Organisational Culture 4

ORGANISATIONAL
Learning Objectives
I. What exactly is culture?
i. Understand culture using metaphors.

II. Understanding organisational culture.
i. Why organisational culture matters?
III. Explain and use techniques to evaluate organisational culture.
i. Cultural web
ii. Cultural iceberg
iii. Handy’s four culture types
iv. Competing values framework
© 2015 Berlin Asong. All rights reserved. 2

Learning Objectives
IV. How is organisational culture created and preserved?
V. Can organisational culture be changed?
VI. Discuss cases of cultural blunders.
i. What are the causes of cultural blunders?
ii. How to minimise cultural blunders.

You are a product of your environment.

?
Culture
It’s the collective programming
of the mind which distinguishes
a member of one group from another.
Geert Hofstede 1997

Human
mind
The centre of consciousness
that generates thoughts, feelings, ideas, and perceptions,
and stores knowledge and memories.

“Collective programming of the mind…”
What does
this imply?
1
Is culture a set of
“instructions” installed in the
minds of people?

If so…
What are these

instructions? Who writes
(wrote) them? And why?

2
If culture distinguishes a
group of people from another…
Is culture
perceivable?

Suggestingculture is
identity.
3
Culture [is] installed

in the minds of people…

…then culture is
unperceivable & hard
to articulate.

Culture is a set of values & norms
shared by a group of people.
values
Principles or standards
that people use in directing
their behaviours.

Describe to the person
next to you the qualities
you want for a friend?

normal
Put simply, norms =
.
To whom?

values
A set of shared
understandings
assumptions, and
goals that are learned from earlier
generations, imposed by present members
of a society, and passed on to succeeding
generations.

Summary
Culture is:
perceivable
unperceivable
Comprises of:
norms
values
practices
Difficult to:
© 2015 Berlin Asong. All rights reserved.

articulate 26
1
Culture is the software

of the mind.
Culture comprises
of codes; set auto-pilot
behaviours; it has a pattern.

Culture is like an
Iceberg.

Visible elements of culture
Invisible elements of culture

Hellriegel, D. and Slocum, J. W. (2008), “Organisational Behaviour”. 13th edition, Cengage Learning, London, p. 479.

3
Culture as values

Social
system
Economic Legal
system system
Cultural
Value
Systems
Political Education
system system
Religion

4
Culture
as a web.

Used to convey its
intricacy & complexity.

Relational but Distinct Environments of Cultures
InternationalCulture
NationalCulture
OrganisationCulture
Occupational
Culture
Personal
Culture

International Culture

National Culture

Organisation Culture

Occupational Culture

Personal Culture

The practices of my firm
contradict my personal
values and beliefs.

Is your “personal culture”
aligned with the “national
culture” of your country?

Organisational
Culture
Shared values, principles, traditions and
practices that influence the way organisational
members act, and distinguish the organisation
from other organisations.
Robbins, S. P. and Coulter, M. (2012) “Management”. 11th edition, Prentice Hall: London p. 52”

norms,values
Set of
and practices to which
people in an organisation are exposed.

VALUES NORMS
…are reflected on…
PRACTICES
PRACTICES
The organisation treats employees, customers, shareholders
and society; its services and products; its future ambitions, etc.
PRACTICES
Barclays fined £290
for rigging LIBOR rate.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jun/27/barclays-chief-bob-diamond-bonus-fine
3 July 2012
Source: insurance-center.org
Former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond resigned amid libor scandal
PPI mis-selling, LIBOR scandal,
HSBC money laundering scandal
have brought renewed attention to
banking practices of UK’s banks.

Organisational culture is “the way we do things around here”.
Adapted from Matsumoto, D. (1996) Culture and Psychology. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

How can we determine the
culture of an organisation?

How To Determine the Culture of an Organisation
Rituals.
Policies.
Artefacts.
Annual reports.
Products/services.
Stories (current, ex-employees, customers, founders).
Organisational structure.
Publications on website.
Covert observation.
Overt observation.
Minutes.
Etc. 55
Too often the culture that an organisation communicates through
its annual reports, policy handbook, speeches, websites and media
interviews do not reflect the “way things get done around here”.

You got to be inside
to see, feel, smell, touch
and hear it, and make
sense of it.

Sites like Glassdoor.com and Indee.com allow current
and ex-employees to write reviews about the managers,
practices, systems, rituals, etc. of organisations.

However, symbolic
objects & activities can yield
clues to a firm’s culture.

Artefacts

Rituals

What rituals can you
see from this picture?

Stories

History
Reports
Speeches
Customers’ thoughts
Employees’ thoughts
Frontline staffs
Ex-staffs
The unspoken
Etc.
Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs
Source: Greg, S. (2012). Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/opinion/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html?pagewanted=all


What do you make
of Greg’s description
of Goldman Sachs’
culture?

Other Symbolic Objects & Activities
Products
Services
Processes
Policies
Organisational structure
Decision rights
Standards
Goals
Strategy
Language
Etc.
Remember. Symbols
are not culture in themselves
but means to project the
“software of the mind”.

