Organizational Culture

What is Culture?
• Values, norms, guiding beliefs, and
understandings that are shared by members
of an organization
– Taught to new members as the correct way to
think, feel, and behave
`

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©2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Organizational culture.

 Organizational culture.
– The system of shared actions, values, and beliefs
that develops within an organization and guides
the behavior of its members.
– Called corporate culture in the business setting.
 Organizational Culture
• A pattern of basic assumptions - invented,
discovered, or developed by a given group as it
learns to cope with its problems of external
adaptation and internal integration
• That has worked well enough to be considered
valid and, therefore, to be taught to new
members as the correct way to perceive, think,
and feel in relation to those problems (Schien,
1985).
 Types of Cultures
• Constructive
– Valuing members, self-actualizing, affiliative, and
humanistic/encouraging normative beliefs
(expected behavior or conduct)
• Passive-defensive
– Approval-oriented, traditional and bureaucratic,
dependent and nonparticipative, punish mistakes
but ignore success
• Aggressive-defensive
– Confrontation and negativism are rewarded,
nonparticipative, positional power, winning
valued, competitiveness rewarded, perfectionistic
 Constructive Culture
Normative Beliefs Organizational
Characteristics

Achievement Goal and achievement

oriented

Self-actualizing Value self-development and

creativity

Participative, employee
Humanistic-
centered, and supportive
encouraging
High priority on constructive interpersonal
Affiliative
relationships, and focus on work group
satisfaction
 Passive Defensive Culture

Normative Beliefs Organizational

Characteristics

Avoid conflict, strive to be

Approval
liked by others, and approval
oriented

Conventional Conservative, bureaucratic,

and people follow the rules

Dependent Nonparticipative, centralized decision making,

and employees do what they are told

Avoidance Negative reward system and Defensive avoid

accountability
 Aggressive-Defensive Culture

Normative Beliefs Organizational

Characteristics

Oppositional Confrontation and

negativism rewarded

Power Nonparticipative, take

charge of Defensive
subordinates, and responsive
to superiors
Competitive Winning is values and a win-
lose approach is used

Perfectionistic Perfectionistic, persistent, and hard working

Emergence and Purpose of Culture
Provides sense of organizational identity
Two critical functions in organizations:
1. To integrate members so they know how to relate to one
another

2. To help organization adapt to external environment

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©2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Internal integration.
.
– Deals with the creation of a collective identity and
with finding ways of matching methods of working
and living together.
– Important aspects of working together.
• Deciding who is a member and who is not.
• Developing an understanding of acceptable and
unacceptable behavior.
• Separating friends from enemies.
External adaptation.
– Involves reaching goals and dealing with outsiders
regarding tasks to be accomplished, methods used
to achieve the goals, and methods of coping with
success and failure.
– Important aspects of external adaptation.
• Separating external forces based on importance.
• Developing ways to measure accomplishments.
• Creating explanations for not meeting goals.
 Do Organizations Have Uniform
Cultures

Dominant Subcultures
Culture
Core
Values

Prentice Hall, 2001 Chapter 17 13

 Cont…
 Subculture.
– A group of individuals with a unique pattern of
values and philosophy that are not inconsistent
with the organization’s dominant values and
philosophy.
 Counterculture.
– A group of individuals with a pattern of values and
philosophy that outwardly reject the surrounding
culture.
 Stories
Stories Rituals
Rituals

How
How Employees
Employees
Learn
Learn Culture/
Culture/
How
How it
it is
is “reinforced”
“reinforced”

Material
Material
Language
Language
Symbols
Symbols
Prentice Hall, 2001 Chapter 17 15
 How Organizational
Cultures Form
Top
Management
Philosophy
of the
Organization’s
Organizational
Founders: Selection
Culture

Socialization
Socialization

Prentice Hall, 2001 Chapter 17 16

 Creating Culture
• Ultimate source of an organization’s culture is
its founders
• Founders create culture in three ways:
– By hiring and keeping those who think and feel the same
way they do
– Socializing those employees to their way of thinking and
feeling
– Acting as a role model and encouraging employees to
identify with them
 Individual Organization
ues
l
lue
s
ality Va
o n
Va Exp Pers
Rew
ecta ard Str
tion s uct
s ure
Intere Abilitie
sts s ure Ma n
Knowle lt
d ge Cu agem
s

tives
en t
Goals tegie
a
Str
s

Objec
ill
Sk
 A Socialization Model

• Pre-arrival –initial knowledge about the

organization and own unique ideas
• Encounter – exposed to the organization
• Metamorphosis – member changed to fit
within the organization
 Dimensions of
Socialization Programs
Intense Programs
• Formal – new workers
separated for training
• Collective – group basis
• Fixed – planned activities
• Serial – role models used
• Divestiture – strip away
characteristics to build up
new ones
15-20
Moderate Programs
• Informal – new workers
immediately put to work
• Individual – one-on-one
• Variable – no timetables
• Random – on your own
• Investiture – accepts and
confirms existing
characteristics
 Understanding
Organizational Culture
Antecedents Organizational Organizational Group & Social
Culture Structure & Processes
• Founder’s values Practices • Socialization
• Observable artifacts
• Industry & business • Reward systems • Mentoring
environment
• National culture • Organizational • Decision
• Espoused values making
• Senior leaders’ design
vision and behavior • Group
dynamics
• Basic assumptions • Communication
Collective • Influence &
Attitudes & empowerment
Organizational
Behavior • Leadership
Outcomes
• Work attitudes
• Effectiveness
• Job satisfaction
• Innovation &
stress • Motivation
 Observable Aspects of
Organizational Culture

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cessible website, in whole or in part.
 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Schein’s Six Ways to Observe Culture
– Regular Behaviors: ways members greet one
another, dress, lunch/coffee breaks, treatment of
older members
– Norms: how hard one works in the organization,
weekend work, work taken home
– Dominant values: “customers are number one,”
high quality products, travel style, importance of
family
 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Schein’s Six Ways to Observe Culture
– Philosophy: overall views of employees, community
relationships/partnerships, profit motive
– Rules: managing time, getting along with coworkers,
supervisor relationships, fringe benefit management,
gender relationships
– Feeling or climate: physical layout, level of trust
among workers, attitudes towards customers,
safety/security, dominant feelings
 Org. Culture’s Five Basic Functions
• Conveys a Sense of Identity
• Defines Boundaries
• Generates Commitment Beyond Oneself
• Enhances Social Stability
• Sense-making and Control Mechanism

15-25
 Keeping a Culture Alive
• Selection – seek out those who fit in
• Top Management – establish norms of
behavior by their actions
• Socialization – help new employees adapt to
the existing culture

15-26
 Creating an Ethical
Organizational Culture
A strong culture with high risk tolerance, low-
to-moderate aggressiveness, and focuses on
means as well as outcomes is most likely to
shape high ethical standards
– Managers must be visible role models
– Communicate ethical expectations
– Provide ethical training
– Visibly reward ethical acts and punish unethical ones
– Provide protective mechanisms

15-27
 Creating a Positive Organizational
Culture
A positive culture is one that
emphasizes the following:
•Building on Employee
Strengths
•Rewarding More Than
Punishing
•Emphasizing Vitality and
Growth of the Employee
15-28
Henry Ford, founder of the Ford
Motor Company said:
• Getting together is beginning
• Keeping together is progress
• Working together is success

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Thank You