Fall’ 2023

Part 2: Chapter 3 –The Environment and Corporate Culture

Management Danny Samson 7th Edition 2021

Course Instructor- Sadaf Zahra Usman

 Fall’2023

Culture can be defined as the set of key values, beliefs,

understandings, and norms shared by members of an
organization.

Organizational It can be analyzed at two levels.

Culture At the surface level are visible artifacts, which include things
such as manner of dress, patterns of behavior, physical
symbols, organizational ceremonies, and office layout.

At a deeper, less obvious level are the expressed values and

beliefs, which can be discerned from how people explain and
justify what they do. They can be interpreted from the stories,
language, and symbols that organization members use to
represent them.

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 External and Internal Environment Fall’2023

Corporate culture is shaped by the external environment and also shapes how managers
respond to changes in that environment.

This external environment includes all elements that exist outside the boundary of the
environment that can potentially affect the organization. This could include resources,
technology, and competitors.

There are two components to the external environment.

The first is the task environment which includes customers, competitors, suppliers, and the labor market.
The general environment includes the following factors: technological, natural, sociocultural,
economic, legal/political, and international.

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Corporate Culture
Fundamental values and corporate culture cannot be observed directly, but they can understood through the visible
manifestations of symbols, stories, heroes, slogans, and ceremonies.

Symbol: an object, act, or event that conveys meaning to others. Symbols associated with corporate culture convey
the organization's important values.

Story: a narrative based on true events that are repeated frequently and shared among organizational employees.
Stories are told to new employees to keep the organization's primary values alive.

Hero: a figure who exemplifies the deeds, character, and attributes of a strong culture. Heroes are role models for
employees to follow.

Slogan: a phrase or sentence that succinctly expresses a key corporate value. Many companies use a slogan or saying
to convey special meaning to employees.

Ceremony: a planned activity that marks up a special event and is conducted for the benefit of an audience.
Managers hold ceremonies to provide dramatic examples of company values.
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 Types of Culture 2023

To identify the cultural values that are important for the organization, managers consider the external environment, as well as the company’s strategy and
goals.

1) The extent to which the external environment requires flexibility or stability; and
2) The extent to which a company’s strategic focus is internal or external. The four categories associated with these differences are adaptability,
achievement, involvement, and consistency.
The adaptability culture is characterized by values that support the company’s ability to rapidly detect, interpret, and translate signals from the
environment into new behavior responses. This culture emerges in an environment that requires fast response and high-risk decision-making.
The achievement culture is a results-oriented culture that values competitiveness, aggressiveness, personal initiative, cost-cutting, and willingness to
work long and hard to achieve results. It is suited to organizations concerned with serving specific customers in the external environment but without the
intense need for flexibility and rapid change. An emphasis on winning and achieving specific, ambitious goals is the glue that holds the organization
together.

The involvement culture places a high value on meeting the needs of employees and values cooperation and equality. This culture has an internal focus
on the involvement and participation of employees to adapt rapidly to the changing needs of the environment. Managers emphasize values such as
cooperation, consideration of both employees and customers and avoiding status differences.

The consistency culture values following the rules and thriftiness and rewards a methodical, rational, orderly way of doing things. This culture uses an
internal focus and a consistent orientation for a stable environment
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 Globalization and the Global Mindset 2023

Globalization is the extent to which trade and investments, information, social and cultural ideas, and political
cooperation flow between countries. As a result of globalization, people, countries, and businesses are becoming
increasingly interdependent. In order to succeed on a global level, managers and organizations have to develop a
global mindset.

The global mindset enables them to navigate through complexities that exceed what they would encounter in their
traditional management roles. It is the ability of managers to appreciate and influence individuals, groups,
organizations, and systems that represent different social, cultural, political, institutional, intellectual, and
psychological characteristics. A global mindset requires skills, understanding, and competencies in three
dimensions.

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Globalization and the Global Mindset

The cognitive dimension includes knowledge about the global environment and global business,
understanding how cultures differ and being able to interpret global changes.

The psychological dimension includes a liking for diverse ways of thinking and acting, willingness to
take risks, and the self-confidence and energy to handle the uncertain and unpredictable
circumstances.

The third dimension is the social dimension. The social dimension is the ability to build trusting
relationships with people who are different than you are. Individuals who have more exposure to
different cultures and speak different languages have an easier time developing a global mindset.

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THANK YOU!