© 2005 prentice-hall, inc. 13-1 chapter 13 organizational culture

© 2005 Prentice-Hall, Inc.

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Chapter 13

Organizational Culture


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Learning Objectives

Define organizational culture and know why it is important

Distinguish among organizational, national, and global culture and understand the relationships among them


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Learning Objectives

Evaluate the culture-free approach to understanding organizational culture

Identify levels of organizational culture

Know what organizational culture does


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Learning Objectives

Discuss the cultural dimensions and typology approaches to understanding organizational culture

Understand how organizational culture can be managed


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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


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National and Global Culture

Relationship between national and corporate culture complex

“Logic of industrialization" may affect all organizations the same way


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National and Global Culture

National culture and other elements in an organization's environment may determine internal organizational culture

Globalization also affects organizational culture


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Understanding Organizational Culture

Culture-free approachTechnology, policies, rules, organizational

structure, and other variables that contribute to efficiency and effectiveness make national culture irrelevant for successful management

Organizations culture free in some respects, but culture bound in many others


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Levels of Organizational Culture

ArtifactsConcrete aspects of an organization

that symbolize its culture

Espoused ValuesPublic values and principles that

organization's leaders announce it intends to achieve


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Actual Values Validated espoused values, what the

organization demonstrates it stands for

Basic Underlying Assumptions Unconscious beliefs and values that structure

feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and actions that members of a culture view as the only correct understanding of life

Usually emphasize or exaggerate major national cultural themes


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Subcultures Shared meanings created and

maintained by groups within an organization

Reflect division of labor or personal background of employees


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What Organizational Culture Does

FUNCTIONS Provides an external

identity Creates a sense of

commitment Acts as source of high

reliability Defines an interpretive

scheme Acts as a social control

mechanism

DYSFUNCTIONS Can create barriers to

change Can create conflict

within the organization Subcultures can change

at different rates than other units

Can clash when two companies merge

Can become "cultural Tower of Babel"


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Some Underlying Dimensions of Organizational Culture

Dimension Questions to be answered

1. The organization’s relationship to its environment

2. The nature of human activity

3. The nature of reality and truth

Does the organization perceive itselfto be dominant, submissive, harmonizing,searching out a niche?

Is the “correct” way for humans to behave to be dominant/proactive.harmonizing, or passive/fatalistic?

How do we define what is true and whatis not true; and how is truth ultimatelydetermined both in the physical andsocial world?


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4. The nature of time

5. The nature of human nature

What is our basic orientation in terms ofpast, present, and future, and what kindsof time units are most relevant for theconduct of daily affairs?

Are humans basically good, neutral, orevil, and is human nature perfectible orfixed?


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6. The nature of human relationships

7. Homogeneity versus diversity

What is the “correct” way for people torelate to each other, to distribute powerand affection? Is life competitive orcooperative? Is the best way to organizesociety on the basis of individualism orgroupism? Is the best authority systemautocratic/paternalistic or collegial/participative?

Is the group best off if it is highly diverseor if it is highly homogeneous, and should individuals in a group be encouraged to innovate or conform?


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Trompenaars’ Four Corporate Cultures

Family cultureEmphasizes personal, face-to-face

relationshipsHierarchical with authority structure

based on power differentials commonly experienced between parents and children


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Eiffel Tower culture Emphasizes division of labor and

coordination through hierarchy of authority

Relies on planning to accomplish its goals


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Guided missile cultureEgalitarian, impersonal, task

oriented

Incubator culture Attempts to minimize organizational

structure and culture


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Leadership and Organizational Culture

Not clear to what extent leaders can manage organizational culture

Elements of Culture Leaders Can Change Employee selection criteria Socialization of new members Meaning of work Artifacts/surface manifestations of culture


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Convergence or Divergence?

Industrialization Organizational

strategies for managing culture

Use of organizational culture as a competitive tool

Impact of diverse national cultures on organizational culture


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Implications for Managers

Analyze organizational cultures to coordinate activities or change them

Understand what levels of culture can be influenced

Know how organizational culture can influence a manager

© 2005 prentice-hall, inc. 13-1 chapter 13 organizational culture

Documents

organizational structure

culture view

national culture irrelevant

global culturenational

way national

organizations environment

organizations leaders

organizations relationship