Organizational Culture

Organizational Culture Organizational Culture

Introduction 

Organizational Culture is the totality of beliefs , customs, traditions and values shared by the members of the organization.

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Corporate culture can be looked at as a system.

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It is important to consider culture while managing change in the organization.

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Culture can be both, as input and as output.

Key Characteristics of Corporate Culture Innovation and Risk Taking  Attention to Detail  Outcome Orientation  People Orientation  Team Orientation  Aggressiveness  Stability 

Types of Culture Authoritarian culture  Participative culture  Mechanistic culture  Organic culture  Sub-cultures and Dominant culture 

As given by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld Academy culture  Baseball Team culture  Club culture  Fortress culture 

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Importance of Organizational Culture Talent-attractor  Talent-retainer  Engages people  Creates energy and momentum  Changes the view of “work”  Creates greater synergy  Makes everyone more successful 

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Culture – Input and Output 

Product of action, i.e., input.

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Element of future action, i.e., output.

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Culture is the product of socio-technical systems.

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Management strategies, structures, procedures, etc. influence culture.

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Culture can be self-perpetuating and highly resistant to change.

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Adapted from Williams et al, 1989

External Environment Legislation Politics Technology Education Society Market place Competitors Consumers Economy

The Organization strategy Structure, systems, technology

Work Environment Work tasks, goals and procedures

Work group behaviorManager behavior

Culture: common beliefs, values Characteristic and attitudes patterns of behavio

Organizational Culture v/s National Culture 

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National cultural values are learned early, held deeply and change slowly over the course of generations. Organizational culture, on the other hand, is comprised of broad guidelines which are rooted in organizational practices. A nation’s culture is similar to that of an organization as it is comprised of the symbols, values, rituals, and traditions of the people living in a particular region. Cultures usually differ in relationships between the individual and society, ways of dealing with conflict, relationships to authority, and conceptions of class and gender. All of these things are comparable to organizational culture, just on a grander scale.

Sustaining Creating and Organizational Culture Sustaining Organizational Culture

Creating Corporate Culture 

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The ultimate source of an organization’s culture is its founders. Culture creation occurs in three ways: ◦ Employees hire and keep employees with same thinking ◦ They indoctrinate and socialize the employees with the organization’s thinking ◦ The founder’s behavior acts as a role model for the employees With the organizational success, the founder’s personality is embedded in the organizational culture.

How Organization Cultures Form Robbins, 1989

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Sustaining Organizational Culture 

Three forces play a particularly important part in sustaining a culture:  Selection practices  Actions of top management  Socialization methods

Selection 

Explicit goal – identifying and hiring individuals having knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the jobs successfully.

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Individuals having values consistent with those of the organization are selected as per the decision maker’s judgements.

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Selection becomes a ‘two-way street’ as it provides information about the organization to the applicants.

Top Management 

The actions of top management establishes the norms for the organization as to:

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 Whether risk taking is desirable  How much freedom managers should give to their subordinates  What actions will pay off in terms of pay rises, promotions and other rewards, etc. ◦ 

Socialization 

New employees are not familiar with the organizational culture and are potentially likely to disturb the existing culture.

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The process through which the employees are proselytized about the customs and traditions of the organization is known as socialization.

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It is the process of adaptation by which new employees are to understand the basic values and norms for becoming ‘accepted’ members of the organization.

Socialization Process 

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Socialization is a process made up of three stages: Pre-arrival - All the learning occurring before a new member joins. Encounter - The new employee sees what the organization is really like and confronts the possibility that expectations and reality may diverge. Metamorphosis - The relatively long-lasting changes take place. The new employee masters the skills required for the job, successfully performs the new roles, and makes the adjustments to the work group’s values and norms.

Socialization Model

How Employees Learn Culture 

Stories – Depicting the past events of the organization. Some organizations actually try to manage this element of culture learning.

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Rituals – Repetitive sequential activities reinforcing the values of the organization.

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Material Symbols – Conveying social equality, desired organizational behavior, etc. by the top management.

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Language – Acceptance and preservation of culture.

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Conclusion  

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Culture adapts to diverse circumstances. Managers need to understand the nature and role of culture. Managers must understand the importance of culture for organizational change. Corporate culture also impacts the day-to-day decision-making of the organization.