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This is the last of ten modules in which I am organizing my delivery of the course on organizational behavior at ICBM-SBE, 2014. Wherever I felt I used copyrighted content, I tried to make sure I gave appropriate credit to the author/source. In case you see that I missed something, please do let me know. I would be happy to improve.
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Organizational Behavior
Module 10: Culture and learning
Vinay Kumar, Ph.D
Vidisha Garg, MBA
ICBM-SBE, 2014
Components of organizational culture
• Organizational culture
– Set of shared meanings and exhibited behaviors that distinguish one
organization from another
– Components
• Innovation and risk taking
• Attention to detail
• Outcome orientation
• People orientation
• Team orientation
• Aggressiveness
• Stability
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 2
FIRST YEAR
FIRST TRIMESTER
SECOND TRIMESTER
THIRD TRIMESTER
ATTENTION
TO DETAIL
ST
AB
ILIT
Y
Think about how your courses are organized!
One typology of organizational cultures
• Four types of firms
– Collaborative and cohesive
– Innovative and adaptable
– Controlled and consistent
– Competitive and customer-focused
Note:
There may be different other forms of categories with different labels.
What matters more is to understand in finer detail how the organization
wants itself to be seen by others!
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 3
Remember: Culture is just descriptive. That is, we can only describe an organization’s way of making sense of the world. Culture is not evaluative. Therefore, we cannot say one culture is better than the other.
Puzzles
• Is it necessary for an organization to have only one culture?
– Culture is a fuzzy concept.
– In an organization, there can be a dominant culture that defines the entire organization,
but there could also be a sub-culture that defines a distinct way of how a unit in the firm
operates.
• Can’t there be strong or weak cultures?
– Culture is not evaluative.
– Then how do we discuss strong or weak cultures? The idea here is to verify how
vulnerable a culture is to the forces of influence. If the members of an organization
change their behavior all too easily, and erratically, then that culture is perhaps a weak
culture. In strong cultures, the beliefs and values are intensely held and widely shared.
• Is culture different from formalization?
– What does formalization achieve? Predictability, Orderliness and Consistency.
– Culture is just another way of reaching the same goals, only with less rules/documents.
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 4
What does culture achieve?
• It creates distinctions between companies
– otherwise, it would not have been an interesting question to ask which company an
individual likes to join and why
• It conveys a sense of identity for members of organization
– recall, social identity theory!
• It facilitates commitment to a shared goal
– recall, psychological contracts!
• It enhances the stability of the organization
– recall, for example, disposability!
• It creates a climate where members share perceptions about work
– Think about it!
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 5
Recall from Module 3: Mapping attitudes to cultures
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 6
Cognitive Evaluations
Affects/ Feelings
Behaviors
Assumptions
Espoused Values
Artifacts / Behaviors
Breckler, S. J. (1984). Empirical Validation of Affect, Behavior, and Cognition as Distinct Components of Attitude. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1191-1205.
Schein, E. H. (1990). Organizational culture. American Psychological Association.
What should I get? What am I getting?
What should we give? What are we giving? DIFFERENCES
More on this in Unit 5
Job satisfaction Perceived support
Commitment Engagement
Troubles with strong cultures
• Institutionalization
• Barriers to change
• Barriers to diversity
• Barriers to acquisition and merger
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 7
How do cultures form and sustain?
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 8
Source: Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2013). Organizational Behavior,15th Edition. Pearson: New Jersey.
Think: Why do family businesses have a different style of operation compared to organizations with wider investor base that are run by professionals?
Think: Why do you think new recruits receive an induction program before they start getting their hands on the job?
How do employees learn culture?
• Stories
• Rituals
• Symbols
• Language
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 9
Source: http://devdutt.com/
How do employees learn culture?
• Stories
• Rituals
• Symbols
• Language
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 10
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/amazon/10379912/How-Jeff-Bezos-rules-his-Amazonian-empire.html
How do employees learn culture?
• Stories
• Rituals
• Symbols
• Language
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 11
Source: https://newyorkofficefurniturewarehouse.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/horrible-bosses-1.jpg?w=628&h=383&crop=1
How do employees learn culture?
• Stories
• Rituals
• Symbols
• Language
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 12
Incorporating ethics into organizational culture
• Be visible role models
• Communicate ethical expectations (values above results!)
• Provide ethics training
• Reward ethical behaviors
• Provide protective mechanisms (would the organization be
tolerant if values were indeed placed above results?)
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 13
Injecting positivity into organizational culture
• Encourage independent thinking (not compliance)
• Build on employee strengths (not on idealizations)
• Reward more than punish (be cautious)
• Emphasize vitality and growth (not efficiency in routine)
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 14
Spirituality in organizations
• Why spirituality?
– Because rationality can override feelings/emotions
• What might spirituality bring?
– Benevolence
– Strong sense of purpose
– Trust
– Respect
– Open-mindedness
• What spirituality doesn’t mean?
– Religion
– Compromising economics
– Some form of legal statute
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 15
For discussion
• What are the areas you would look at to understand an organization’s
culture, let us say, our college? Could you give examples? Are these examples
falling within the four things that shape organizational culture?
• Has your behavior or have your beliefs changed in any way after joining a
new college? What do you think contributed to those changes?
• What are the parameters you would use to find out if you are happy and
productive in an organization? How would you determine that those are
indeed the parameters that guide in selecting an organization to work?
Vinay Kumar; Vidisha Garg 16
End of module 10.
Please post your feedback for this session to [email protected] / [email protected]
Do not forget to mention the ‘session date/section’ details
Upcoming
Case: Sumeru Software Solutions--Creating a culture of serene dynamism