Organizational Culture & Socialization

Chapter 8
Learning Objectives

LO1 Describe organizational culture, along with its

importance and functions.

LO2 Explain how to diagnose an organizational

culture in terms of its components.

LO3 Discuss the assets and liabilities of strong

cultures and the implications of weak cultures.
Learning Objectives

LO4 Discuss the contributors to an organization’s

culture.

LO5 Describe the socialization process and the

stages of organizational socialization.

LO6 Describe the main methods of socialization and

how newcomers can be proactive in their
socialization.
Organizational Culture
 The shared social knowledge within an organization
regarding the rules, norms, and values that shape the
attitudes and behaviours of its employees (Edgar
Shein, 2004)

 Distinguishes the organization

from other organizations.
Culture and Subcultures
 Can an organization have several cultures?
 An organization can have several cultures or what are
known as subcultures.
 Subcultures are smaller cultures that develop within a
larger organizational culture that are based on differences
in training, occupation, or departmental goals.
 Effective organizations develop an overarching culture to
manage differences between subcultures.
Why do organizations care about organizational culture?
THE RISE & FALL OF A CANADIAN TELECOM GIANT
- Multinational telecommunications & data networking equipment
manufacturer headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario.

- Founded in Montreal, Quebec in 1895 (Northern Electric &

Manufacturing Co.)

- At its peak, employed 94,500 people worldwide & accounted for more
than 1/3 of the total valuation of all the companies listed on the
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)

- Declared bankruptcy in 2009 - largest bankruptcy in Canadian history.

Pensioners, shareholders & former employees incurred enormous
losses

- Nortel executives continued to draw "retention bonuses"

totaling $190M US during the eight-year post-
bankruptcy period.
 DID CULTURE KILL NORTEL?

“The collapse of telecommunications giant Nortel Networks Corp. was

caused by ‘a culture of arrogance and even hubris’ that led to numerous
management errors and weakened the firm’s ability to adapt to changing
customer needs in a fast-paced industry, according to a new in-depth
analysis of the company’s final decade of operations.”
From: “An Overview of the Demise of Nortel Networks and Key Lessons Learned: Systemic
effects in environment, resilience and black-cloud formation,”., 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n8jF5uZFEA&ab_channel=GlobalNewsGlobalNew
s

Auditor Deloitte “followed accounting standards…”

What does an organizational culture accomplish?
 Guides and shapes the attitudes & behaviour of employees
 Provides standards for what employees should say or do
 Conveys a sense of identity for organization members
 Builds cohesiveness, loyalty, and organizational commitment
 Encourages goal alignment among members
 Stimulates a high level of motivation via shared values
 Can provide control without the oppressive effects of bureaucracy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F8ndYyfFSY&ab_channel=DWNewsD
WNewsVerified

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uljMgnYcMU&ab_channel=BBCNewsB
BCNewsVerified


IS THE RESULT OF
A FEW CORRUPT
INDIVIDUALS OR IS
IT CONNECTED TO
ORGANIZATIONAL
CULTURE?
Consequences of organizational culture?
 HOW DO YOU “DIAGNOSE” AN
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE?

I.E., WHAT ARE ITS COMPONENTS?

Artifacts :
These are visible
Cultural Levels

Espoused Values:
These are less visible but
can be talked about

Underlying Assumptions:
These are invisible & rarely
questioned

KNOW YOUR ORGANIZATION’S CULTURE….

Artifacts – visible symbols of
culture in the physical
and social work environment

Values - Stable, long-lasting Levels of

beliefs about what is important Organizational
(reflected in the way individuals
behave) Culture

Assumptions – deeply held

beliefs that guide behavior and tell
members of an organization how
to perceive & think about things
Artifacts - The manifestations of an organization’s
culture that employees can easily see or talk about

 Stories
 Anchor the present into the past, provide explanations & legitimacy
for current practices
 Rituals
 Repetitive sequences of activities that express & reinforce key
values of the organization
 Material Symbols
 Acceptable attire, office size, office furnishings, perks that convey to
employees who is important in the organization
 Language
 Jargon & special ways of expressing one’s self to indicate
membership in the organization
Artifacts of Culture ?
Artifacts – visible symbols of Levels of
culture in the physical Organizational
and social work environment
Culture

Values - Stable, long-lasting

beliefs about what is important
(reflected in the way individuals
behave)

Assumptions – deeply held

beliefs that guide behavior and tell
members of an organization how
to perceive & think about things
 Espoused Values

• The beliefs, philosophies, and norms that a company

explicitly states

• Can range from published documents, such as a

company’s vision or mission statement on its website or
annual report, to verbal statements made to employees
by executives and managers
 Espoused Values At Sick Kids
• Why is Sick Kids Hospital consistently in the top 100
Employers to work for in Canada?

