Organization

Culture is the collective programming of

Culture the mind which distinguishes the
members of one category of people from
Definition:- another.
Culture is expressed by Handy as being:
Q.2 (a) What do you understand by the Q11(b) Briefly explain the following
term Organizational Culture? (03)[A08] concepts: (i) Organisational Culture
] (ii) Job Satisfaction .[04 marks-A12]
By this Handy means the sum total of the belief, knowledge, attitudes,
norms and customs that prevail in an organization.

Culture Difference in the Different Firms:-Distinguish one group from other:-

Every organization has its distinguish culture, one behavior which is acceptable
in one organization, may not be acceptable for another firm in the same field.
Develop Over Time:-
Culture is developed overtime but can be changed with a single event. Likewise
Death of company founder, or threat from new innovation from competitor.
Three Distinguished Definitional Aspects:
Organisational culture refers to a set of beliefs, values and attitudes that
is shared by everyone in the organisation. Within an organisation,
organisational culture defines ‘the way we do things around here’. Peters
and Waterman argued that the most excellent business organisations are
characterised by particular cultural attitudes and beliefs.

Corporate culture refers to the way in which organisations are managed.

This is different from organisational culture, which is the set of values
shared by all the employees. However, the term ‘organisational culture’
is often used with the same meaning as ‘corporate culture’.

Workgroup might also have their own distinct culture. Within the same
business organisation, there may be several workgroups, each with a
distinct ‘sub-culture’. For example, the culture in the sales department
might be very different from the culture in the accounts department,
and both these cultures may differ from the culture of the research and
development department staff.
 Culture is Deep Rooted
Q.2 (a) Define Organization Culture? SYMBOLS
A SET OF AND
(02) NORMS OF SYMBOLIC
(b) State the elements that contribute to BEHAVIOR ACTIONS
an Organizational Culture?
(04)[A03]

Organization
al Culture

A Set of Shared Values and Beliefs

 Importance of Organization Culture
Leader need to understand culture he wants to influence on
subordinates, By understanding the group culture, they can try to
influence it and encourage positive attitudes to work.
A new employee need to understand culture to be the part of
organization
Encouraging the evolution of common goals, common language and
common procedures for solving problems.
Building Character and Behavior which needed, Army, Airforce by
Stories of related issues.
Culture is a power, Pilot never leave airplane in danger, not the law
but culture,
 Captain never leave ship in danger, last man to be
rescued.
Q.5 (a) Briefly explain the term Organizational Culture and its
significance for an organization. (03-Sep-09)
 Positive & Negative Organization Culture

Your company’s culture has a profound effect on the ethical behavior of

your employees. A positive corporate culture encourages employees to
behave in responsible, ethical ways, resulting in a happy workplace,
team collaboration and employee empowerment.

Negative corporate cultures, on the other hand, promote unethical

behavior, causing a wide variety of problems.
Lack of Moral Leadership
Hyper-competitiveness for Self-Interest
Poor Discipline
Lack of Discussion Q.5 (a) Briefly explain the term Organizational
Culture and its significance for an organization.
(03)
(b) In your opinion, what characteristics are
readily apparent in an organization with firmly
entrenched positive cultural traits? (06) [A09]
 Schein- Cultural Factors
According to Schein, there are three levels of culture that members of an
organisation acquire:
the outer skin, or artefacts
the inner layer (or espoused values)
the paradigm (basic underlying assumptions). These are interrelated
and react with each other. However, aspects of culture, particularly
artefacts, are often difficult to ‘interpret’ and understand.
Artifacts:- these are the aspects of culture
that can be easily seen, e.g. the way that
people dress.

Espoused Values:- these are the strategies

and goals of an organization, including
company slogans etc.

