chapter 10, stephen p. robbins and nancy langton, fundamentals of organizational behaviour, second...

Chapter 10, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition.Copyright © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Chapter 10

Organizational Culture and

Change


Organizational Culture

• What is organizational culture?• When is organizational culture functional?

Dysfunctional?• How do employees learn about the culture of

their organization?

Questions for ConsiderationQuestions for Consideration


Henry Mintzberg on Culture

• “Culture is the soul of the organization — the beliefs and values, and how they are manifested. I think of the structure as the skeleton, and as the flesh and blood. And culture is the soul that holds the thing together and gives it life force.”



• The pattern of shared values, beliefs and assumptions considered to be the appropriate way to think and act within an organization.– Culture is shared– Culture helps members solve problems– Culture is taught to newcomers– Culture strongly influences behaviour


Exhibit 10-1 Layers of Culture

Artifacts of Organizational

Culture

Material SymbolsLanguage

RitualsStories


BeliefsValues

Assumptions


Levels of Culture

• Artifacts– Aspects of an organization’s culture that you see, hear, and feel

• Beliefs– The understandings of how objects and ideas relate to each

other

• Values– The stable, long-lasting beliefs about what is important

• Assumptions– The taken-for-granted notions of how something should be in an

organization


Characteristics of Organizational Culture

• Innovation and risk-taking– The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and

take risks.

• Attention to detail– The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision,

analysis, and attention to detail.

• Outcome orientation– The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather

than on technique and process.

• People orientation– The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the

effect of outcomes on people within the organization.


Characteristics of Organizational Culture

• Team orientation– The degree to which work activities are organized around teams

rather than individuals.

• Aggressiveness– The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive

rather than easygoing.

• Stability– The degree to which organizational activities emphasize

maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth.


Exhibit 10-2 Contrasting Organization CulturesOrganization A Organization B

• 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.

• 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

• Expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organization’s members.

– Subcultures • Tend to develop in large organizations to

reflect common problems, situations, or experiences.


Exhibit 10-3 How Organizational Culture

Forms

Selectioncriteria

Socialization

Organization'sculture

Philosophyof

organization'sfounders

Topmanagement


Keeping a Culture Alive

• Selection– Identify and hire individuals who will fit in with the

culture

• Top Management– Senior executives establish and communicate the

norms of the organization

• Socialization– Organizations need to teach the culture to new

employees


Exhibit 10-5 Culture Typology

Fragmented

Networked

Low

High

Solidarity

Mercenary

Low High

Communal

Sociability


Culture’s Functions

• Social glue that helps hold an organization together – Provides appropriate standards for what

employees should say or do

• Boundary-defining

• Conveys a sense of identity for organization members


Culture’s Functions

• Facilitates commitment to something larger than one’s individual self-interest

• Enhances social system stability

• Serves as a “sense-making” and control mechanism – Guides and shapes the attitudes and

behaviour of employees


Culture as a Liability

• Culture can have dysfunctional aspects in some instances– Culture as a Barrier to Change

• When organization is undergoing change, culture may impede change

– Culture as a Barrier to Diversity• Strong cultures put considerable pressure on

employees to conform

– Culture as a Barrier to Mergers and Acquisitions• Merging the cultures of two organizations

can be difficult, if not impossible


Conditions for Culture Change

• A dramatic crisis

• Turnover in leadership

• Young and small organizations

• Weak culture


Exhibit 10-6 Suggestions for Changing Culture

• Have top-management people become positive role models, setting the tone through their behaviour.

• Create new stories, symbols, and rituals to replace those currently in vogue.

• Select, promote, and support employees who espouse the new values that are sought.

• Redesign socialization processes to align with the new values.


Exhibit 10-6 Suggestions for Changing Culture

(cont’d)• Change the reward system to encourage

acceptance of a new set of values.• Replace unwritten norms with formal rules and

regulations that are tightly enforced.• 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.


