Chapter (5)

Values, Attitudes, Emotions, and

Culture: The Manager as a Person
Lecture (7)

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 Chapter (5)
Values, Attitudes, Emotions, and Culture: The Manager as a Person
Introduction
Personality is a way of understanding why all managers and employees,
as individuals, characteristically think and behave in different ways.
However, when people belong to the same organization, they tend to share
certain beliefs and values that lead them to act in similar ways. This is
because of they share the same culture.
In the following section will cover the different aspects of organizational
culture:
First: Defining the organizational culture
Organizational culture:
It is defined as the shared set of beliefs, expectations, values, norms,
and work routines that influence how individuals, groups, and teams
interact with one another and cooperate to achieve organizational
goals. Strong organizational culture reflects the personality of the
organization because it influences the way its members behave.
Second: The role of managers in organizational culture:
While all members of an organization can contribute to developing and
maintaining organizational culture, the managers and specifically the
founder plays an important role in creating organizational culture.
Schneider developed a model to explain this role called attraction-
selection-attrition (ASA) framework.
It posits that when founders hire employees for their new ventures, they
tend to be attracted to and choose employees whose personalities are
similar to their own. These similar employees are more likely to stay
within the organization; and have similar personalities that shape the
organizational culture.
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ASA has been criticized for such similarity in a way that similar people
tend to view conditions and events in similar ways and thus can be
resistant to change. Moreover, organizations benefit from a diversity
of perspectives rather than similarity in perspectives.
Third: Factors affecting the organizational culture:
Organizational culture is maintained and transmitted to organizational
members through the values of the founder, the process of socialization,
ceremonies and rites, and stories and language.

Values of founder Socialization

Organizational
culture

Ceremonies & Stories and

Rites Language

A) Values of founder
Founders of an organization can have profound and long-lasting effects
on organizational culture through their terminal and instrumental
values; which have a substantial influence on the values, norms, and
behavior that develop over time within the organization.
After that managers quickly learn from the founder what values and
norms are appropriate in the organization and thus what is desired of them.
Subordinates imitate the style of the founder and, in turn, transmit their

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values and norms to their subordinates. Gradually, over time, the
founder’s values and norms permeate the organization.
Founder’s personal values affect an organization’s competitive
advantage. For example, McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc insisted from
the beginning on high standards of customer service and cleanliness at
McDonald’s restaurants; these became core sources of McDonald’s
competitive advantage. Similarly, Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft,
pioneered certain cultural values in Microsoft. Employees are expected to
be creative and to work hard, but they are encouraged to dress informally
and to personalize their offices.
B) Socialization
Over time, organizational members learn from each other which values
are important in an organization and the norms that specify appropriate
and inappropriate behaviors. Eventually, organizational members behave
in accordance with the organization’s values and norms—often without
realizing they are doing so. This happened because of organizational
socialization
Organizational socialization: The process by which newcomers learn an
organization’s values and norms and acquire the work behaviors
necessary to perform jobs effectively.
C) Ceremonies and Rites
Another way in which managers can create or influence organizational
culture is by developing organizational ceremonies and rites. They are
formal events that represent incidents of importance to the
organization as a whole.
The most common rites that organizations use to transmit cultural norms
and values to their members are rites of passage, of integration, and of
enhancement.

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 Rites of passage determine how individuals enter, advance within, and
leave the organization. The socialization programs developed by military
organizations (such as the U.S. Army) or by large accountancy and law
firms are rites of passage. Likewise, the ways in which an organization
prepares people for promotion or retirement are rites of passage.

Rites of integration, such as shared announcements of organizational

successes, office parties, and company cookouts, build and reinforce
common bonds among organizational members. A company’s annual
meeting also may be used as a ritual of integration, offering an opportunity
to communicate organizational values to managers, other employees, and
shareholders.
Rites of enhancement, such as awards dinners, newspaper releases, and
employee promotions, let organizations publicly recognize and reward
employees’ contributions and thus strengthen their commitment to
organizational values.
Organizational Rites
Type of Rite Example of Rite Purpose

Rite of passage Induction and basic training Learn and internalize norms
and values
Rite of integration Office Christmas party Build common norms and
values
Rite of enhancement Presentation of annual award Motivate commitment to
norms and values

D) Stories and language

Another way of communicating the organizational culture is through
stories and language; whether fact or fiction about organizational heroes
and their actions that provide important clues about values and norms.

