Organizational Culture

15-1Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Essentials of Organizational Behavior,

10/e

Stephen P. Robbins & Timothy A. Judge

Chapter 15

Organizational Culture


After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Define organizational culture and describe its common characteristics.

2. Compare the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on people and the organization.

3. Explain the factors that create and sustain an organization’s culture.

4. Show how culture is transmitted to employees.5. Demonstrate how an ethical culture and a

positive culture can be created.6. Show how national culture may affect the way

organizational culture is transported to a different country.


Organizational Culture

A system of shared meaning held by

members that distinguishes the

organization from other organizations

•Composed of seven key characteristics


Seven Characteristics of Organizational Culture

1. Innovation and Risk Taking

2. Attention to Detail3. Outcome

Orientation4. People Orientation5. Team Orientation6. Aggressiveness7. Stability


Culture Is a Descriptive Term

Culture

• Organizational culture is concerned with how employees perceive an organization’s culture, not whether or not they like it

• Descriptive

Job Satisfaction

• Measures affective responses to the work environment: concerned with how employees feel about the organization

• Evaluative


Do Organizations Have Uniform Cultures?

• The dominant culture expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organization’s members

• Subcultures tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common problems, situations, or experiences of members

• Subcultures mirror the dominant culture but may add to or modify the core values


Strong Cultures

• In a strong culture, the organization’s core values are both intensely held and widely shared

• Strong cultures will: Have great influence on the

behavior of its members Increase cohesiveness Result in lower employee

turnover


Culture Versus Formalization

• Both seek predictability, orderliness, and consistency

• Culture controls by increasing behavioral consistency

• Formalization controls through policies and written documentation

• Strong cultures can be a substitute for formalization


Culture’s Five Basic Functions

• Defines Boundaries• Conveys a Sense of Identity • Generates Commitment Beyond Oneself • Enhances Social Stability• Sense-making and Control Mechanism


Culture as a Liability

• Barrier to Change Culture is slow to change – even in a dynamic

environment

• Barrier to Diversity Culture seeks to minimize diversity Can embed prevalent bias and prejudice

• Barrier to Acquisitions and Mergers Most mergers fail due to cultural incompatibility


Creating Culture

• Ultimate source of an organization’s culture is its founders

• Founders create culture in three ways: By hiring and keeping those who think and feel

the same way they do

Indoctrinating and socializing those employees to their way of thinking and feeling

Acting as a role model and encouraging employees to identify with them


Keeping a Culture Alive

• Selection – seek out those who fit in

• Top Management – establish norms of behavior by their actions

• Socialization – help new employees adapt to the existing culture


A Socialization Model

• Pre-arrival –initial knowledge about the organization and own unique ideas

• Encounter – exposed to the organization• Metamorphosis – member changed to fit

within the organization


Dimensions of Socialization Programs

Intense Programs• Formal – new workers

separated for training• Collective – group basis• Fixed – planned

activities• Serial – role models

used• Divestiture – strip away

characteristics to build up new ones

Moderate Programs• Informal – new workers

immediately put to work

• Individual – one-on-one• Variable – no timetables• Random – on your own• Investiture – accepts

and confirms existing characteristics


How Organization Cultures Form

Success in employee socialization depends on management’s selection of socialization

method and the closeness of new employees’ values to those of the

organization


How Employees Learn Culture

Culture is transmitted to employees through:

Stories – provide explanations

Rituals – reinforce key values

Material Symbols – convey importance

Language – identify and segregate members


Creating an EthicalOrganizational Culture

A strong culture with high risk tolerance, low-to-moderate aggressiveness, and focuses on means as well as outcomes is most likely to shape high ethical standards

Managers must be visible role models Communicate ethical expectations Provide ethical training Visibly reward ethical acts and punish unethical

ones Provide protective mechanisms


Creating a Positive Organizational Culture

A positive culture is one that emphasizes the following:

•Building on Employee Strengths•Rewarding More Than Punishing•Emphasizing Vitality and Growth of the Employee


Global Implications

National and Organizational Cultures:• Organizations exist in a global context

• Must be aware of local and national cultures

Suggestions and Observations:• Organizations heavily dependent on foreign markets and labor

• National culture does influence organizational culture

• All managers must be culturally sensitive


Implications for Managers

• Create the culture you want when the organization is small and new

• If established culture needs to be changed, expect it to take years


Keep in Mind…

• Organizational culture is concerned with how employees perceive the culture, not whether or not they like it

• Ethical and positive organizational cultures can be created – methods differ

• National culture influences organizational culture


Summary

1. Defined organizational culture and described its common characteristics.

2. Compared the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on people and the organization.

3. Explained the factors that created and sustained an organization’s culture.

4. Showed how culture was transmitted to employees.5. Demonstrated how an ethical culture and a positive

culture could be created.6. Showed how national culture might affect the way

organizational culture is transported to a different country.

Documents

Organizational Culture