Organizational

CHAPTER

11 Culture
November 2011
Supervised by: Dr. Nayal Rashed-
Presented by: Eyad Al-Samman -
I.D.#: 201010047

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 Main issues to be covered in this
chapter:
1. What is Organizational Culture?
2. What do cultures do?
3. How to create and sustain cultures?
4. How do employees of a certain
organization learn culture?
5. What are the ways for matching people
with cultures?
6. What are the key dimensions of differences
in cultural values?
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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
1. What is Organizational Culture?
• Organizational Culture is a system
of shared meanings held by
members. This organizational
culture distinguishes the
organization from other
organizations.

Another simple definition:

• Organizational Culture is a set of
shared values that organization
members have regarding the
functioning and existence of their
organization.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
1. What is Organizational Culture?
• Characteristics that capture the essence of an
Organization’s Culture are:

Attention Defines how much importance a company

Attention. .11
to
todetail
detail allocates to precision and detail in the workplace.

Paying more attention to results rather than

Outcome
Outcome. .22 processes.
orientation
orientation

Defines how much should be the management

People
People. .33 focus on its people; as “associates” or as “Work
orientation
orientation machines.”

Every organization formulates the level of

aggressiveness with which their employees work.
Aggressiveness
Aggressiveness. .44 For example, Microsoft is known for its
aggression and market dominating strategies.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
 (Continued)

1. What is Organizational Culture?

• Characteristics that capture the essence of an
Organization’s Culture are:

This characteristic defines how much room

5. business allows for innovation. Places where you
5.Innovation
Innovation
and
andRisk
Risktaking
taking take a risk, the chances of returns are higher.
Same goes for innovation.

6. Synergistic teams help giving better results as

6.Team
Team
orientation
orientation compared to individual efforts.

Some organizations are focused on making

themselves and their operations stable rather
7.
7.Stability
Stability than looking at unselective or unsystematic
growth.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
1. What is Organizational Culture?
• Benefits of Strong culture

- Initially, strong culture was conceived as a consistent set of beliefs, values,

assumptions, and practices embraced by members of the organization.

- Some noted that strong culture

is more important for Motivation
Motivation
organizations than others. For
example, volunteer organizations
need to stress on culture more Solidarity Sameness
Solidarity Strong
Strong Sameness
than business organizations. and
and
pervasive
pervasive
culture
culture
- Strong culture has core values
which are intensely held and Co
y Com
widely shared. It increases tittity mm
mitm
n
e n itme
behavioural consistency. IIdde nt
ent

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
1. What is Organizational Culture?
• Disadvantages of Strong culture

- The internalized controls associated with a strong

culture result in individuals placing unconstrained
demands with themselves and acting as a barrier to
adaptation and change.

- A strong culture contribute to a displacement of goals

or sub-goals formation. This means that behavioural
ways of doing things become important and overshadow
the original purpose of organization.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
1. What is Organizational Culture?
• Culture vs. Formalization

- Formalization is the extent to which rules and procedures are followed in

an organization.
leads to
Culture Formalization
Formalizationof
of
Culture
behaviour
behaviour

Strong
Strong Behavioural
Behavioural
Culture
Culture increases consistency
consistency

- Behavioural consistency results in the predictability of how employees

perform jobs.

- Opponents say that Behavioural consistency leads to inflexibility where

employees may resist changes.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
1. What is Organizational Culture?
• Organizational Culture vs. National Culture

National
National Organizational
Organizational
Culture
Culture Culture
Culture

-Has a LESS IMPACT on

-Has a GREAT IMPACT
employees.
on employees.

- Different in nature of
- Different in nature of
national culture.
organizational culture.

- Originates from
- Originates from
consistency in
consistency in values.
practices.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
 1. What is Organizational Culture?
• Culture and its effect on Organization

Cultural
Cultural
Savvy
Savvy - It is a working knowledge of the
cultural variables affecting
management decisions.

- It is a critical skill for managing

people in other countries.

Cultural
Cultural
- It is a sense of awareness Sensitivity
Sensitivity
(Cultural
and honest caring about (CulturalEmpathy
Empathy) )
another individual’s culture.

- It requires to understand and

empathize the perspective of
those living in other and very
One of many faces of cultures
different societies. in the World

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
2. What do Cultures Do?
• Functions of culture within an organization:

Culture
Culture has
has a
a boundary-
boundary-
defining
defining role.
role.
Culture creates distinctions between one
organization and others.
1

Culture
Culture conveys
conveys a a sense
sense
of
of identity.
identity.
This sense of identity is conveyed to the
organization members.
2

Culture
Culture facilitates
facilitates the
the
Commitment is for something larger than
generation
generation ofof
one’s individual self-interest.
3
commitment.
commitment.

Culture is the social glue that provides

Culture
Culture enhances
enhances social
social
system
system stability.
stability. appropriate standards for what employees 4
should say and do.

