Organizational Culture

Organizational Culture
• Organizational culture is the pattern of
shared values, beliefs and assumptions
considered to be the appropriate way to
think and act within an organization.
• Organizational culture refers to a system of
shared meaning held by members that
distinguishes the organization from other
organizations.
Characteristics of Organizational
Culture
o Innovation and risk taking. The degree to which
employees are encouraged to be innovative and take
risks.
o Attention to detail. The degree to which employees
are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and
attention to detail.
o Outcome orientation. The degree to which
management focuses on results or outcomes rather
than on the techniques and processes used to achieve
them.
Characteristics of Organizational
Culture
o People orientation. The degree to which
management decisions take into consideration the
effect of outcomes on people within the
organization.
o Team orientation. The degree to which work
activities are organized around teams rather than
individuals.
o Aggressiveness. The degree to which people are
aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing.
 Characteristics of Organizational
Culture
o Stability. The degree to which organizational
activities emphasize maintaining the status quo
in contrast to growth.
 Contrasting Organization
Cultures
Organization A
• Managers must fully document
all decisions.
• Creative decisions, change, and risks
are not encouraged.
• Extensive rules and regulations exist
for all employees.
• Productivity is valued over employee
morale.
• Employees are encouraged to stay
within their own department.
• Individual effort is encouraged.
Organization B
• Management encourages and
rewards risk-taking and change.
• Employees are encouraged to
“run with” ideas, and failures are
treated as“learning experiences.
”
• Employees have few rules and
regulations to follow.
• Productivity is balanced with treating
its people right.
• Team members are encouraged to interact
with people at all levels and functions.
• Many rewards are team based.
 Do Organizations Have Uniform
Cultures?
• Organizational culture represents a common
perception held by the organization members.

• Core values or dominant (primary) values are

accepted throughout the organization.
– Dominant culture
– Subcultures
How Organizational Culture
Forms

Top
Philosophy management
of Selection Organization's
organization's criteria culture
founders
Socialization
 Keeping a Culture Alive
• Selection
• Top Management
• Socialization
 How Employees Learn Culture
Culture is transmitted to employees in a number of forms,
most common are:
i. Stories
ii. Organizational Heroes
iii.Rituals and Ceremonies
iv.Material symbols
v. Language
 How Employees Learn Culture
i) Stories:
Stories typically contain a narrative of
significant events or people including such
things as the organization’s founders, rules
breaking, reactions to past mistakes, and so
forth
 How Employees Learn Culture
ii) Organizational Heroes
Top Management and prominent leaders of the
organization become the role models and a
personification of an organization’s culture. Their
behavior and example become a reflection of the
organization’s philosophy and helps to mould the
behavior of organizational members.
 How Employees Learn Culture
iii) Rituals and Ceremonies
Corporate rituals are repetitive sequences of activities that
express and reinforce the values of the organization, what
goals are most important, and which people are important
and which ones are superfluous. Ceremonies and rituals
reflect such activities that are enacted repeatedly on
important occasions. Members of the organization who have
achieved success are recognized and rewarded on such
occasions.
- Rewards to employees on founders’ day
- Gold medals to students on convocations
 How Employees Learn Culture
iv) Material Symbols:
symbols communicate organizational culture by
unspoken messages. When you walk into different
businesses, do you get a “feel” for the place –
formal, casual, fun, serious, and so forth? These
feelings you get demonstrate the power of material
symbols in creating an organization’s personality.
 How Employees Learn Culture
v) Language:
Many organizations and subunits within them use
language to help members identify with the
culture, attest to their acceptance of it, and help
preserve it. Unique terms describe equipment,
officers, key individuals, suppliers, customers, or
products that relate to the business
 Suggestions for Changing
Culture
• Have top-management people become positive
role models, setting the tone through their
behavior.
• Create new stories, symbols, and rituals to replace
those currently exist.
• Select, promote, and support employees who
espouse the new values that are sought.
• Redesign socialization processes to align with the
new values.
 Suggestions for Changing
Culture (cont’d)
• Change the reward system to encourage
acceptance of a new set of values.
• Shake up current subcultures through transfers,
job rotation, and/or terminations.
• Work to get peer group consensus through
utilization of employee participation and creation
of a climate with a high level of trust.
The End