Organizational Culture

Lecture 6
Dr. P. David Jawahar
 Organizational (Corporate) Culture

Organizational (Corporate) culture -A pattern of basic assumptions

that are considered valid and that are taught to new members as the

way to perceive, think, and feel in the organization

 Organizational
Artifacts - Symbols of Culture Levels
culture in the physical
Visible, often not
and social work environment
decipherable

Values
Espoused: what members of
Greater level
an organization say they value
of awareness
Enacted: reflected in the way
individuals actually behave

Assumptions - Deeply held Taken for granted

beliefs that guide behavior and tell
members of an organization how
to perceive and think about things
Invisible
Preconscious
Reprinted with permission from Edgar H. Schein, Organizational
Culture and Leadership: A Dynamic View. Copyright © 1985 Jossey-Bass
Inc,, Publishers, 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104 (800) 956-7739.
 Artifacts - Symbols of
culture in the physical
and social work environment

• Personal enactment
• Ceremonies and rites (rites of passage, enhancement, renewal,
integration, conflict reduction, degradation)
• Stories (about the boss, getting fired, company handling of
relocating employees, whether lower-level employees can rise to
the top, how the company deals with crises, how status
considerations work when rules are broken)
• Ritual
• Symbols

Values
Espoused: what members of
an organization say they value
Enacted: reflected in the way
individuals actually behave
• Testable in the
physical
environment
• Testable only by
social consensus
 Assumptions - Deeply held
beliefs that guide behavior and tell
members of an organization how
to perceive and think about things

• Relationship to environment
• Nature of reality, time, and space
• Nature of human nature
• Nature of human activity
• Nature of human relationships
 Functions of Organizational Culture
• Culture provides a sense of identity to members and increases their
commitment to the organization
• Culture is a sense-making device
for organization members
• Culture reinforces the values
in the organization
• Culture serves as a control mechanism for shaping behavior
Theories about the
relationship between Strong Culture
organizational culture Perspective
and performance

Fit
Perspective

Adaptive
Perspective
An organizational culture
with a consensus on the
values that drive the company Strong Culture
and with an intensity that is Perspective
recognizable even to outsiders

Reasons Strong cultures facilitate

performance
• They are characterized by goal alignment
• They create a high level of motivation because
of shared values by the members
• They provide control without the oppressive
effects of bureaucracy
Argument that a culture is
good only if it fits the Fit
industry’s or the Perspective
firm’s strategy.

Three characteristics of the organization may

affect culture

• Competitive environment
• Customer requirements
• Societal expectations
An organizational culture
that encourages confidence Adaptive
and risk taking among employees, Perspective
has leadership that produces change,
and focuses on the changing needs of customers

Adaptive Nonadaptive
Most managers care Most managers care
Core Values about customers, about themselves,
stockholders, and their work group, or
employees an associated product
Managers pay close Managers tend to
Common attention to all behave somewhat
Behavior their constituencies, insularly, politically,
esp. customers and bureaucratically
Reprinted with the permission of The Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. from Corporate Culture and Performance by
John P. Kotter and James L Heskett. Copyright © 1992 by Kotter Associates, Inc. and James L. Heskett.
 Five Most Important Elements
in Managing Culture
• What leaders pay attention to
• How leaders react to crises
• How leaders behave
• How leaders allocate rewards
• How leaders hire and fire individuals
Organizational Socialization

Organizational Socialization - the process by which newcomers are

transformed from outsiders to participating, effective members of the

organization
1. Anticipatory Realism Congruence
Socialization

Job demands
•Task
2. Encounter
•Role
•Interpersonal

3. Change and
Mastery
Acquisition

Stages of
Socialization
 1. Anticipatory Realism Congruence
Socialization

Job demands
•Task
2. Encounter
•Role
•Interpersonal

3. Change and
Mastery
Acquisition

Outcomes of Socialization Performance

Stages of Satisfaction
Mutual influence
Socialization Low levels of distress
From “An Ethical Weather Repart: Assessing the Organizaiton’s Ethical Climate” by John B. Cullen, et
Intent to remain
al. In Organizational Dynamics, Autumn 1989. Copyright © 1989 American Management Asociation
International. Reprinted by permission of American Management Association International, New York, N.Y.
All rights reserved. Http://www.amanet. Org.
 1. Anticipatory Socialization
the first socialization stage--encompasses all
of the learning that takes place prior to the
newcomer’s first day on the job

2. Encounter
the second socialization stage-- the
newcomer learns the tasks associated with
the job, clarifies roles, and establishes new
relationships at work
3. Change & Acquisition

the third socialization stage--the

newcomer begins to master the
demands of the job
 Socialization as
Cultural Communication
Core values are transmitted to new Organization members
through

• the role models they interact with

• the training they receive
• the behavior they observe being rewarded and punished
Assessing Organizational Culture
• Organizational Culture Inventory focuses on behaviors that help
employees fit into the organization & meet coworker expectations
• Kilman-Saxton Culture-Gap Survey focuses on the expectations of
others in the organization
• Triangulation is the use of multiple methods to measure
organizational culture
Situations That May Require Cultural
Changes

• Merger or acquisition
• Employment of people from different countries

Reasons That Change Is Difficult

• Assumptions are often unconscious
• Culture is deeply ingrained and behavioral
norms and rewards are well learned
 Hiring and Culture Removing
socializing members who
members who reject the
fit in with the new culture
4 new culture 5

Cultural Changing
1
3 communication behavior

Examining
Interventions for justifications
Changing for changed
Organizational behavior
Culture 2
Reprinted with permission from Vijay Sathe “How to Decipher & Change
Corporate Culture,” Copyright © 1985 Jossey-Bass Inc, Publishers, 350 Sansome
Street, San Francisco, CA 94104 (800) 956-7739.
Cultural Modifications in the
Current Business Environment

Support for a global

view of business Empowerment of
employees to excel
in product and
service quality
Reinforcement of
ethical behavior
 Support for a global
view of business

• Create a clear and simple mission statement

• Create systems that ensure effective information flow
• Create “matrix minds” among managers
• Develop global career paths
• Use cultural differences as major assets
• Implement worldwide management education and team
development programs
 Reinforcement of
ethical behavior

• Clear communication of the boundaries of ethical conduct

• Selection of employees who support the ethical culture
• Reward of ethical behavior
• Conspicuous punishment of members who engage in unethical
behavior
 Empowerment of employees
to excel in product and
service quality
• Empowerment unleashes employees’ creativity
• Empowerment requires eliminating traditional hierarchical notions of
power
• Involve employees in decision making
• Remove obstacles to their performance
• Communicate the value of product and service quality