MGT 212

Managing the External

Environment and the
Organization’s Culture
Omnipotent View of Management
The view that managers are directly responsible for an
organization’s success or failure

2
Symbolic View of Management
The view that much of an organization’s success or failure
is due to external forces outside managers’ control

3
Constraints on Managerial Discretion

External Internal

4
The External Environment
(General)

5
Political / Legal Component
Country law

Political Unrest
6
The Demographic Component

7
The Demographic Component

8
The Demographic Component

9
The Demographic Component

10
The Economic Component
Recession

11
The Economic Component
Inequality

12
Sociocultural Component

13
Technological Component

14
Technological Component

15
Global Component

16
The External Environment
(Specific)

17
How the External Environment
Affects Managers
Job and Employment

18
How the External Environment
Affects Managers
Assessing Environmental Uncertainty

19
 Environmental Uncertainty
Low Degree of Change High

Stable Dynamic
Simple
Degree of Complexity

Complex

High

20
 Organizational Culture
The shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of
doing things that influence the way organizational
members act and that distinguish the organization from
other organizations

Culture is a perception

Culture is descriptive

Culture is shared

21
Dimensions of Organizational Culture
Attention to details

Outcome orientation

22
Dimensions of Organizational Culture
People Orientation

Team orientation

Integrity

23
Dimensions of Organizational Culture
Aggressiveness

Stability

Innovation and risk

taking

24
Contrasting Organizational Cultures

25
Contrasting Organizational Cultures

26
 Strong Cultures
Organizational cultures in which the key values are intensely
held and widely shared

27
Strong Cultures

28
Strong Cultures

29
Strong v Weak Cultures

30
Strong or Weak Culture?

31
Strong v Weak Cultures

Problems of Strong Cultures?

Problems of Weak Cultures?

32
Establishing and Maintaining Culture

33
How Employees Learn Culture
Storytelling in Organizations

34
How Employees Learn Culture
Rituals

35
How Employees Learn Culture
Material Artifacts and Symbols

Layout of an organization’s facilities

How employees dress

Types of automobiles provided to top executives

Availability of corporate aircraft

Executive “perks”

36
How Employees Learn Culture
Language

37
How Culture Affects Managers

38