Organizational Culture, Socialization, and Mentoring

Chapter Two

Copyright © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

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After reading the materials in this chapter, you should be able to:

• Discuss the layers and functions of organizational culture.

• Describe the general types of organizational culture and their associated characteristics.

• Summarize the process by which organizations change their cultures.

• Describe the three phases in Feldman’s model of organizational socialization.

• Discuss the various tactics used to socialize employees.

• Explain the four types of developmental networks derived from a developmental network model of mentoring

Organizational Culture

• Organizational culture - set of shared, taken-for-granted implicit

assumptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about and reacts to its various environments

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Organizational Culture Characteristics

• Passed on to new employees through the process of socialization

• Influences our behavior at work• Operates at different levels

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A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Organizational Culture

Figure 2-1

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Layers of Organizational Culture

• Observable artifacts- Consist of the physical manifestation of an

organization’s culture- Acronyms, manner of dress, awards, myths

and stories, published lists of values, observable rituals and ceremonies, special parking spaces, and decorations

Question?

Every month, Bombay Bazaar awards an "Employee of the Month" award to one employee and as a reward offers a $100 check and an assigned parking space with the employees' name for the month. This is an example of which of these?

A. Basic underlying assumptionB. Externally enacted valuesC. Observable artifactsD. Socialization

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Layers of Organizational Culture

• Enacted values - represent the values and norms that actually

are exhibited or converted into employee behavior

- Based on observable behavior

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Layers of Organizational Culture

• Basic assumptions- Constitute organizational values that have

become so taken for granted over time that they become assumptions that guide organizational behavior

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Four Functions of Organizational Culture

Figure 2-2

Competing Values Framework

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Figure 2.3

Question?

Fredhandbag Photography is a family-owned business. All of the employees are encouraged to speak up with any ideas to improve the business. What type of culture does this resemble?

A. ClanB. AdhocracyC. HierarchyD. Market

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Outcomes Associated with Organizational Culture

1. Significantly correlated with employee behavior and attitudes

2. Congruence between an individual’s values and the organization’s values was associated with organizational commitment, job satisfaction, intention to quit, and turnover

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Outcomes Associated with Organizational Culture (cont.)

3. There is not a clear pattern of relationships between organizational culture and outcomes such as service quality, customer satisfaction, and an organization’s financial performance

4. Mergers frequently failed due to incompatible cultures

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The Process of Culture Change

• Organizational members teach each other about the organization’s preferred values, beliefs, expectations, and behaviors

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The Process of Culture Change

1. Formal statements of organizational philosophy, mission, vision, values, and materials used for recruiting, selection and socialization

2. The design of physical space, work environments, and buildings

3. Slogans, language, acronyms, and sayings4. Deliberate role modeling, training programs,

teaching and coaching by managers and supervisors

5. Explicit rewards, status symbols (e.g., titles),and promotion criteria

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The Process of Culture Change

6. Stories, legends, and myths about key people and events

7. The organizational activities, processes, or outcomes that leaders pay attention to, measure, and control

8. Leader reactions to critical incidents and organizational crises

9. The workflow and organizational structure10. Organizational systems and procedures11. Organizational goals and the associated criteria used

for recruitment, selection, development, promotion, layoffs, and retirement of people

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Organizational Socialization

• Organizational Socialization - process by which a person learns the values,

norms, and required behaviors which permit him to participate as a member of the organization

A Model of Organizational Socialization

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Figure 2-4

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Phase 1: Anticipatory Socialization

• Occurs before an individual joins an organization

• Involves the information people learn about different careers, occupations, professions, and organizations

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Phase 2: Encounter

• Employees learn what the organization is really like and reconcile unmet expectations

• Onboarding – programs aimed at helping employees integrate, assimilate, and transition to new jobs

Question?

Amy recently started a new job. Everyone she interviewed with seemed very personable and easy-going. She was quite surprised when during her first week on the job she witnessed a loud and argumentative confrontation in the hallway between two of her coworkers. People seem so different than the way she expected them to be. Amy is in which stage of the socialization process? 