Exhibit 10-7 Lewin’s Three-Step Change

Model

RefreezingMovingUnfreezing


Implementing Change

• Unfreezing: getting ready for change– Minimizing resistance

• Moving: making the change– Changing people (individuals and groups);

Tasks; Structure; Technology

• Refreezing: stabilizing the change– Reinforcing outcomes, evaluating results,

making constructive modifications


Exhibit 10-8 Unfreezing the Status

Quo

Time

Drivingforces

Restrainingforces

Desiredstate

Statusquo


Unfreezing

• Arouse dissatisfaction with the current state– Tell them about deficiencies in organization

• Activate and strengthen top management support– Need to break down power centres

• Use participation in decision making– Get people involved

• Build in rewards– Tie rewards to change/use recognition, status

symbols, praise to get people to go along


Moving• Establish goals

– E.G. Make business profitable by end of next year

• Institute smaller, acceptable changes that reinforce and support change– E.G. Procedures and rules, job descriptions,

reporting relationships

• Develop management structures for change– E.G. Plans, strategies, mechanisms that ensure

change occurs

• Maintain open, two-way communication


Refreezing

• Build success experiences– Set targets for change, and have everyone work toward targets

• Reward desired behaviour– GOOD - reward behaviour that reinforces changes

– BAD - reward old system (e.g., people relying on old systems while computerization is going on)

• Develop structures to institutionalize the change– Organizational retreats, appropriate computer technology,

performance appraisals that examine change efforts

• Make change work


Exhibit 10-9 Sources of Individual Resistance to

Change

Security

Economicfactors

IndividualResistance

Fear ofthe unknown

Selectiveinformationprocessing

Habit


Cynicism About Change

• Feeling uninformed about what was happening

• Lack of communication and respect from one’s supervisor

• Lack of communication and respect from one’s union representative

• Lack of opportunity for meaningful participation in decision-making


Exhibit 10-11 Sources of Organizational Resistance

to Change

OrganizationalResistance

Threat to establishedresource allocations

Structuralinertia

Threat to establishedpower relationships

Limited focus of change

Threat toexpertise

Groupinertia


Overcoming Resistance to Change

• Education and Communication– This tactic assumes that the source of resistance lies

in misinformation or poor communication.

• Participation– Prior to making a change, those opposed can be

brought into the decision process.

• Facilitation and Support– The provision of various efforts to facilitate

adjustment.


Overcoming Resistance to Change

• Negotiation– Exchange something of value for a lessening of

resistance.

• Manipulation and Cooperation– Twisting and distorting facts to make them appear

more attractive.

• Coercion– The application of direct threats or force upon

resisters.


Summary and Implications

• Employees form an overall subjective perception of the organization based on such factors as degree of risk tolerance, team emphasis, and support of people.– This overall perception becomes, in effect, the organization’s

culture or personality.

– These favourable or unfavourable perceptions then affect employee performance and satisfaction, with the impact being greater for stronger cultures.

• Just as people’s personalities tend to be stable over time, so too do strong cultures.– This makes strong cultures difficult for managers to change.


Summary and Implications

• One of the more important managerial implications of organizational culture relates to selection decisions.– Hiring individuals whose values don't align with those of the

organization is not good.

• Change must be managed, it is not an easy process

• Individuals and organizations resist change– To be successful at change, it is necessary to break down the

resistance to change


OB at Work


For Review

1. Can an employee survive in an organization if he or she rejects its core values? Explain.

2. How can an outsider assess an organization’s culture?

3. What defines an organization’s subcultures?

4. How can culture be a liability to an organization?

5. What benefits can socialization provide for the organization? For the new employee?


For Review

6. Describe four cultural types and the characteristics of employees who fit best with each.

7. How does Lewin’s three-step model of change deal with resistance to change?

8. What is the difference between driving forces and restraining forces?

9. What are the factors that lead individuals to resist change?

10. What are the factors that lead organizations to resist change?


For Critical Thinking

1. Contrast individual personality and organizational culture. How are they similar? How are they different?

2. Is socialization brainwashing? Explain.3. Can you identify a set of characteristics that

describes your college’s or university’s culture? Compare them with several of your peers. How closely do they agree?

4. “Resistance to change is an irrational response.” Do you agree or disagree? Explain.


Breakout Group Exercises

• Form small groups to discuss the following:1. Choose two courses that you are taking this term, ideally in

different faculties, and describe the culture of the classroom in each. What are the similarities and differences? What values about learning might you infer from your observations of culture?

2. Identify artifacts of culture in your current or previous workplace. From these artifacts, would you conclude that the organization had a strong or weak culture?

3. Reflect on either the culture of one of your classes, or the culture of the organization where you work, and identify aspects of that culture that could be changed. How might some of these changes be made?

chapter 10, stephen p. robbins and nancy langton, fundamentals of organizational behaviour, second...

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