Organisational Behaviour 2

Organisation Culture

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 Lecture Preview

• Definitions of organisational culture

• Cultural frames of reference
• Schein’s (2004) model of organisational culture
• Organisational socialisation (Pascale, 1985)
• Why is organisational culture important?
• Strength of culture (strong v weak)
• Managerial v social sciences view of organisational culture
• Organisational cultural change

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 What is organisational culture?

• ‘Culture as the personality of the organisation’ (Huczynski and

Buchanan, pg. 108)

• ‘Culture is the shared values, beliefs and norms which influence the way
employees think, feel and act towards others inside and outside the
organisation.’ (H&B, pg. 109)

• ‘The way we do things around here.’ (Deal & Kennedy, 1982)

• ‘How people behave when nobody is watching.’ (Hofstede, 1980, 2001)

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Cultural frames of reference (not just
organisational)

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Dr. Michelle O'Toole 4
National/regional cultures

• Different countries have different cultures.

• Such cultures may mean attitudes to work,
authority, equality, ethics and behaviours differ
between countries/regions.
• Subnational cultures may also differ within a
country, e.g. Northern and Southern Italy.

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Dr. Michelle O'Toole 5
Geert Hofstede

Identifies ‘main dimensions’ of national culture along

which counties can be hierarchically ordered
1. Power distance
2. Masculinity/femininity
3. Individualism/collectivism
4. Uncertainty avoidance
5. Long/short term orientation
6. Indulgence/restraint
Limitations!

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Dr. Michelle O'Toole 6
Hofstede power distance and
individualism/collectivism

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Dr. Michelle O'Toole SLIDE 7
‘Culture is the way in which a group of people solve problems and reconcile dilemmas’
Different cultures choose different answers to these universal problems

Universalism v. particularism
(U) What is good and right can be defined and always applies
(P) Friendship has special obligations and these may come first

Individualism v. Communitarianism
(I) People consider themselves to be individuals
(C) People consider themselves to be part of a group

Source: Trompenaars, F. and Hampden-Turner, C. (1997) Riding the waves of culture, London: Nicholas
Brealey Publishing
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Neutral v. Emotional
(N) The amount of emotion shown is carefully subdued
(E) Feelings can be expressed openly

Specific v. Diffuse
(S) The reason for the relationship is separated out
(D) Every level of personality permeates all others

Achievement v. Ascription
(Ac) You are judged on what you have accomplished and your record
(As) Status is attributed based on birth, kinship, gender, age

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 You are a newspaper journalist who writes a weekly review of new restaurants. A close friend of
yours has sunk all her savings in a new restaurant. You have eaten there, and you really think the
restaurant is no good.

What right does your friend have to expect you to go easy

on her restaurant in your review?

A. She has a definite right as a friend to expect me to go easy

on her.
B. She has some right as a friend to expect me to do this for
her.
C. She has no right as a friend to expect me to do this for her.
Would you go easy on her restaurant in your review
given your obligation to your readers and your
obligation to your friend?
D. Yes.
E. No.

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 The organisational field
An organisational field is a community of
organisations that interact more frequently with
one another than with those outside the field and
that have developed a shared meaning system.

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Dr. Michelle O'Toole 12
 Organisational culture

Google culture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOZhbOhEunY

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Characteristics of organisational
culture
1. Innovation and risk taking
2. Attention to detail
3. Outcome orientation
4. People orientation
5. Team orientation
6. Aggressiveness
7. Stability

Source: Robbins and Judge (2014)

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 Schein’s (2004) three levels of
organisational culture

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Schein three levels of
organisational culture

Source: adapted from Organizational Behaviour and Analysis: An Integrated Approach, Rollinson, D. Pearson Education Limited, © Pearson Education Limited 2008.
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 Organisational socialisation

Seven steps of organizational socialisation (Pascale, 1985), from Becker

(2013)
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 What does organisational culture do?

• Shapes the image that the public has of an organisation

• Defines boundaries between one org and others
• Conveys a sense of identity to members (THE University of
Edinburgh)
• Generates commitment beyond one’s self
• Helps people know what is expected of them – so can enhance
stability of the social system)
• Influences organisational effectiveness

• Provides direction to the company

• Helps to attract, retain and motivate staff. Or helps to have a

‘revolving door of staff’ if terrible culture

** Organisational culture is a controversial topic **

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 Strength of culture
Weak:
Little agreement amongst
employees about the
organisations core values,
the way things are supposed
to be or what is expected of
them
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Strong:
A culture in which an
organisations core values
are widely shared among
employees and intensely
held by them which guides
their behaviour
 A strong culture:

Advantages Disadvantages
Differentiates the organisation Makes merging with another
from others organisation more difficult

Allows employees to identify Attracts and retains similar kinds

themselves with the organisation of employees, thereby limiting the
diversity of thought

Facilitates employees behaving in Can be ‘too much of a good thing’

ways desired by management if it creates extreme behaviours
amongst employees

Creates stability within the Makes adapting to a changing

organisation environment more difficult

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Culture as a Liability
Institutionalization
Behaviors and habits go unquestioned – can stifle innovation
Barriers to change
Culture is slow to change – even in a dynamic
environment
Barriers to diversity
Culture seeks to minimize diversity
Can embed prevalent bias and prejudice
Barriers to acquisitions and mergers
Cultural incompatibility can be a problem
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 Organisational culture –
‘have’ vs. ‘are’?
• Secure Organisational Cohesion • Distinctive rules
(Mission Statements, etc)
• Distinctive histories
• Promote Excellence (Shared
Values) • Competing value systems
(conflict)
• Control (Affective Domain) • Countercultures

• Competitive Advantage • Pluralistic positions

(Innovation/adaptation)

• Organisations ‘have’ cultures • Organisations ‘are’ cultures

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 Different perspectives of culture

• Managerial vs. social science view

• Culture ‘has’ v Culture ‘is’

• Integrated vs. differentiation/fragmentation

• Culture managed vs. culture tolerated

• Symbolic leadership vs. management control

• Rational vs. political model

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 Conclusion

• Organisational culture is important

• Employee recruitment and retention
• Influences organisation effectiveness
• Can act as a form of PR
• Can provide direction to the company

• Organisational culture can be managed and/or changed – but it

takes TIME

• Organisational culture can be strong and ‘weak’ (and anywhere

in between)

• Some key models:

• Pascale’s Organisational Socialisation
• Schein’s 3 levels

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Implications for Managers

Realize that an organization’s culture is relatively fixed in the

short term.
Hire individuals whose values align with those of the
organization; these employees will tend to remain committed
and satisfied.
Understand that employees’ performance and socialization
depend to a considerable degree on their knowing what to do
and not do.
You can shape the culture of your work environment.
Understand the cultural relevance of your organization’s norms
before introducing new plans or initiatives overseas.

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