increased responsibilities due to the new culture or other changes. But they also
go beyond financial rewards, and can include employee recognition and mean-
ingful work.

Selection of Employees
Future employees should be selected on the basis of how well they epitomize the
new culture. For example, if the new culture is one of team decision making, new
employees should have not only the ability but the willingness and personality
to perform in such an environment. As current employees are replaced by new
ones, the new culture can become “frozen” into the desired system selected by the
leadership (Lewin, ). On the other hand, continuing to hire employees who
prefer a more structured management philosophy and who work better alone will
eventually cause the organization to revert to its old culture.
Finally, the socialization process of new employees must reinforce the new
culture. Organizational socialization is the process whereby new employees
learn the behaviors and attitudes they need to be successful in the organization. It
also helps any newcomer to the organization define his role and what is expected
of him in his position (Morrison, ). Both informal and formal strategies can
help with this process. Informal strategies of socialization include such things as
hearing the same stories repeated by several different employees. For example,
you have probably listened to people in the workforce talk about getting the best
stories by hanging around the water cooler or the copier. Usually stories about
some “bad decision” are discussed. New employees who hear stories consistently
repeated will get an understanding of the type of culture the organization has.
If the discussions are negative, the new employee will begin to believe that the
organization is incompetent, mistreats its employees, or is unethical.
There are also formal ways in which organizations can influence the social-
ization process. One way is through establishing rituals. Rituals are procedures
in which employees participate to become “one of the gang.” Activities such as
annual awards, banquets, or staff picnics are rituals that reinforce the impression
of a “caring” organization. Another ritual is requiring all new employees to go
through a probationary period before being considered a permanent employee.
Finally, symbols that represent certain attitudes of the organization can
be used. Symbols are communication tools that convey certain messages to
employees. For example, establishment of an on-site wellness center conveys the

526 chapter 
 organization’s interest in health. In addition, communication techniques such as
the use of mission and value statements can help acculturate the new person to
his environment.
To apply what you have learned about organizational culture, complete
Exercise . in your workbook.

Empowerment
As discussed in the Chapter , many employees are more satisfied with their
jobs if they feel they have some control over what they do. As a result, many orga-
nizations are “empowering” employees to participate in and make decisions. As
you will see in the following pages, empowering employees can range from ask-
ing them for their opinions to giving them complete decision-making control.
However, before discussing ways to empower employees—which I will refer to as
ways to increase “levels of employee input”—it might be best to first discuss why
and when employees should be involved in decision making.

Making the Decision to Empower

Factors in Making the Decision to Empower
Employees need to be involved in decisions in circumstances in which the qual-
ity of the decision is important, the decision affects employees, the supervisor
doesn’t have the knowledge to make the decision, or the employees don’t trust
the supervisor. As shown in Figure ., Vroom and Yetton () have developed
a flowchart to help determine when employees should be involved in making
decisions. The flowchart uses the seven factors discussed next.
Importance of Decision Quality. The first factor to be considered in making a decision
is whether one decision will be better than another. For example, if a supervisor
is trying to decide whether to sign a letter with blue ink or black ink, his decision
probably will not make any difference to the organization. Thus, the importance
of the decision quality is low, and little time or effort should be spent making it.
Leader Knowledge of the Problem Area. The second factor in decision making involves
the extent to which leaders have sufficient information to make the decision
alone. If they do, then consultation with others is desired only if leaders want
their subordinates to feel involved. If leaders lack sufficient knowledge to make a
decision, consultation is essential. For example, it would be difficult for managers
to select a benefit package without first asking their employees about the types of
benefits they need.
Structure of the Problem. The third factor of concern in decision making is the extent
to which a leader knows what information is needed and how it can be obtained—
that is, the problem’s structure. If the leader does not know how to obtain this
information, the decision-making process will require other people, and the deci-
sion will take longer to reach.
Importance of Decision Acceptance. The fourth decision-making factor involves the
degree to which it is important that the decision be accepted by others. For exam-
ple, for a supervisor to decide what hours each employee will work, it is important
that the employees agree with and have input into the decision-making process.

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