OLC EUROPE

EDEXCEL BTEC HND IN BUSINESS

UNIT 3: ORGANISATIONS AND BEHAVIOUR

ORGANISATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CULTURE

Culture is

“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 .”

- Edgar Schein

Culture is multilayered

“ Culture come in layers, like an onion. To understand it you have to unpeel it layer by layer. On the outer layer are the products of culture, like soaring skyscrapers of Manhattan, pillars of private power, with congested public streets between them. These are expressions of deeper values and norms, in a society, that are not directly visible (values such as upward mobility, ‘the more the better’, status and material success). The layers of values and norms are deeper within the ‘onion’ and are more difficult to identify.” (Trompenaars & Hampden-

Turner)

A model of Cuture (F. Trompenaars)

Culture is a subtle but pervasive force

Culture generally remains below the threshold of concious awareness because it involves taken-for-granted assumptions about how one should perceive, think, act and feel.

“Since much of culture operates outside our awareness, frequently we don’t even know what we know. We pick [expectations and assumptions] up in the craddle. We unconciously learn what to notice and what not to notice, how to divide time and space, how to walk and talk and use our bodies, how to behave as men and women, how to relate to other people, how to handle responsibility, whether experience is seen as whole or fragmented. This applies to all people. The Chinese, Japanese or Arabs are each as unaware of their assumptions as we are of our own. We each assume they’re part of human nature, What we think of as ‘mind’ is really internalised culture”.

Edward T Hall (Cultural Anthropologist)

In sum ‘you are your culture and your culture is you’.

Societal and Organisational Cultures

Culture influences organisational behaviour in two ways.

Employees bring their societal culture to work with them in the form of customs and languages

Organisational culture, a by-product of societal culture in turn affects the individual’s values and ethics, attitudes, assumptions and and expectations

The term Societal culture is preferred to ‘national culture’ because the boundaries of modern nation states were not drawn along cultural lines.

Once inside the organisation’s sphere of influence, the individual is further affected by the organisation’s culture.

Cultural Influences on Organisational Behaviour

Foundations of Organisational Culture

Organisational Culture is ‘the set of shared, taken-for-granted implicit assuptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about and reacts to its variuos environments’ (E H Schein)

This definition highlights three important characteristics of organisational culture:

1. Organisational culture is passed on to new employees through the process of socialisation

2. Organisational cuture influences our behaviour at work

3. Organisational Culture operates at two different levels which vary in terms outward visibility and resistance to change:

1. At the more visible level, culture is represented by artifacts (easier to change)

2. At the less visible level, culture reflects the values and beliefs shared by organisational members (persist over time and more resistant to change)

Foundations of Organisational Culture

Organisational culture = shared values and beliefs that underlie a company’s identity

Two organisational values (espoused & enacted)

Espoused = the stated values and norms preferred by an organisation

Enacted = the values and the norms that are exhibited by employees

A Typology of Organisational Values

Interpreting Organisational Culture

Functions of Organisational Culture

Embedding Culture through

Formal statements of organisational philosophy, mission, vision, values, and materials used for recruiting, selection and socialisation

The design of physical space, work environments, and buildings

Slogans, language, acronyms, and sayings

Deliberate role modeling, training programs, teaching and coaching by managers and supervisors

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

Stories, legends, and myths about key people and events

Types of Organisatioanal Culture

Change and Flexibility

Stability and Direction

External Focus

(differentiation) Adaptability External controlInternal

focus (integration) Development Internal Consistency

Embedding Organisational Culture

The organisational activities, processes, or outcomes that leaders pay attention to, measure, and control

Leader reactions to critical incidents and organisational crises

The workflow and organisational structure

Organisational systems and procedures

Organisational goals and the associated criteria used for recruitment, selection, development, promotion, layoffs, and retirement of people

Organisational Socialisaton

High- and Low-Context Cultures

High-Context Culture Low-Context Culture

Establish social trust first Get down to business first

Value personal relations and good will

Value expertise and performance

Agreement by general trustAgreement by specific, legalistic

contract

Negotiations slow and ritualistic Negotiations as efficient as possible

Contrasting High- and Low-Context

Key cultural dimensions

Power distance: how much do people expect inequality in social institutions?

Individualism-Collectivism: how loose or tight is the bond between individuals and societal groups?

Masculinity-Feminity: to what extent do people embrace competitive masculine traits or nurturing feminine traits?

Key cultural dimensions

Uncertainty avoidance: to what extent do people prefer structured and unstructured situations?

Long-term versus Short-term orientation: to what extentare people oriented toward the future by saving and being persistent versus being oriented toward the present and the past by respecting tradition and meeting social obligations?

Relating to Other People

Universalism Particularism

Focus on rules Focus on relationship

Legal contracts are readily drawn up

Legal contracts are readily modified

Trustworhty = honoring his/her word or contract

Trustworhty = honouring changing circumstances

Truth or reality = agreement

Reality = several perspectives

A deal is a deal Relationship evolves

Relating to Other People

Individualism Collectivism

Frequent use “I” and “me” Frequent use of “we”

Decision made by representative

Decision referred back by delegates

Personal achievement and responsibility

Group achievement and responsibility

Holidays taken in pairs or alone

Holidays taken in groups

Relating to Other People

Emotional Neutral

Show reactions (non) verbally

Opaque emtional state

Express face & body signals

Don’t readily express what they think or feel

At ease with public displays of emotions

Embarrassed at public display of emotions

At ease with physical contact

Discomfort with physical contact

Raise voice readilySubtle in (non) verbal expressions

Relating to Other People

Specific DiffuseMore open publicspace, more closed private space

Appears direct, open and extravert

To the point and abrasive highly mobile

Separate work and private life

Several approach to fit circumtances (eg. Use of titles)

More closed public space but, once in, more open private space

Appears indirect, closed and introvert

Often evades issues and ‘beats about the bush’

Low mobility

Consistent approach between work and private life (eg. Use of titles)

Cultural Perception of Time

Monochronic time: preference for doing one thing at a time because time is limited, precisely segmented and schedule driven.

Polychronic time: preference for doing more than one thing at a time because time is flexible and multidimensional.

Successful Intercultural Dealing

Time Concept Advice for Successful Intercultural Dealing.

Punctuality Find the basic unit of time: Is it 5 minutes, 15 or 30?

Polychronic/monochronic time

In some cultures, the business lunch is devoted to socialising with business partners. It may be hard to figure out what activities can be combined and what cannot.

Fast and slow paces of life

A fast pace can lead to stress-related health problems. Social support can lessen these problems.

Time as symbol Time is not money in some cultures and treating it in monetary terms may be considered as vulgar.

Time efficiency Speed is not always a virtue. Multicultural teams need more time to achieve their peak performance level; however, they may be more effective after they become comfortable working with each other for some time.

Interpersonal distance zones

Foreign assignment cycle