Organizational Culture

What is organizational culture?

When is organizational culture functional? Dysfunctional?

How do employees learn about the culture of their organization?

Questions for Consideration

“Culture is the soul of the organization — the beliefs

and values, and how they are manifested. I think of

the structure as the skeleton, and as the flesh and

blood. And culture is the soul that holds the thing together and gives it life force.”

The pattern of shared values, beliefs and assumptions considered to be the appropriate way to think and act within an organization. Culture is shared

Culture helps members solve problems

Culture is taught to newcomers

Culture strongly influences behaviour

Artifacts of

Organizational

Culture

Material Symbols

Language

Rituals

Stories

Organizational

Culture

Beliefs

Values

Assumptions

Innovation and risk-taking

The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks.

Attention to detail

The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail.

Outcome orientation

The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on technique and process.

People orientation

The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization.

Team orientation The degree to which work activities are organized around teams

rather than individuals.

Aggressiveness The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather

than easygoing.

Stability The degree to which organizational activities emphasize

maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth.

Stories

Rituals

Material Symbols

Language

Organizational culture represents a common perception held by the organization members.

Core values or dominant (primary) values are accepted throughout the organization. Dominant culture

Expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organization’s members.

Subcultures Tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common

problems, situations, or experiences.

Selection

criteria

Socialization

Organization's

culture

Philosophy

of

organization's

founders

Top

management

Selection Identify and hire individuals who will fit in with the

culture

Top Management Senior executives establish and communicate the norms

of the organization

Socialization Organizations need to teach the culture to new

employees

Prearrival Encounter Metamorphosis

Socialization Process Outcomes

Commitment

Productivity

Turnover

Formal vs. Informal

Individual vs. Collective

Fixed vs. Variable

Serial vs. Random

Investiture vs. Divestiture

Fragmented

Networked

Low

High

Solidarity

Mercenary

Low High

Communal

Socia

bili

ty

Social glue that helps hold an organization together Provides appropriate standards for what employees

should say or do

Boundary-defining

Conveys a sense of identity for organization members

Facilitates commitment to something larger than one’s individual self-interest

Enhances social system stability

Serves as a “sense-making” and control mechanism Guides and shapes the attitudes and behaviour of

employees

Culture can have dysfunctional aspects in some instances Culture as a Barrier to Change

When organization is undergoing change, culture may impede change

Culture as a Barrier to Diversity Strong cultures put considerable pressure on employees to

conform

Culture as a Barrier to Mergers and Acquisitions Merging the cultures of two organizations can be difficult, if not

impossible

Have top-management people become positive role models, setting the tone through their behaviour.

Create new stories, symbols, and rituals to replace those currently in vogue.

Select, promote, and support employees who espouse the new values that are sought.

Redesign socialization processes to align with the new values.

Change the reward system to encourage acceptance of a new set of values.

Replace unwritten norms with formal rules and regulations that are tightly enforced.

Shake up current subcultures through transfers, job rotation, and/or terminations.

Work to get peer group consensus through utilization of employee participation and creation of a climate with a high level of trust.

Employees form an overall subjective perception of the organization based on such factors as degree of risk tolerance, team emphasis, and support of people. This overall perception becomes, in effect, the organization’s

culture or personality.

These favourable or unfavourable perceptions then affect employee performance and satisfaction, with the impact being greater for stronger cultures.

Just as people’s personalities tend to be stable over time, so too do strong cultures. This makes strong cultures difficult for managers to change.

One of the more important managerial implications of organizational culture relates to selection decisions. Hiring individuals whose values don't align with those of the

organization is not good.

An employee's performance depends to a considerable degree on knowing what he should or should not do.

Why Culture Doesn’t Change Culture develops over

many years, and becomes part of how the organization thinks and feels

Selection and promotion policies guarantee survival of culture

Top management chooses managers likely to maintain culture

When Culture Can Change There is a dramatic crisis

There is a turnover in leadership

The organization is young and small

There is a weak culture