Chapter 3

Organisational culture

Learning objectives

• Define the term organisational culture• Identify the components of organisational

culture• What factors influence the company culture• Describe Schein’s approach to

organisational culture• Describe Handy’s four cultural types• Describe how organisational culture is

influenced by national cultures using the Hofstede approach

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

COMPONENTS INFLUENCES WRITERS

Definition of organisational culture

• ‘the way we do things around here.’ (Handy)

• Sum total of the belief, knowledge, attitudes, norms and customs that prevail in an organisation

Definition of organisational culture

• Organisations have distinctive cultures

• Behaviour acceptable in one organisational culture may be inappropriate in another

• Cultures develop over time or can change instantly as a result of a single major event (e.g. death of company founder, threatened takeover)

Components of culture

Factors that shape the culture

• Organisation’s founder• Organisation’s history• Leadership and management style• Organisation’s environment• Size• Technology• Diversity• Age• Ownership

More subtle influences

• Degree of individual initiative• Degree of risk tolerance• Clarity of direction• Degree of integration between groups• Reward system• Conflict tolerance• Communication patterns • Formalisation of clothing and office

layout• Kind of people employed

Writers of culture

• Schein

• Handy

• Hofstede

Schein

• First leaders of the company create the culture of the organisation, attributes for later leaders are determined by the culture

• Strong link between leadership and culture

• 3 levels:1. Artefacts – aspects of culture that can

easily be seen, e.g. the way people dress2. Espoused values – these refer to the

strategies and goals of the organisation, including company slogans

3. Basic assumptions – difficult to identify as they are unseen, and exist mainly at the unconscious level

Schein – 3 levels of culture

Handy

1. Power culture (Zeus)

2. Role culture (Apollo)

3. Task culture (Athena)

4. Person or existential culture (Dionysus)

Handy’s cultural Types

Hofstede

• Study of more than 100,000 employees in IBM in more than 40 countries

• How does national culture influence business behaviour?

Hofstede

1. Individualism vs. collectivism

2. Uncertainty avoidance

3. Power distance

4. Masculinity vs. femininity

5. Confucianism vs. dynamism (Time orientation)

Individualism-CollectivismPeru

Chile

Italy

Nigeria

India

US/Canada

Japan

Egypt

South Korea

France

PR China

Portugal

IndonesiaHong Kong

Taiwan

Col

lect

ivis

mHigh

Low

Individualism HighLow

Australia

Hungary

NewZealand

Power Distance

The degree that people accept an unequal distribution of power in society.

JapanJapan

IsraelIsraelN.Z.N.Z.

VenezuelaVenezuela

High Power DistanceMalaysiaMalaysia

Low Power Distance

U.S.U.S.

Uncertainty AvoidanceHigh U.A.

Low U.A.

JapanJapanGreeceGreece

AustraliaAustralia

The degree that people tolerate ambiguity (low) or feel threatened by ambiguity and uncertainty (high uncertainty avoidance).

ItalyItaly

SingaporeSingapore

Achievement-NurturingAchievement

Nurturing

JapanJapan

AustraliaAustralia

SwedenSweden

The degree that people value assertiveness, competitiveness and materialism (achievement) versus relationships and well-being of others (nurturing).

ChinaChina

ChileChile

FranceFrance

Hofstede’s Framework (cont’d)

Chapter Summary

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

COMPONENTS INFLUENCES WRITERS

•Norms•Symbols•Shared values

•Size•Technology•Age•History•Ownership

•Schein•Handy•Hofstede

Chapter 5

Individual and group behaviour in business organisations

Learning objectives

• Define the term behaviour• Explain what factors influence the way

individuals act• Describe the characteristics of passive,

aggressive and assertive behaviour• Give reasons why working in teams is more

effective than working as an individual• Outline the contribution teams make to the

organisational success• What factors are required in order to make a

cohesive group?• Distinguish between different approaches

necessary to organise work around and individual and around the work group

BEHAVIOUR

PASSIVE

AGGRESSIVE

INDIVIDUAL

ASSERTIVE

GROUP

Main characteristics of individual and group behaviour

CAUSE (STIMULUS)

PERSON’S NEED, WANT, TENSION, DISCOMFORT

GOAL

BEHAVIOUR

Factors affecting behaviour and performance at work

• Motivation level

• Perception

• Attitudes

• Personality

• Intelligence

Motivation

• Physical and working conditions• Safety• Monetary rewards• Recognition• Many of the factors that motivate

individuals to perform are social in nature; groups can bring out the best in people and can be essential for the delivery of social needs.

Perception

• Developing a group means identifying distinct roles for each of its members.

• Any individual can have several roles.

• A role is the expected pattern of behaviours associated with members occupying a particular position within the structure of the organisation.

Role theory

• Role ambiguity

• Role conflict

• Role incompatibility

• Role signs

• Role set

• Role behaviour

Different types of behaviour

• Assertive behaviour

• Aggressive behaviour

• Passive behaviour

Chapter 6

Team formation, development and management

Learning objectives

• Explain what is meant by a group• Explain what is meant by a team• Distinguish between a group and a team• What is the purpose of the team• Explain the different roles people play in a

team with reference to Belbin’s theory• Explain the stages of team development as

per Tuckman’s theory• What factors make a team ineffective• Identify the criteria necessary for a

successful team as per Peters and Waterman

• What criteria is used to evaluate team’s success

BEHAVIOUR

BELBIN

TUCKMAN

GROUP

PETERS & WATERMAN

TEAM

Differences between a group and a team

• Group is any collection of people who perceive themselves to be a group.

