Organizational Culture

Part 2
Module 2

Organizational Culture

the way things are

done around here

Origin
Until 1980s, organizations were thought of as

rational means to coordinate & control a group of

people.

But, organizations are more !!!

They have personalities too, just like individuals.

They can be rigid or flexible, unfriendly or

supportive, innovative or conservative

Institutionalization: A Forerunner of
Culture

Origin
Institutionalization produces common

understandings among members about what

is appropriate& fundamentally, meaningful
behavior.
When an organization takes on institutional

permanence, acceptable modes of behavior

become largely self evident to its members.

This is exactly, what Organizational Culture

does !!!

What Is Organizational Culture?

A system of shared meaning

held by members that
distinguishes the organization
from other organizations

Organizational Culture - Definition

a pattern of shared basic assumptions that

the group learned as it solved its problems of

external adaptation and internal integration,
that has worked well enough to be considered
valid and therefore to be taught to new
members as the correct way you perceive,
think and feel in relation to those problems
Edgar Schein

 A system of shared meaning , on closer

examination, is a set of key

characteristics that the organization
values.

7 primary characteristics , in aggregate

capture the essence of an organizations

culture

7 Primary Characteristics Organizational

Culture
1.
1. Innovation
Innovationand
andrisk
risktaking
taking
2.
2. Attention
Attentionto
todetail
detail
3.
3. Outcome
Outcomeorientation
orientation
4.
4. People
Peopleorientation
orientation
5.
5. Team
Teamorientation
orientation
6.
6. Aggressiveness
Aggressiveness
7.
7. Stability
Stability

Organizational Culture

What Is Organizational Culture? (contd)

Strong Vs Weak Cultures

 A Strong Culture will have a great influence on the

behavior of its members.

Strong Culture can result in lower employee

turnover, as high agreement among members about

what the organization stands for, builds
cohesiveness, loyalty & organizational commitment

 Culture Versus Formalization

A strong culture increases behavioral consistency and

can act as a substitute for formalization.

Organizational Culture Versus National Culture

National culture has a greater impact on employees than

does their organizations culture.

Nationals selected to work for foreign companies may be

atypical of the local/native population.

National Culture Hofstede Model

The six dimensions of national culture are based on extensive research done by

Professor Geert Hofstede, Gert Jan Hofstede, Michael Minkov and their research
teams.

1. Power Distance : the degree to which the less powerful members of a society

accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. People in societies exhibiting
a large degree of Power Distance accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has
a place and which needs no further justification.

2. Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV)

The high side of this dimension, called individualism, can be defined as a preference

for a loosely-knit social framework in which individuals are expected to take care of
only themselves and their immediate families. Its opposite, collectivism, represents
a preference for a tightly-knit framework in society in which individuals can expect
their relatives or members of a particular in-group to look after them in exchange for
unquestioning loyalty.

 3. Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS)

The Masculinity side of this dimension represents a preference in society

for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material rewards for success.

Society at large is more competitive. Its opposite, femininity, stands for a
preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of
life.

4. Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI)

The Uncertainty Avoidance dimension expresses the degree to which the

members of a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity.

 5. Long Term Orientation versus Short Term Normative

Orientation

Societies who score low on this dimension, for example, prefer to maintain

time-honoured traditions and norms while viewing societal change with

suspicion. Those with a culture which scores high, on the other hand,
take a more pragmatic approach: they encourage thrift and efforts in
modern education as a way to prepare for the future.

What Do Cultures Do?

Cultures
CulturesFunctions:
Functions:
1.
1.Defines
Definesthe
theboundary
boundarybetween
betweenone
oneorganization
organizationand
and
others.
others.
2.
2.Conveys
Conveysaasense
senseof
ofidentity
identityfor
forits
itsmembers.
members.
3.
3.Facilitates
Facilitatesthe
thegeneration
generationof
ofcommitment
commitmentto
to
something
somethinglarger
largerthan
thanself-interest.
self-interest.
4.
4.Enhances
Enhancesthe
thestability
stabilityof
ofthe
thesocial
socialsystem.
system.
5.
5.Serves
Servesas
asaasense
sensemaking
making&&control
controlmechanism
mechanism

Culture as a Liability !!!

1.Barrier
1.Barrierto
tochange
change
2.Barrier
2.Barrierto
todiversity
diversity
3.Barrier
3.Barrierto
toacquisitions
acquisitionsand
and
mergers
mergers

Keeping Culture Alive / Sustaining Culture

Selection

Concerned with how well the candidates will fit into

the organization.

Provides information to candidates about the

organization.

Top Management
Senior executives help establish behavioral norms

that are adopted by the organization.

Socialization
The process that helps new employees adapt to the

organizations culture.

Stages in the Socialization Process

A Socialization Model

EXHIBIT

18-2

Entry Socialization Options

1. Group versus individual: the degree to which

the organization processes recruits in batches, as in

boot camp, or individually, as in professional offices.

2. Formal versus informal: the degree to which the

process is formalized, as in set training programs, or

is handled informally through apprenticeships,
individual coaching by the immediate superior, or the
like.

3. Self-destructive and reconstructing versus

self-enhancing: the degree to which the process

destroys aspects of the self and replaces them, as in
boot camp, or enhances aspects of the self, as in

 4. Serial versus random: the degree to which role

models are provided, as in apprenticeship or

mentoring programs, or are deliberately withheld,
as in sink-or-swim kinds of initiations in which the
recruit is expected to figure out his or her own
solutions.

5. Sequential versus disjunctive: the degree to

which the process consists of guiding the recruit

through a series of discrete steps and roles versus
being open-ended and never letting the recruit
predict what organizational role will come next.

 6. Fixed versus variable: the degree to which stages of the

training process have fixed timetables for each stage, as in

military academies, boot camps, or rotational training
programs, or are open-ended, as in typical promotional
systems where one is not advanced to the next stage until
one is ready.

7. Tournament versus contest: the degree to which each

stage is an elimination tournament where one is out of the

organization if one fails or a contest in which one builds up
a track record and batting average.

 8. Investiture Vs Divestiture: Investiture assumes that the

newcomers qualities and qualifications are the necessary

ingredients for job success, so these qualities are confirmed
and supported. Divestiture tries to strip away certain
characteristics of the recruit.

How Organization Cultures Form & How is

it Sustained ?

How Employees Learn Culture

Stories
Stories
Rituals
Rituals
Material
MaterialSymbols
Symbols
Language
Language

Thank You