Chapter 10 - Organizational Culture

8/3/2019 Chapter 10 - Organizational Culture

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Chapter 16

Organizational Cultureand Development

How Individuals Work,Live, and Achieve

Together


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Copyright 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 16-2

Chapter 16 Study Questions

What is organizational culture?

How do you understand an organizational

culture? How can the organizational culture be

managed?

How can you use organizationaldevelopment to improve the firm?


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Organizational culture

The system of shared actions, values, andbeliefs that develops within an organization andguides the behavior of its members


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External adaptation

Involves reaching goals and dealing withoutsiders regarding tasks to be accomplished

methods used to achieve the goals

methods of coping with success and failure.


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Important aspects of external adaptation

Separating eternal forces based on importance

Developing ways to measure accomplishments Creating explanations for not meeting goals


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External adaptation involves answering importantgoal-related questions regarding coping withreality What is the real mission?

How do we contribute? What are our goals?

How do we reach our goals?

What external forces are important?

How do we measure results? What do we do if specific targets are not met?

How do we tell others how good we are?

When do we quit?


7/39Copyright 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 16-7


Internal integration

Deals with the creation of a collective identityand with finding ways of matching methods ofworking and living together




Important aspects of working together

Deciding who is a member and who is not

Developing an informal understanding ofacceptable and unacceptable behavior

Separating friends from enemies




Internal integration involves answeringimportant questions associated with livingtogether What is our unique identity?

How do we view the world?

Who is a member?

How do we allocate power, status, and

authority? How do we communicate?

What is the basis for friendship?




Subculture

A group of individuals with a unique pattern ofvalues and philosophy that are not inconsistentwith the organizations dominant values and

philosophy




Counterculture

A groups where the pattern of values andphilosophies outwardly reject those of thelarger organization or social system




Problems associated with subculturaldivisions within the larger culture

Subordinate groups are likely to form into acounterculture pursuing self-interests

The firm may encounter extreme difficulty incoping with broader cultural changes

Embracing natural divisions from the largerculture may lead to difficulty in internationaloperations




Developing the multicultural organizationStep 1: The organization should develop pluralism

Step 2: The organization should fully integrate itsstructure

Step 3: The organization must integrate theinformal networks

Step 4: The organization should break the linkage

between naturally occurring group identity andorganizational identity

Step 5: The organization must actively work toeliminate identity-based interpersonal conflict



Figure 16.1



How do you understand an

organizational culture?

Layers of cultural analysis

First observable culture

Second recognizes that shared valuescan play a critical part in linking peopletogether

Third common cultural assumptions





Sagas

Heroic accounts of organizationalaccomplishments

Rites

Standardized and recurring activities that areused at special times to influence

organizational members





Rituals

Systems of rites

Cultural symbols Any object, act, or event that serves to transmit

cultural meaning





Shared values

Help turn routine activities into valuable andimportant actions

Tie the organization to the important values ofsociety

May provide a very distinctive source of

competitive advantage


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Characteristics of strong corporate cultures

A widely shared real understanding of what thefirm stands for, often embodied in slogans

A concern for individuals over rules, policies,procedures, and adherence to job duties

A recognition of heroes whose actions illustrate

the companys shared philosophy and concerns


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Characteristics of strong corporate cultures

A belief in ritual and ceremony as important tomembers and to building a common identity

A well-understood sense of the informal rulesand expectations so that employees andmanagers know what is expected of them

A belief that what employees and managers dois important and that it is essential to shareinformation and ideas


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Organizational myths

Unproven and often unstated beliefs that areaccepted uncritically


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How can the organizational

culture be managed?

Strategies for managing corporate culture

Managers help modify observable culture,shared values, and common assumptions

directly

Use of organizational development techniquesto modify specific elements of the culture


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culture be managed?

Management philosophy

links key goal-related strategic issues with keycollaboration issues and comes up with a

series of general ways by which the firm willmanage its affairs


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culture be managed?

Why a well-developed managementphilosophy is important

Establishes generally understood boundarieson all members of the firm

Provides a consistent way for approaching newand novel situations

Helps hold individuals together by showingthem a known path to success


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culture be managed?

Strategies for building, reinforcing, andchanging organizational culture

Directly modifying the visible aspects of culture

Changing the lessons to be drawn fromcommon stories

Setting the tone for a culture and for cultural

change Fostering a culture that addresses questions of

external adaptation and internal integration


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culture be managed?

Mistakes that managers can make inchanging culture

Trying to change peoples values from the top

down without also changing how theorganization operates

Attempting to revitalize an organization by

dictating major changes and ignoring sharedvalues


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How can you use organization

development to improve the firm?

Organization development (OD)

The application of behavioral scienceknowledge in a long-range effort to improve an

organizations ability to cope with change in itsexternal environment and to increase itsinternal problem-solving capabilities


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Underlying assumptions of OD

Individual level

guided by principles that reflect an underlyingrespect for people and their capabilities


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Group level

Guided by principles that reflect a belief thatgroups can be good for both people and

organizations


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Organizational level

Guided by principles that show a respect for thecomplexity of an organization as a system of

interdependent parts.


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Outcome goals

Mainly deal with issues of external adaptation

Process goals Mainly deal with issues of internal integration


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OD helps organizations by: Creating an open problem solving climate

Supplementing formal authority with knowledge andcompetence

Moving decision making where relevant informationis available

Building trust and maximizing collaboration

Increasing the sense of organizational ownership Allowing people to exercise self-direction and self-

control


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Action research

The process of systematically collecting dataon an organization, feeding it back to the

members for action planning, and evaluatingresults by collecting and reflecting on moredata after the planned actions have been taken.


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Figure 16.2


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Survey feedback

Collection of data via questionnaire responsefrom organization members or sample of such

responses

Confrontation meetings

Designed to help determine how an

organization may be improved and to takeinitial actions to better the situation


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Structural redesign

Realigning the structure of the organization ormajor subsystems to improve performance

Collateral organization

Pulling a representative set of members out ofthe formal organization structure to engage in

periodic small-group problem-solving sessions


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Team building

Activities designed to help examine how thegroup functions and how it can function better

Process consultation

Activities that are facilitated by an ODpractitioner and designed to improve group

functioning


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Intergroup team building

Designed to help groups improve workingrelationships and experience improved group

effectiveness


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Role negotiation

Clarifying expectations in working relationships

Job redesign Creating long-term congruence betweenindividual goals and organizational careeropportunities

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Chapter 10 - Organizational Culture