Basic Assumptions and Values:- Far granted

Assumptions: these are difficult to identify as
they are unseen, and exist mainly at the
unconscious level.
Now employee find the last level of culture
the most difficult to understand, and lack of
understanding of the basic values is one of
the main contributors to failure when trying
to implement change.
 Charles Handy Cultural Types
Q.8 (a) What do you understand by the term Organisational Culture? (02)
(b) Explain the salient features of the following: (i) Power culture (ii)
Role culture (iii) Task culture (A16-06)
Power Culture:- Zeus
There is one major source of power and influence. This is most
likely to be the owners of the organization, who strive to maintain
absolute control over subordinates. There are few procedures and
rules of a formal kind.
Quick to response the change.
Role Culture:- Apollo
In the role culture, people describe their job by its duties, not by
its purpose. It is a bureaucratic organization, where the structure
determines the authority and responsibility of individual and
there is a strong emphasizes on hierarchy ands status.
Ideal for the large size of organizations. Old and traditional
organization also prefer it.
Task Culture:-Athena
The task culture is best seen in teams established to achieve specific
takes, e.g. Project teams. People describe their positions in terms of the
results they are achieving. Nothing is allowed to get in the way to of task
accomplishment. If individuals do not have the skills or technical
knowledge to perform a task they are retrained or replaced.
Power and respect come from individual knowledge rather than rank or
position.
Although a structure existed but it is flexible and capable of being formed
and reformed depending upon the takes in hand. Structurally this culture
is often associated with the matrix structure.
Person Culture:-Dionysius
The person culture is characterized by the fact it sexists to satisfy the
requirements of the particular individuals involved in the organization.
The person culture is to be found in a small, highly participatory
organization where individuals undertake all the duties themselves, for
example, a barrister in chambers.
Case Study:
BZ Ness Ltd is an organization with a strongly traditional outlook. It is
structured and managed according to classical principles: specialization,
the scalar chain of command, unity of command and direction. Personnel
tend to focus on their own distinct tasks, which are strictly defined and
directed. Communication is vertical, rather than lateral. Discipline is much
prized and enshrined in the rule book of the company.
John begins a new job at BZ Ness Ltd, he discovers that, unlike his
previous job, all staff members dress casually.
Q: a) From the scenario, what sort of culture does BZ Ness Ltd have, using
Harrison’s classifications?
b) According to Schien, which level of culture is john observing?
 Hofstede
Hofstede research finds out the national differences between over 100,000 of
IBM’s employees in different parts of the world. In an attempt to find aspects
of culture that might influence business behaviour.
He found five traits or cultural dimensions:
Individualism vs. Collectivism:-
Looks at the extent to which people are integrated into groups. Some cultures
are more cohesive than others. E.g. Anglo Saxon cultures are generally more
individualistic than the collectivist cultures of South American.
Uncertainty Avoidance Index:-
Deals with a society’s tolerance for uncertainty and
ambiguity e.g. France and Japan use bureaucracy to
reduce uncertainty because they dislike it.
Low uncertainty avoidance indicates a society that is
not rule-oriented and has greater tolerance for a
variety of ideas, thoughts and beliefs.
 Power Distance Index:-
the extent to which the less powerful
members of organization and institutions
accept and except that power is distributed
unequally e;g. in South American society
differences s in poser were tolerated more
than in North European cultures.
Masculinity vs. Feminity:-
A masculine role in one where the distinction
between the role so the genders are large and
males focus on work, power and success.
(toughness and the desire for material wealth and
possessions) Like in Japan while nothing like this
in Finland.
Other society care for social value, relationship
and no discrimination between male and female
(value personal relationships, belonging and the
quality of life).
Long-term orientation versus short-term orientation.
In some countries, there is a greater focus on short-term goals and
short-term results, whereas in other countries there is a greater
willingness to consider the longer term. Short-termism is a feature of
organization culture in the US and much of Western Europe.
 The Cultural Web by Johnson & Scholes
The interrelated elements which are unique to a typical large business
entity and are manifested in its cultural web comprise of the following
elements:
(i) Organisational structure –
• The organisation culture establishes relationships between the
different work groups
• It is a picture of the importance/dominance of particular
divisions/departments in achieving the overall objectives of the
corporation.
• Organization culture is influenced by organization structure.
(ii) Power structure –
• Individuals who are in a position of power influence ,
• Power is normally obtained form management position,
• Can also come form personal influence, experience and
expertise.
 The Cultural Web

(iii) Stories and myths –

• Used to describe the history of an organization
• Used to suggest importance of certain individual or events
• Passed by word of mouth
• Help to create an impression of
• How the organisation got to where it is
• It can be difficult to challenge established myths.
(iv) Routines and rituals –
• Routines are ‘the ways things are done around here’
• Individual get used to the established ways of doing things
• Rituals are special events in the ‘life’ of the organisation, which
are an expression of what is considered important.
 The Cultural Web

(iv)Symbols – Symbols can become a representation of organisation.

• Might be a car or helicopter
• An office building
• A logo or style of language printed
• A style of language or words used by member of an organisation.
(v) Control systems - In terms of achievement what is important (Critical
Success Factors) and what is not so important in terms of
• Performance measurement
• Reward measurement
• Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
Q.11 According to Johnson and Scholes, corporate entities have ‘cultural
webs’ which are unique to their particular working styles. Employees at
various tiers of the organisational hierarchy imbibe the prevailing
organisational culture which comprises of a set of beliefs, values and norms
for day-to-day working and achievement of long-term goals.
Identify and explain briefly any five inter-related elements which are
unique and can be readily observed in the cultural web of a typical large
corporate entity. (10) [S15]
 Factors that Shape Organisation Culture

A combination of factors shapes the culture of a workgroup or an

organisation.
Formal structure and size. To some extent, the culture of an
organisation is affected by its size and its formal organisation structure.
Leadership. The leaders of an organisation can influence culture, for
example by stating the values of the organisation, and its goals and
strategies.
Environment. Culture develops as a way of responding and reacting to
the environment in which the organisation operates.
Events. Culture develops as a result of many events, and how a group
or organisation has responded to those events.
 Dysfunctional Aspects of Culture
The existence of a well-defined and robust culture can bring
dysfunctional aspects to an organisation as well. The three key
dysfunctional aspects are:
1) Creating barriers to change
 Not understanding the change in the environment and not
responding accordingly, leave in traditional paradise
•– for example resistance from management to the introduction of a
‘work-life balance’ not understanding the change ‘we work to live’
from ‘we live to work’
•– Similarly an example would be the corporate administration of
Eastman Kodak who failed to respond to the market’s shift in
demand from traditional photography equipment and processing to
digital-based products.
 Dysfunctional Aspects of Culture

2) Creating barriers to diversity

Practically new technology require diverse workforce but it will
bring a big change in organization culture
3) Creating barriers to mergers and acquisition
Top management measure in terms of equity worth, operational
efficiency, technology match or synergy
While success is hidden in whether culture is matched or
unmatched.
 Strong Culture
Every member of organization
understand the quality of work is
important
Every unit of the product they
produce of same quality and nature
Worker enjoy their job and thought
standard for which they working
Love to recognize with brand name
Weak Culture
Only top management know that
quality is important
Every unit of the product they
produce is not very similar.
Worker just want to do their job
Their brand is source of earning
just.

Q. What are the characteristics of organization culture. Define

strong and weak culture? (07)[A02]