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Such stories can reveal the kinds of behaviors that are valued by the
organization. At the heart of the rich culture at McDonald’s are hundreds
of stories that organizational members tell about founder Ray Kroc. Most
of these stories focus on how Kroc established the strict operating values
and norms that are at the heart of McDonald’s culture. Kroc was dedicated
to achieving perfection in McDonald’s quality, service, cleanliness, and
value for money, and these four central values permeate McDonald’s
culture.
For example, an often retold story describes what happened when Kroc
and a group of managers from the Houston region were touring various
restaurants. One of the restaurants was having a bad day operationally.
Kroc was incensed about the long lines of customers, and he was furious
when he realized that the products customers were receiving that day were
not up to his high standards.
To address the problem, he jumped up and stood on the front counter to
get the attention of all customers and operating crew personnel. He
introduced himself, apologized for the long wait and cold food, and told
the customers they could have freshly cooked food or their money back—
whichever they wanted. As a result, the customers left happy; and when
Kroc checked on the restaurant later, he found that his message had gotten
through to its managers and crew—performance had improved.
Because spoken language is a principal medium of communication in
organizations, the characteristic slang or jargon—that is, organization-
specific words or phrases—that people use to frame and describe
events provides important clues about norms and values.
For example, “McLanguage,” is prevalent at all levels of McDonald’s. A
McDonald’s employee described as having “ketchup in his or her blood”
is someone who is truly dedicated to the McDonald’s way—someone who
has been completely socialized to its culture.

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The concept of organizational language encompasses not only spoken
language but how people dress, the offices they occupy, the cars they
drive, and the degree of formality they use when they address one
another.
For example, casual dress reflects and reinforces Microsoft’s
entrepreneurial culture and values. Formal business attire supports the
conservative culture found in many banks, which emphasizes the
importance of conforming to organizational norms such as respect for
authority and staying within one’s prescribed role.
Fourth: Culture and managerial actions:
Culture shapes and controls the behavior of all employees, including
managers themselves. It influences how managers perform their four main
functions: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
A) Planning
Top managers in an organization with an innovative culture are likely to
encourage lower-level managers to participate in the planning process
and develop a flexible approach to planning. They are likely to be willing
to listen to new ideas and to take risks involving the development of new
products. In contrast, top managers in an organization with conservative
values are likely to emphasize formal top-down planning, which can
significantly slow decision making.
B) Organizing
Managers in innovative cultures are likely to try to create an organic
structure—one that is flat, with few levels in the hierarchy, and one in
which authority is decentralized so employees are encouraged to work
together to solve ongoing problems. In contrast, managers in a
conservative culture are likely to create a well-defined hierarchy of
authority and establish clear reporting relationships so employees know
exactly whom to report to and how to react to any problems that arise.

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C) Leading
In an innovative culture, managers are likely to lead by example,
encouraging employees to take risks and experiment. They are
supportive regardless of whether employees succeed or fail. In contrast,
managers in a conservative culture are likely to use management by
objectives and to constantly monitor subordinates’ progress toward
goals, overseeing their every move.
D) Controlling
The ways in which managers evaluate, and take actions to improve,
performance differ depending on whether the organizational culture
emphasizes formality and caution or innovation and change. Managers
who want to encourage risk taking, creativity, and innovation are less
concerned about employees’ performing their jobs in a specific,
predetermined manner and are more concerned about employees’ being
flexible and taking the initiative to come up with ideas for improving
performance. Managers in innovative cultures are also more concerned
about long-term performance than short-term targets because they
recognize that real innovation entails much uncertainty that necessitates
flexibility. In contrast, managers in cultures that emphasize caution and
maintenance of the status quo often set specific, difficult goals for
employees, frequently monitor progress toward these goals, and develop
a clear set of rules that employees are expected to adhere to.
End of chapter (5)