• Groups have the following attributes:• A sense of identity (there are

acknowledged boundaries of the group, who is in and who is out)

• Loyalty to the group (acceptance within the group that bind the group together)

• Purpose and leadership (express purpose, choose individuals to lead them towards their goals)

Differences between a group and a team

• Practically all individual effort takes place in association with other people in groups

• Formal vs. informal groups

Teams

• Any group of people who must significantly relate with each other in order to accomplish shared objectives

• Team is a formal group• It has a leader and a distinctive culture

and is geared towards a final result.• Teams must have a reason for working

together. They must need each other’s skills, talent and experience in order to achieve their mutual goals.

• Purpose of a team is to solve complex problems (diverse team of specialists & synergy)

Teams

• Share a common goal• Enjoy working together• Commitment to achieve goals• Diverse individuals• Loyalty to the project• Attain a team spirit

Characteristics of effective teams

Teams vs. groups

Teams Groups

More openness & trust

Feelings are expressed more feely

Common objectives

Conflict is worked out

Decisions are by consensus

Commitment can be very high

People accommodate each other

People negotiate

Objectives may be modified

Commitment can be high

Effective teamwork (Woodcock)

• Rights balance of skills, ability and aspiration

• Mistakes are faced openly and there is no ‘scape-goating’

• There is pride in success, support and trust in personal relationships

• There is a high level of task achievement

• Openness and honesty is present• There is healthy competition• There is a happy feel to the place and

good relationships with other departments

Who should belong to the team?

• Team members should be selected for their potential to contribute to getting things done (task performance) and establishing good working relationships (group maintenance):• Specialist skills• Power in the wider organisation• Access to resources• Personalities and goals of the

individual members of the team

Belbin: Theory of group rolesLeader

Shaper

Plant

Monitor-evaluator

Resource-investigator

Company worker

Team worker

Finisher

Expert

Coordinator

Promotes activity – dominant, extrovert

Thoughtful and thought provoking, ideas person

Criticises others’ ideas, brings the team down to earth

Extrovert, networker, looks for alternative solutions

Administrator, organiser

Concerned with relationships

Progress chaser

As required by the project

Tuckman: Stages of group development

1. Forming Awareness

2. Storming Conflict

3. Norming Co-operation

4. Performing Productivity

5. Dorming Adjournment

Forming: Members join and begin the process of defining the group’s purpose, structure, and leadership

Storming: Intragroup conflict occurs as individuals resist control by the group and disagree over leadership.

Norming: Close relationships develop as the group becomes cohesive and establishes its norms for acceptable behaviour

Performing: A fully functional group structure allows the group to focus on performing the task at hand

Adjourning: The group prepares to disband and is no longer concerned with high levels of performance

Blockages to an effective team

• Inappropriate leadership• Unqualified membership• Unconstructive climate• Unclear objectives• Poor achievement• Ineffective work methods• Insufficient openness and confrontation• Undeveloped individuals• Low creative capacity• Unconstructive relationships between

team members

Peters & Waterman: 5 key aspects of successful task-force teams

1. Small number of members

2. Limited duration of the team

3. Voluntary membership

4. Informal communication

5. Action-oriented

How to make a cohesive group

• Leadership• Right mix of skills• Clear objectives and commitment to

shared goals• Team identity• Team solidarity

Contribution of individuals and teams to organisational success

• One person cannot do everything, but a team can combine all the main areas of skill and knowledge that are needed for a particular job.

• SynergyDescribes the phenomenon in which the combined activity of separate entities has a greater effect than the sum of the activities of each entity working alone

2 + 2 = 5

Advantages of cohesive groups

• Improved teamwork and problem solving

• Greater creativity• Provide support for individuals within

the group improved communication through participation

• Satisfaction of social needs• Provides a forum for conflict resolution

Cohesive groups

• Atmosphere• Participation• Commitment• Communication• Leadership• Progress

Improving team effectiveness – Evaluation

• Effectiveness – degree to which objectives are achieved

• Efficiency – use of resources in achieving the objectives

• Team member satisfaction – motivational climate

• Use of • Observation• Interviews• Questionnaires

Rewarding effective teams

• Make use of team-based reward to encourage co-operation and mutual accountability.

• Recognise the team, rather than individual success.

• Profit sharing schemes• Gain sharing schemes• Employee share options

Chapter summary

BEHAVIOUR

BELBIN

TUCKMAN

GROUP

PETERS & WATERMAN

TEAM

Group roles: Leader, shaper, plant, monitor/evaluator, resource investigator, company worker, team worker, finisher, expert

Stages of development: forming, storming, norming, performing, dorming

Stages of development: forming, storming, norming, performing, dorming

Key aspects of successful teams: small, limited duration, membership voluntary, informal unstructured, action-oriented