robbins%206e ch03(1)[1]

Chapter 3Environment and organisational culture: The constraints

Replace with slice from book cover – height = 1cm

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442538603/Robbins et all/Management/6e 2

Learning Outline

Contrast actions of managers according to omnipotent and symbolic views.

Describe four components in an organisation’s specific environment.

Describe the six factors in an organisation’s general environment.

Discuss the constraints and challenges facing managers in today’s external environment.

Identify some common stakeholders, and explain the steps in managing stakeholder relationships.

Discuss the characteristics and impact of organisational culture.

Explain the sources of an organisation’s culture, and describe how it is transmitted to employees.

Describe some current issues in organisational culture.



Views on Management

Managers are directly accountable for the success or failure of an organisation (the omnipotent view).

Managers have only a limited effect on substantive organisational outcomes because of the large number of factors outside management’s control (the symbolic view).

Reality suggests a synthesis: managers are neither helpless nor ALL powerful.



Managing Organisations

Internal Environment• organisational culture made up of ‘shared meanings’,

i.e. stories, rituals, symbols and language

External Environment• general and specific environment



Environment – specific and general

Specific• factors that directly impact achievement

of the organisation’s goals - suppliers, customers, competitors, government agencies and public pressure groups.

General• broad factors (not within the control of

the organisation) such as political conditions, economic factors, sociocultural influences, technological factors, legal and global issues that indirectly impact the organisation.



Monash University: Specific

Customers• students, on campus• students, off campus• businesses (consultation, short courses)

Suppliers• educational services, i.e. lecturers and tutors• bookstore, paper, utilities

Competitors• TAFE, other universities

Pressure groups/govt agencies• green lobby group; local council; bicycle lobby group



Legal

Global

Socio-cultural

PoliticalP

E

S

T

LG

Monash University - general

Strong $A dollar makes it more expensive for overseas students to come to Australia to study – drop in enrolments possible

Economic

Universities using tools of popular internet culture to advance more flexible models for learning.

Technological



SME example (bin hire) -specificCustomers• private home owners• businesses

Suppliers• automotive• resources, i.e. steel, finance • other bin suppliers, i.e. plastic

Competitors• larger bin companies, i.e. Kartaway

Pressure groups/government agencies• recycling



P

E

S

T

LG

SME example – general

Legal

Global

Socio-cultural

Political

Economic

Technological

Increased pressure on businesses to be green and to reduce carbon emissions

People renovating rather than buying new homes, less discretionary spending, so more home-based activities such as home improvements and less travel

Steel prices globally increasing by mid-year, so cost to make bins increasing



1. Environmental uncertainty

• degree of change/degree of complexity

Impact of external environment




2. Stakeholder relationships




Managing stakeholder relationships

• who are our stakeholders?

• what are their main interests/concerns?

• how critical is this relationship to the organisation’s decisions?

• which approach should be used to manage this relationship?



Organisational culture is…

A Perception

Shared and descriptive


Copyright ©2012 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442538603/Robbins et all/Management/6e 14Figure 3.6Figure 3.6

Dimensions of organisational culture



Dimensions of organisational culture (OPASITA)

Composite Picture of the organisation’s culture

O = Outcome orientation

P = People orientation

A = Aggressiveness

S = Stability

I = Innovation and risk taking

T = Teams orientation

A = Attention to detail



Strong versus weak culture



Sources of organisational culture

• The organisation’s founder

• vision and mission

• Past practices of the organisation

• the way things have been done

• Behaviour of top management

The Devil Wears Prada



How an organisation’s culture continues

Recruitment of employees who fit:• socially-based criteria

• Such as “personal chemistry” or values

• Achievement, concern for others, honesty and fairness

• already-formed characteristics • (Past experience, intelligence, knowledge, skills and abilities)

• non-job related criteria • Such as attractiveness or interpersonal skills (Chatman, 1991)




Socialisation of new employees to help them adapt to the culture• reduce their psychological distress

• learn the values which guide expected behaviours

• orient themselves to the achievement of desirable organisational ends

Language, ritual, drama, stories, myths and symbolic construction are important tools in the management of meaning



How employees learn culture

Stories• Significant events or people.

• John Ilhan began his career in his early 20s at Strathfield Car Radios and as a young man soon rose up to become one of that company’s top national salesmen. He had a simple yet effective business philosophy that earned him immediate and ongoing success — give the customer great service and they will be loyal in return.




Rituals• Repetitive activities that reinforce the

organisation’s values.




Material Symbols• Symbols that say something about the

organisation, ie. office space, dress, cars.




Language• Terms and phrases unique to the organisation, or

the workplace.

“Bending the plate and changing the blanket”

“Ducks on the pond”



Creating an ethical culture• be a visible role model.

• communicate ethical expectations.

• provide ethics training.

• visibly reward ethical acts and punish unethical ones

• provide protective mechanisms so employees can discuss ethical dilemmas and report unethical behaviour without fear.

Current issues concerning culture




Creating an innovative culture• challenge and involvement

• freedom

• trust and openness

• idea time

• playfulness/humour

• conflict resolution

• debates

• risk taking




Creating a customer responsive culture

• friendly customer oriented employees

• few rules and regulations

• empowered employees

• good listening skills

• role clarity



Creating an organisational culture that embraces sustainability• deeply ingrained values

• strategic positioning

• top management support

• systematic alignment

• metrics

• holistic integration

• stakeholder engagement





Spirituality and organisational culture• strong sense of purpose, individual development,

employee empowerment

• finding meaning and purpose at work, and living out one’s set of deeply held personal beliefs

– The meaning of work

– What do you intend to accomplish or realise through work?

– Work as worth: money or meaning?

Purpose



Critical thinking question:

Is there a difference between an organisation’s espoused values (the ones it says are important) and its actual values (those that guide behaviour on a day to day basis in the organisation)?



Critical thinking question:

Does spirituality have a place in the organisation when a manager is tackling an issue such as sustainability?

robbins%206e ch03(1)[1]

Business

book cover height

general specific factors

organisations culture

robbins et allmanagement6e4

general broad factors

todays external environment

technological factors

economic factors