Why
organisational
culture matters?

1
It gives people a
sense of identity,
belonging and
security.

Think about your
first day at work for
a new employer.
How did you feel?
Did you relate with
your new co-
workers?

Do you feel
proud working
for your current
employer?
Do you feel
comfortable talking
about your job or
where you work
with friends, etc.
2
Behaviour is influenced
by one’s cultural mind-set (education,belief,needs,
aspirations,etc.)in turn influenced by ones
environment (economics,religion,laws,politics,etc.).

Goals Knowledge Interests Past Experiences
Values Norms Other Info.

Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs
Virgin Group CEO Richard Branson
3
The link between

culture and organisational
performance.

Culture
 Performance

4
Culture gives character to the

organisation’s operations like HRM,
marketing, services, ethics, etc.

Used to preserve or change the culture of an organisation
A “poor culture”
can lead to staff
disengagement
and customer
dissatisfaction.
5
It affects how
work is done in an
organisation.

Tools for
Evaluating
Organisational
Culture
Diagnostic tool for
understanding and assessing the
culture of a group of people.

Cultural Web
Stories
Rituals &
Symbols
Routines
The
Paradigm
Control Power
Systems Structures
Organisation
al Structure
Gerry Johnson & Kevan Scholes, 1992

Stories

History
Reports
Speeches
Customers’ thoughts
Employees’ thoughts
Frontline staffs
Ex-staffs
The unspoken
Etc.
Symbols
Objects,
Awards
Events,
Acts
People,
Etc.
that convey meanings.
Rituals & Routines
Activities or
events that reinforce
people’s way of life.

Organisational structure
Has it got a flat, tall,

organic, mechanistic, formal,
informal or hybrid structure?

Control Systems
What measures or
programmes are used to
preserve, protect & promulgate
organisational life?

Power Structures
Is power defined by one’s

expertise, performance, personality,
affiliation, resource control, etc.

Paradigm
The six elements of the cultural

web reflect the overall climate
(paradigm) inside the organisation.

Example

Example

Visible
Invisible

Over 90% of an
organisation’s culture is
invisible, even to its
members.

How do you study
something that’s
hard to articulate &
has no form?

Charles Handy
(1985)–
Organisational Behaviour
Academic; Social Philosopher
1932-

Handy’s Four Dimensions

Power culture
Power rests in the

hands of a central figure
or group of individuals.

The Web

One person,
division unit or
group overshadows
the entire firm.

Obedience
to the central
commander(s).

Dissenting views
are ignored, contained
or punished.

Ability to
influence
is based on one’s
position on the
organisational
chart.

Job promotion is
sometimes based on
longevity in service, not
expertise, meritocracy.
The success of
a power-culture
organisation
depends on the
effectiveness of
the power-
holder.

What’s good
and bad about a
power culture
organisation?

Strengths

1
Values & practices

that contribute
to organisational
effectiveness can
be preserved.
Source: dadcando.com

2
Sometimes,
work gets done
effectively &
speedily. Why?
Source: developingyouthspeed.com

Weaknesses

1
Dissenting views
are ignored, contained
or punished.

…employees feel isolated
from important decisions.

May stifle employee
creativity & emotional
connection with the organisation.

2
Job promotion may be based

on longevity in service, not
expertise, meritocracy.
Source: onetip.net

3
Slow to respond to
environmental changes.
How?

Strong power
culture can be a barrier
to needed change.

4
Strong power
culture can foster
bad practices.
Workplace inequality & discrimination
Exploitation of customers & employees
Corruption & accounting fraud
Excessive risk-taking
complacency
Etc.
Role Culture

“The Greek temple”

Senior management
Pillar Pillar Pillar Pillar

(department) (department) (department) (department)

Senior management

(accounting) (marketing) (HRM) (R&D)

Senior management

(division) (division) (division) (division)

Senior
management & Senior management
department or
Pilar Pilar Pilar Pilar
divisional heads (division) (division) (division) (division)
share power.

Ability to
influence
is based on one’s
position on the
organisational
chart.

Clearly defined
roles, rules, work
procedures.
Bending the rules
is less welcome.

High emphasis
on staffs to develop
specialised competence.

Job promotion
may be predictable.
Source: onetip.net

I’m comfortable
working in a role
culture organisation
because…

1

2
High emphasis
on staffs to develop
specialised competence.

Weaknesses

1
It may…
encourage staff to
think inside the box.

2
Highly departmentalised
structures may reduce the flow
of information and resource sharing.

3
Excessive
rules can cripple
employees’
effectiveness.
Source: rachelmariestone.com

Task culture

How can we get
the job done?

Resources & competences
are pulled from all available
areas to get the job done.

Jones, Mills, Weatherbee, & Hills (2006) Organizational Theory, Design, and Change,

Ability to influence
is based on one’s
expertise and inputs.

Greater cross-
departmental
and divisional
collaboration and
communication.

