Management Principles and

Practices
---Ricky W. Griffin, 11/E

Chapter-03
Organizational Culture and Environment
Md. Mizanur Rahman
Professor of Marketing
Dhaka University
 Chapter
Chapter Outcomes
Outcomes

• Contrast the actions of managers according to the

omnipotent and symbolic views

• Discuss the characteristics and importance of

organizational culture

• Describe current issues in organizational culture

• Identify the features of the specific and general

environments

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The
The Manager:
Manager: Omnipotent
Omnipotent or
or Symbolic?
Symbolic?

• Omnipotent View of Management

̶ Managers are directly responsible for an
organization’s success or failure
̶ The quality of the organization is
determined by the quality of its managers
̶ Difficult to attribute good or poor
performance directly to their influence
on the organization

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The
The Manager:
Manager: Omnipotent
Omnipotent or
or Symbolic?
Symbolic?

• Symbolic View of Management

̶ Much of an organization’s success or failure
is due to external forces outside of
managers’ control
̶ Managers’ ability to affect outcomes is
influenced and constrained by external
factors
̶ Managers symbolize control and
influence through their action

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The
The Manager:
Manager: Omnipotent
Omnipotent or
or Symbolic?
Symbolic?

• Reality suggests a synthesis:

̶ Manager decisions and actions are constrained
because they come between organizational culture
and organizational environment

Exhibit 3–1: Parameters of Managerial Discretion

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 The
The Organization’s
Organization’s Culture
Culture

̶“The way we do things

around here.”
• A system of shared
• Values, symbols, rituals,
values, principles, myths, and practices
traditions, common
̶Implications:
beliefs, and ways of doing
• Culture is a perception
things that influence the
• Culture is shared Describe
way organizational
• Culture is descriptive Perceive
members act

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 Exhibit:
Exhibit: Dimensions
Dimensions of
of Organizational
Organizational Culture
Culture

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 Exhibit:
Exhibit: Contrasting
Contrasting Organizational
Organizational Culture
Culture

Dimension Organization A Organization B

Attention to Detail High Low
Outcome Orientation Low High
People Orientation Low High
Team Orientation Low High
Aggressiveness Low High
Stability High Low
Innovation and Risk Taking Low High

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 Strong
Strong Cultures
Cultures

• Factors influencing the

• Strong cultures
strength of culture
̶ Cultures in which key
values are deeply and ̶ Size of the organization
widely held ̶ Age of the organization
̶ A strong influence on ̶ Rate of employee turnover
organizational
̶ Strength of the original
members
culture
̶ Clarity of cultural values
and beliefs

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 Benefits
Benefits of
of aa Strong
Strong Culture
Culture

• Creates a stronger employee commitment to the

organization
• Aids in the recruitment and socialization of new
employees
• Fosters higher organizational
performance by instilling and
promoting employee initiative

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 Sources
Sources of
of Organizational
Organizational Culture
Culture

• The organization’s founder

̶ Vision and mission

• Past practices of the

organization
̶ The way things have been done

• The behavior of top

management

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 Strong
Strong Vs.
Vs. Weak
Weak Cultures
Cultures

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 How
How Employees
Employees Learn
Learn Culture
Culture

• Stories • Material Symbols

– Narratives of significant – Physical assets
events or actions
• Language
• Rituals – Acronyms and jargons,
– Repetitive sequences of phrases, and word
activities meanings

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 How
How Culture
Culture Affects
Affects Managers
Managers
• Cultural constraints on
managers
– Whatever managerial actions the
organization recognizes as proper
or improper on its behalf
– Whatever organizational activities
the organization values and
encourages
– The overall strength or weakness
of the organizational culture

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 How
How an
an Organization’s
Organization’s Culture
Culture Is
Is
Established
Established and
and Maintained
Maintained

(Norms)

(Employees
selection process)

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Managerial
Managerial Decisions
Decisions Affected
Affected by
by Culture
Culture

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 Organization
Organization Culture
Culture Issues
Issues

• Creating an ethical • Creating an Innovative

culture Culture
– Strong and ethical culture will – Challenge and involvement
have a very powerful and – Freedom
positive influence on
employee behavior – Trust and openness
• High in risk tolerance – Idea time
• Low to moderate – Playfulness/humor
aggressiveness – Conflict resolution
• Focus on means as well as
– Debates
outcomes
– Risk-taking

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 Suggestions
Suggestions for
for Managers:
Managers:
Creating
Creating aa More
More Ethical
Ethical Culture
Culture

• Be a visible role model

• Communicate ethical expectations
• Provide ethics training
• Visibly reward ethical acts and punish
unethical ones
• Provide protective mechanisms

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 Organization
Organization Culture
Culture Issues
Issues

• Creating a customer-responsive culture

– Hiring the right type of employees
– Having few rigid rules, procedures, and regulations
– Using widespread empowerment of employees
– Having good listening skills in relating to customers’
messages
– Providing role clarity to employees to reduce ambiguity
and conflict
– Having conscientious, caring employees willing to take
initiative

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 Suggestions
Suggestions for
for Managers:
Managers: Creating
Creating aa More
More
Customer-Responsive
Customer-Responsive Culture
Culture

– Hire service-contact people with the personality and

attitudes consistent with customer service
– Train customer service people continuously
– Socialize new service-contact people to the organization’s
goals and values.
– Design customer-service jobs
– Empower service-contact employees
– As the leader, convey a customer-focused vision and
demonstrate through decisions and actions
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 Organization
Organization Culture
Culture Issues
Issues

• Workplace Spirituality • Characteristics of a

– The recognition that Spiritual Organization
people have an inner – Strong sense of purpose
life…
– Focus on individual development
…that nourishes and is
– Trust and openness
nourished
– Employee empowerment
…by meaningful work
– Toleration of employees’
…that takes place in the
expression
context of community

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 Benefits
Benefits of
of Spirituality
Spirituality

• Improved employee productivity

• Reduction of employee turnover
• Stronger organizational performance
• Increased creativity
• Increased employee satisfaction
• Increased team performance
• Increased organizational performance

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 Defining
Defining the
the External
External Environment
Environment

• External environment • Components of the

– The factors and forces external environment
outside the organization – Specific environment:
that affect the External forces that have a
organization’s direct and immediate
performance impact
– General environment:
Broader forces and global
conditions

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 The
The External
External
Environment
Environment

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 How
How the
the Environment
Environment Affects
Affects
Managers
Managers

• Environmental Uncertainty
– The extent to which managers have knowledge of
and are able to predict change their organization’s
external environment is affected by:
• Complexity of the environment: the number of
components in an organization’s external
environment.
• Degree of change in environmental components:
how dynamic or stable the external environment is.

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 Exhibit
Exhibit 3–11
3–11 Environmental
EnvironmentalUncertainty
UncertaintyMatrix
Matrix

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 Stakeholder
Stakeholder Relationships
Relationships

• Stakeholders • Why Manage Stakeholder

– Any constituencies in Relationships?
the organization’s – It can lead to improved
environment that are organizational performance
affected by the – It’s the “right” thing to do given
organization’s the interdependence of the
decisions and actions organization and its external
stakeholders

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 Managing
Managing Stakeholder
Stakeholder Relationships
Relationships

1. Identify the organization’s external

stakeholders

2. Determine the particular interests and

concerns of the external stakeholders

3. Decide how critical each external

stakeholder is to the organization

4. Determine how to manage each individual

external stakeholder relationship

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 Exhibit
Exhibit 3–12:
3–12: Organizational
Organizational Stakeholders
Stakeholders

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 THANK
THANK YOU
YOU

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