• Does its culture differentiate it from other hospitals?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW5pcokxQ9s&ab_channel=SickKidsInteractive
 Espoused Values At LinkedIn
• 2008 - Jeff Weiner joined LinkedIn as President.
• 2009 - became CEO (replacing co-founder Reid Hoffman).
• During Weiner’s 11year tenure, revenue increased to over $7.5
billion from $78 million. Membership rose to approx. 675
million from 33 million.
• 2011 - became a publicly traded company.
• 2017 – Weiner played key role in Microsoft purchase of
LinkedIn for $27 billion (Microsoft’s biggest acquisition to
date).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr48dLAqRA8&ab_channel=OWN
Artifacts – visible symbols of
culture in the physical
and social work environment

Values - Stable, long-lasting Levels of

beliefs about what is important Organizational
(reflected in the way individuals
behave) Culture

Assumptions – deeply held

beliefs that guide behavior and tell
members of an organization how
to perceive & think about things
Basic Underlying Assumptions

• Taken-for-granted beliefs and philosophies that

are so ingrained that employees simply act on
them rather than questioning the validity of their
behaviour in a given situation
 Underlying Assumptions At Microsoft
• Nadella transformed Microsoft culture based on assumptions about
what is important to its workplace

• What are CEO Satya Nadella’s assumptions about innovative

workplaces?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq8rEeJ4Tak&ab_channel=FastCompanyFastCompanyVerified
 Culture Strength
• Exists when employees definitively agree about the way things
are supposed to happen within the organization (high
consensus) and when their subsequent behaviours are consistent
with those expectations (high intensity)
STRONG CULTURE AT
 e-commerce company and platform for online stores.
 founded in 2004 by Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand, and Scott Lake
 Simplified and reduced costliness of the creation of on-line
business
 Handles everything from marketing and payments to checkout &
shipping.
 When the pandemic lockdowns began, Shopify offered tools that
allowed businesses to launch online operations overnight by
converting their points-of-sale terminals into e-commerce stores.
 2020 revenue increased 86% FROM 2019 to $2.93 billion.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYiNo0fjfM&ab_channel=Glassdoor
 Strong Culture Matters: Westjet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSZD2dt3gEs&ab_channel=CTVNewsCTVNewsVerified

Pandemic and culture breakdown. Why?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrtgMCOBn3M&ab_channel=CTVNewsCTVNewsVerified
“Strong Culture” VERSUS “Weak Culture”
 In weak cultures, beliefs, values, and assumptions are less
strongly ingrained or less widely shared across the
organization.
 Weak cultures are fragmented and have less impact on
organizational members.
 Strong Cultures and Control

BECAUSE
• core values are intensely & widely shared (goal
alignment)
• high level of motivation, loyalty, cohesiveness because
of shared values by members
• provide STRONG control without the oppressive
effects of bureaucracy

• WHERE MIGHT THIS BE VERY IMPORTANT?

Do you think this is a consequence of a weak culture?

• Scandal at Concordia
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=jizXNENnITI
Liabilities of Strong Cultures

 Strong cultures can be a liability under

some circumstances:
 Resistance to change
 Culture clash
 Pathology
Is this the result of a strong or weak culture?
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngL0NCdjJSg&ab_channel=GlobalNewsGlobalNews
Contributors to the Culture
 Two key factors that contribute to the foundation and
continuation of organizational cultures:
 The founder’s role
 Socialization
Organizational Socialization
 Socialization is the process by which organizations
communicate the organization’s culture and values to new
members.
 It is a learning process in which new members must
acquire information and knowledge, change their
attitudes, and perform new behaviours.
 The acquisition of information and knowledge is
important for newcomers to reduce their high levels of
uncertainty about their new job and organization.
Socialization
 Organizations with strong
cultures go to great pains
to expose employees to a
careful, step-by-step
socialization process.