Adapting fast to
new events is highly
important to task culture
organisations.

Employees’ roles
and responsibilities
change frequently.

Excessive focus on task
may be at the expense of
employee’s wellbeing.

Person culture

It aspires to serve the needs &
interests of individuals
working for that organisation.

This is typical of…
…small-sized firms like

consultancies, tech start-ups,
private healthcare and
…also some family-owned businesses.
law firms.

Power is
evenly shared
amongst
members.

Individuals
work for
themselves,
not the firm.

…highly
motivated
employees;
carrying a
sense of
pride in their
work.
Personal
identities make
up the overall
culture of the firm
The risk of conflict
among members over
organisational matters.
In practice, these
cultures rarely exist
in their purest form.

Some commentators describe
News Corp as a power-culture
company steeped in the ideals of
its founder Rupert Murdoch.
Source: economist.com
…News Corp is equally
a task and role culture company.
Hence, it has a hybrid culture.

What type of culture is your organisation:
Power?
Task?
Role?
Person?
Hybrid?
Classrooms have cultures. Describe
your class culture using Handy’s
dimensions of organisational culture.
Does the culture constrain you? How?
Power Task Role Person

Is the organisation designed to
adapt to its external environment or
to preserve its internal status quo?
InternalFocus ExternalFocus

The assumption is, preserving
the internal status quo and adapting
to a changing environment are
mutually exclusive.

Some organisations thrive better
by maintaining the internal status
quo, while others thrive by adapting
to a changing environment.

Flexibility
Is the
organisation’s
management
style controlling
or flexible?

Control 178
The assumption is, centralised
and decentralised managements
are mutually exclusive.

Some organisations thrive through
flexible management, while others
through controlling management.

The term flexible
management is an oxymoron
since management is all
about control.

The term controlling
management is a tautology.

However, combining
these two sets of competing
priorities like so…

Flexibility

Control 184
…four types of organisational
culture are identified.

Flexibility
Clan Adhocracy
Hierarchy Market
Kim Cameron and Robert Quinn created the CVF model

Control 186
CVF—Culture Types
Ocai-online (2012). Retrieved from www.ocai-online.com/about-the-Organizational-Culture-Assessment-Instrument-OCAI/Organizational-Culture-Types

Flexibility
Clan Adhocracy
Hierarchy Market
Kim Cameron and Robert Quinn created the CVF model

Control 188
How is
organisational
culture created
& preserved?

Col. Sander
KFC Founder

Top Management
Kellogg's Global Leadership Team

Arsene Wenger
Arsenal FC Manager

HR recruitment & selection policies

Used to preserve or change the culture of an organisation
Induction programmes

Socialisation

Reward

Punishment

“Organisational Behaviour & Analysis”, 4th Ed, Derek Rollinson, 2008

…that depends on your
definition & interpretation
of culture.

…can be changed.
…might change overtime.
…might not change.

However, some
aspects of organisational
culture decay over time.

Cultural
Blunders
beef oil in India.
GM launched a car,
“ Chevy Nova ”
in Latin American. “No
it
va” in Spanish means “
won’t go”.

Ford's Pinto flopped in
Brazil. The company
found out that Pinto
was Brazilian slang for
“tiny male genitals”.

German
shoppers
loathed Wal-
Mart store
greeters.

In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi
slogan “Come alive with the Pepsi
Generation” came out as “Pepsi will bring
your ancestors back from the dead.”

In Chinese, the Kentucky Fried
Chicken slogan “finger-lickin’ good”
came out as “eat your fingers off.”

Why these
cultural blunders
are committed?

1
Lack of cultural
awareness & literacy.

"Okay" "It's a secret" "Crazy"
"Vulgar gesture" "Very nosey" "Very clever"

2
Lack of due diligence

Assuming the planet Jupiter
was a country you planned to
visit next month. What due
diligence would you perform?

3
Ethnocentrism: the tendency

to “superioritise” one’s own
culture over that of others.

My-culture-is-superior
mentality.

4
Culture is complex.
It’s hard to grasp all its
shades and contours.

20 minutes
What can managers

do to reduce the commission
of cultural blunders?

Organisational Culture 4

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ORGANISATIONAL

I. What exactly is culture?

i. Understand culture using metaphors.

i. Why organisational culture matters?

III. Explain and use techniques to evaluate organisational culture.

ii. Cultural iceberg

iii. Handy’s four culture types

iv. Competing values framework

© 2015 Berlin Asong. All rights reserved. 2

IV. How is organisational culture created and preserved?

V. Can organisational culture be changed?

VI. Discuss cases of cultural blunders.

i. What are the causes of cultural blunders?

ii. How to minimise cultural blunders.

© 2015 Berlin Asong. All rights reserved. 3

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What are these

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Culture [is] installed

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Culture is the software

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Invisible elements of culture

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Source: Greg, S. (2012). Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/opinion/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html?pagewanted=all

© 2015 Berlin Asong. All rights reserved. 68