A. Change and acquisitionB. Anticipatory socializationC. AdaptiveD. Encounter

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Phase 3: Change and Acquisition

• Requires employees to master important tasks and roles and to adjust to their work group’s values and norms

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Practical Application of Socialization Research

1. Managers should avoid a haphazard approach to organizational socialization

2. Managers play a key role during the encounter phase

3. Organization can benefit by training new employees to use proactive socialization behaviors

4. Managers should pay attention to the socialization of diverse employees

Socialization Tactics

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Question?

Army recruits must attend boot camp before they can work alongside established soldiers. This is an example of _________ socialization.

A. CollectiveB. IndividualC. FormalD. Disjunctive

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Embedding Organizational Culture through Mentoring

• Mentoring - the process of forming and maintaining

developmental relationships between a mentor and a junior person

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Developmental Networks Underlying Mentoring

• Diversity of developmental relationships - reflects the variety of people in a network used

for developmental assistance

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Developmental Networks Associated with Mentoring

Figure 2-5

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Question?

Troy received a job offer straight out of college and moved to Omaha, Nebraska a year ago. He has been introduced to numerous people in his workplace, his community, and his church. Although it's nice to see a familiar face, he doesn't see them too often and feels like he doesn't know them very well. Which type of developmental network best describes Troy's situation? 

A. CounselingB. ReceptiveC. TraditionalD. Opportunistic

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Mentoring

• Developmental relationship strength reflects the quality of relationships among the individual and those involved in his developmental network

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Personal and Organizational Implications

• Job and career satisfaction are likely to be influenced by the consistency between an individual’s career goals and the type of developmental network at his disposal

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Personal and Organizational Implications

• A developer’s willingness to provide career and psycho-social assistance is a function of the protégé’s ability, potential, and the quality of the interpersonal relationship

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Building an Effective Mentoring Network

1. Become the perfect protégé2. Engage in 360-degree networking3. Commit to assessing, building, and

adjusting the mentor network4. Develop diverse, synergistic connections5. Realize that change is inevitable and that

all good things come to an end

Supplemental Slides

• Slides 38-44 contain extra non-text examples to integrate and enhance instructor lectures

- Slide 38: Mentoring- Slides 39: Management in the Movies: Hoosiers- Slide 40: Starbucks Canada - Slide 41: Mentoring Pitfalls- Slide 42: Implications For Mentoring Minorities- Slide 43-44: Video discussion slides

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Mentoring

• See Belle Rose Ragins’s article abstract on barriers to mentoring at Human Relations Online

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Management in the MoviesHoosiers – “Warm Welcome”

• In this scene, Coach Dale has been invited to meet and greet with some of the men of the town.

• Discussion Questions• What are some of the aspects of the town

culture?• How well does Coach Dale accept this

organizational socialization?• How do the men communicate the culture to

Coach Dale?

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Example: Starbucks Canada

• Measures status of corporate culture using “The Partner View Survey” every 18 months

• 90% response rate• Corrective action or changes taken• Result: lower turnover, higher satisfaction

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Mentoring Pitfalls

• 50% of 500 biggest businesses in US offer mentoring

• Relationships can sour if:1. Pair is incompatible

2. There is a lack of respect/credibility

3. Clear goals are not established

4. There is no consensus on when to end the relationship

2-39Source: BusinessWeek, January 29, 2007, Mentoring Can Be Messy, Susan Berfield

Implications For Mentoring Minorities

• Mentors must fully appreciate the roles they play:- Coach- Advocate- Counselor

• Understand the importance of these roles at each stage of a protégé’s career

• Mentor must also be aware of challenges race can present to protégé’s career

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Video Case: Johnson & Johnson Credo

• What makes Johnson & Johnson’s credo stand out from those espoused by other companies?

• How does the credo guide the actions of the employees at Johnson & Johnson?

• Why would the basic premises of the credo be able to remain so constant after nearly 70 years?

• What are the basic values expressed by the credo? Why are they important to Johnson & Johnson’s success?

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Video Case: New Belgium Brewery

• What is different about New Belgium Brewery’s culture?

• Employees at New Belgium Brewery appear to be highly engaged in their jobs. Why is this?

• How does the culture at New Belgium Brewery contribute to their level of financial success?

• Is open books management a management system all organizations should consider? Why or why not?

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