 The socialization process

at Walt Disney exposes
employees to a careful,
step-by-step socialization
process.
Socialization Steps in Strong Cultures

 Step 1: Selecting Employees

 Step 2: Debasement/Humility building
 Step 3: Training “in the Trenches”
 Step 4: Reward and Promotion
 Step 5: Exposure to Core Culture
 Step 6: Organizational Folklore
 Step 7: Role Models
Socialization Steps in Strong Cultures

 It is the consistency among

these steps and their
mutually reinforcing
properties that make for a
strong culture.
 Disney company is a good
example of an organization
that uses many of these
steps.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRxjcw
wHeT0&ab_channel=AdventureswithAriel
AdventureswithAriel
Socialization

 Step 1—Selecting Employees.

 New employees are carefully selected to obtain those who will
be able to adapt to the existing culture.
 Realistic job previews (RJP) describe the employment
conditions including guidelines for appearance with respect to
hair length, facial hair, and quantity of jewelry.
 RJPs also allow candidates to deselect themselves (i.e., self-
selection). i.e., “Am I the right fit or not?”
Socialization

 Step 2—Debasement - (divestiture socialization tactics)

 Build humility in new hires so that they are open to the norms of
the organization.
 New cast members are socialized to embrace the company’s
values.
 Must stay in their role when on stage and can only be
themselves when off stage.
 Must follow strict guidelines with respect to their behaviour,
their dress, and their appearance.
Socialization

 Step 3—Training begins “in the trenches”

 Employees receive local training at their work site. They begin
to master one of the core areas of the organization.
 Cast members first attend Traditions class where they learn
about the Disney legacy as well as the company’s heritage,
traditions, language, symbols, and shared values.
 Must also must become familiar with the Disney language and
learn to use appropriate tone of voice and body language.
Socialization

 Step 4—Reward and Promotion.

 Reward and promotion system is carefully used to reinforce
those employees who perform well in areas that support the
values and goals of the organization.
 Managers identify cast members who have provided quality
service and ensure they are rewarded.
Socialization

 Step 5—Exposure to Core Culture.

 Cast members are continually reminded about the Disney
culture and importance of providing customers with a magical
experience.
 Exposed to the culture from the time they first apply for a job
and then throughout the hiring, socialization, and training
process.
Socialization

 Step 6—Organizational Folklore.

 Members are exposed to folklore about the organization, stories
that reinforce the nature of the culture.
 Cast members learn about the Disney culture on the first day
and are exposed to stories about Walt and the importance of
their role to the overall objective of providing guests with a
magical experience.
Socialization

 Step 7—Role Models.

 Identifying people as “fast-trackers” provides new members
with role models whose actions and views are consistent with
the culture.
 Cast members are assigned a mentor when they learn to perform
their role who also functions as a role model.
Read more about Methods of Socialization
 Organizations differ in terms of who does the socializing,
how it is done, and how much is done.
 Most organizations make use of the following methods of
socialization:
 Realistic job previews
 Employee orientation programs
 Socialization tactics
 Mentoring
Mentoring
 A mentor is an experienced or more senior person in the
organization who provides a junior person guidance and
special attention, such as giving advice and creating
opportunities to assist him or her during the early stages of
his/her career.
 Mentoring is a type of developmental relationship that
produces benefits for a protégé’s work and/or career.
 Mentoring helps develop the newcomer’s self-confidence,
sense of identity, and ability to cope
Mentoring: Research Evidence
 Mentored individuals have higher objective (e.g.,
compensation) and subjective career outcomes (e.g.,
career satisfaction).
 Mentoring is more strongly related to the subjective than
the objective career outcomes.
 The psychosocial function is more strongly related to
satisfaction with the mentoring relationship.
Women and Mentoring
 Many professional women in Canada do not have a mentor to
help coach them in their career.
 The lack of mentors and role models is a major barrier for the
career advancement of women.
 The prospective female apprentice faces more constraints
than her male counterpart.
 Cross-gender mentor-apprentice dyads are less likely to get
involved in informal after-work social activities and to see
their mentor as a role model.
 With many organizations now providing formal mentoring
programs, the barriers facing women in finding a mentor
have been removed reduced.
Race, Ethnicity, and Mentoring
 Mentors tend to select individuals who are similar to them
in terms of race and nationality as well as gender.
 Minority apprentices in cross-ethnic group mentoring
relationships report less assistance, compared to those
with same-race mentors.
 Organizations must do more to provide mentoring
opportunities for minority employees as part of their
diversity strategy.
Read more about The Socialization Process