Culture
Culture serves
serves as
as a
a
This mechanism guides and shapes
sense-making
sense-making and
and
attitudes and behaviours of employees.
5
control
control mechanism.
mechanism.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
2. What do Cultures Do?
• Culture as a liability:
-Culture is a liability when shared values are not in agreement
with those that will foster the organization’s effectiveness in a
dynamic surrounding environment.

Environment
Environment is
is -Organisation’s deep-rooted culture
dynamic
dynamic and
and is
is may no longer be appropriate.
undergoing
undergoing rapid
rapid
change,
change,

-Consistency of behaviour is an asset

to an organisation.
- Consistency of behaviour may,
Environment
Environment is
is however, burden the organisation
stable,
stable, and make it difficult to respond to
changes in the environment.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
2. What do Cultures Do?
• Cultural Variables:
-Individual cultural variables can be classified in eight
categories that form the subsystems in any society.

1 Kinship
Kinship 2 Education
Education

The
The formal
formal or
or informal
informal
A
A kinship
kinship system
system is
is adopted
adopted education
education affects
affects expectations
expectations
by
by a given society to guide
a given society to guide of people in workplace,
of people in workplace,
family
family relationship.
relationship. training
training programs
programs andand
leadership
leadership styles.
styles.

3 Economy
Economy 4 Politics
Politics
A
A nation’s
nation’s economic
economic system
system System
System of
of government
government in in a
a
powerfully
powerfully influences
influences society
society imposes
imposes varying
varying
organizational
organizational processes
processes such
such constraints
constraints on
on the
the
as
as distribution,
distribution, incentive
incentive organisation
organisation and
and its
its freedom
freedom
systems
systems and
and repatriation
repatriation of
of to
to do
do business.
business.
capital.
capital.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
 (Continued)

2. What do Cultures Do?

• Cultural Variables:
-Individual cultural variables can be classified in eight
categories that form the subsystems in any society.

5 Religion
Religion 6 Association
Association

Many
Many types
types of
of social
social
Spiritual
Spiritual beliefs
beliefs of
of a
a society
society associations
associations arise in cultures
arise in cultures
are
are powerful that they go
powerful that they go out
out of
of formal
formal and
and informal
informal
beyond
beyond other
other cultural
cultural aspects.
aspects. groups.
groups.

7 Health
Health 8 Recreation
Recreation

System
System ofof healthcare
healthcare affects
affects Recreation
Recreation is
is the
the manner
manner inin
employee
employee productivity
productivity and
and which
which people
people use
use their
their leisure
leisure
attitudes
attitudes toward
toward physical
physical time
time and
and attitudes
attitudes toward
toward
fitness.
fitness. leisure.
leisure.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
 3. Creating and Sustaining

• Cultures?
How does a culture begin?
-Ultimate source of an organisation’s culture can be traced to its founders
who have a major impact on the organisation’s early culture.

- Culture creation process occurs in three ways:

Founders only hire and keep employees who

First
First Way
Way
think and feel the way they do.

Founders instruct and socialize these

Second
Second Way
Way employees to their way of thinking and
feeling.

Founders’ own behaviour acts as a role

Third
Third Way
Way model which encourages employees to adopt
their beliefs, values and assumptions.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
 3. Creating and Sustaining

• Cultures?
Keeping a Culture Alive:
-Practices within the organisation which
maintain the culture include:
1 The
The selection
selection process.
process.

2 Performance
Performance evaluation
evaluation criteria.
criteria.

3 Training
Training and
and career
career development
development
activities.
activities.

4 Promotion
Promotion procedures
procedures ensuring
ensuring that
that
employees integrate with the culture.
employees integrate with the culture.

5 Rewarding
Rewarding employees
employees who
who support
support
culture.
culture.

6 Punishing
Punishing employees
employees who
who challenging
challenging
culture.
culture.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
 3. Creating and Sustaining (Continued)

• Cultures?
Keeping a Culture Alive.

- Forces that sustain a culture:

1 Actions
Actions of
of top
top management
management

2 Selection
Selection practices
practices

3 Socialization
Socialization methods
methods

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
 3. Creating and Sustaining

• Cultures?
Hofstede’s Value Dimensions:

-Hofstede proposed a framework for understanding how values underlie

organizational behaviour.

-Hofstede proposes four value dimensions as follows:

The degree to which a society expects there

1 Power
Power distance
distance
to be differences in the levels of power.

Uncertainty
Uncertainty Extent to which people in a society feel
2 avoidance
avoidance threatened by ambiguous situations.

Individualism Two concepts are unrelated. Individualism is the

Individualism vs.
vs.
3 Collectivism
Collectivism tendency of people to look after themselves and
family only and neglect society.

Masculinity Masculine values include materialism and lack of

Masculinity vs.
vs.
4 Femininity
Femininity concern for others. Feminine values include
concerns for others and quality of life.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture
 Thank You for
Your Attention …

www.facebook.com/eyadnalsamman
OUM-Yemen 2011

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