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ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
Falkné dr. Bánó Klára
BGF Külkereskedelmi Főiskolai Kar
How the organisation can be compared with how it actually works (Gray and Starke)
How the organisation can be compared with how it actually works (Gray and Starke)
The organisational iceberg
(ORGANIZATIONAL) CULTURE Definitions
’Culture is a shared set of values and beliefs that determine patterns of behaviour common to groups of people.’ ’…each organization evolves a unique profile reflectingthe values and beliefs of the collective membership.
Corporate culture refers to patterns of behaviour basedon shared values and beliefs within a particular firm.’
/David H. Holt, Management, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. 1990 /
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Definitions
’The set of values of an organization that helps its
members understand what the organization stands for,
how it does things and what it considers important.’
(Ricky W. Griffin, Management, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1990)
A Practical Definition of Organisational Culture
’An organisation’s culture reflects assumptions about clients,employees, mission, products, activities and assumptions thathave worked well in the past and which get translated intonorms of behaviour, expectations about what is legitimate,desirable ways of thinking and acting. /These/ …are the locusof its capacity for evolution and change.’
(André Laurent in: Human Resource Management in International Firms, P.Evans (ed.) London, Macmillan, 1990)
A Useful Description of Culture
‘A pattern of basic assumptions invented, discoveredor developed by a given group as it learns to copewith its problems of external adaptation and internalintegration that has worked well enough to beconsidered valid, and to be taught to new membersas the correct way to perceive, think, and feel inrelation to these problems.’
(Ed Schein ‘Organizational culture: What it is and how to change it’ in: Human ResourceManagement in International Firms, P.Evans (ed.) London, Macmillan, 1990)
Another practical and useful definition of culture
‘Culture comes from within people and is put together by them to reward the capacities that they have in common.Culture gives continuity and identity to the group. It balancescontrasting contributions, and operates as a self-steeringsystem which learns from feedback. It works as a pattern ofinformation and can greatly facilitate the exchange ofunderstanding. The values within a culture are more or lessharmonious.’ (Charles Hampden-Turner, Corporate Culture, J. Piatkus, 1994, p.21)
Characteristics of Corporate Culture
Each organization has behavioral norms for getting thingsdone.Strong culture is a powerful force in the organization, one that can shape the firm’s overalleffectiveness and long-term success.
As an organization grows, its culture is modified,shaped and refined by symbols, stories, heroes,slogans and ceremonies.
Charles Handy’s (following R. Harrison) culture types
Patron Gods of culture types could be:
Power/club culture – Zeus all-powerful head of the gods
Role culture – Apollo the god of reason
Task culture – Athena the warrior goddess
Person culture – Dionysus the god of the individual
Major power sources/bases in culture types
Power/club culture – personal, and resource
power
Role culture – position power
Task culture – expert power
Organisations can change their culture
Most start as power cultures, e.g. when they
are small,
as they grow, they may shift to a role culture,
when confronted with the need for
greater flexibility, can shift to task culture
Different departments - different cultures
Within the organization different parts, e.g.
departments can have different cultures and
all of them can be combined.
Cultural diversity within oganizations: four main activity types (Handy, C.)
Organizational Culture Profiles - Deal and Kennedy
Deal and Kennedy, Corporate Cultures
• Driving c. – Tough-guy, macho culture
• Outgoing c. – Work hard/play hard culture
• Specialist c. – Bet-your-company culture
• Control c. – Process culture
