organisational culture
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Chapter 14. Organisational Culture. Learning Objectives. 14.1 Describe the elements of organisational culture and discuss the importance of organisational subcultures 14.2 List four categories of artefacts through which corporate culture is deciphered - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Organisational Culture
Chapter 14
14-2Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Learning Objectives 14.1 Describe the elements of organisational culture and
discuss the importance of organisational subcultures
14.2 List four categories of artefacts through which corporate culture is deciphered
14.3 Discuss the importance of organisational culture and the conditions under which organisational culture strength improves organisational performance
14.4 Compare and contrast four strategies for merging organisational cultures
14.5 Identify four strategies for changing or strengthening an organisation’s culture, including the application of attraction-selection-attrition theory.
14.6 Describe the organisational socialisation process and identify strategies to improve that process
14-3Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Wesfarmers’ Organisational Culture
Wesfarmers’ award-winning corporate culture has helped Coles to become a serious competitor in the retail food business
14-4Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Organisational Culture Defined• The basic pattern of shared values and
assumptions shared within the organisation• Defines what is important and unimportant • Company’s DNA—invisible, yet powerful
template that shapes employee behaviour
14-5Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Elements of Organisational Culture
Organisational Organisational cultureculture
Artifacts of organisational culture
14-6Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Content of Organisational Culture• The relative ordering of values
– A few dominant values– Example: Wesfarmers—integrity, openness,
boldness and accountability.
• Problems measuring organisational culture– Oversimplifies diversity of possible values– Ignores shared assumptions– Adopts an ‘integration’ perspective
• An organisation’s culture is fuzzy:– Diverse subcultures (‘fragmentation’)– Values exist within individuals, not work units
14-7Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Organisational Culture ProfileOrg Culture Dimensions Dimension Characteristics
InnovationExperimenting, opportunity seeking, risk taking, few rules, low cautiousness
Stability Predictability, security, rule-oriented
Respect for people Fairness, tolerance
Outcome orientation Action oriented, high expectations, results oriented
Attention to detail Precise, analytic
Team orientation Collaboration, people-oriented
Aggressiveness Competitive, low emphasis on social responsibility
Source: O’Reilly et al (1991)
14-8Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Organisational Subcultures • Dominant culture—most widely shared
values and assumptions• Subcultures
– Located throughout the organisation– Can enhance or oppose (countercultures) firm’s
dominant culture
• Two functions of countercultures:– Provide surveillance and critique, ethics– Source of emerging values
14-9Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Artefacts of Organisational Culture• Observable symbols
and signs of culture
• Physical structures, ceremonies, language, stories
• Maintain and transmit organisation’s culture
• Need many artefacts to accurately decipher a company’s culture
14-10Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Artefacts: Stories and Legends• Social prescriptions of desired (or
dysfunctional) behaviour• Provides a realistic human side to
expectations• Most effective stories and legends:
– Describe real people – Assumed to be true– Known throughout the organisation– Are prescriptive
14-11Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Artefacts: Rituals and Ceremonies• Rituals
– Programmed routines (e.g. how visitors are greeted)
• Ceremonies– Planned activities for an audience (e.g. award
ceremonies)
14-12Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Artefacts: Organisational Language• Words used to address people, describe
customers, etc.• Leaders use phrases and special vocabulary
as cultural symbols • Language also found in subcultures
14-13Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Artefacts: Physical Structures and Symbols
• Building structure—may shape and reflect culture
• Office design conveys cultural meaning– Furniture, office size, wall hangings
14-14Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Organisational Culture Strength• How widely and deeply employees hold the
company’s dominant values and assumptions
• Strong cultures exist when:– Most employees understand/embrace the
dominant values– Values and assumptions are institutionalised
through well-established artefacts– Culture is long lasting—often traced back to
founder
14-15Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Functions of Strong Corporate Cultures
14-16Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Contingencies of Organisational Culture and Performance
• Organisational culture strength moderately predicts organisational performance
• Need to consider contingencies:– Ensure culture-environment fit– Avoid corporate ‘cult’ strength– Create an adaptive culture
14-17Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
News Corporation’s ‘Whatever it Takes’ CultureAccording to various observers and government officials, Rupert Murdoch’s powerful media empire has a ‘whatever it takes’ corporate culture that has tacitly encouraged staff to cross ethical and legal boundaries
14-18Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Organisational Culture and Ethics• Ethical values become
embedded in an organisation’s dominant culture
• To create a more ethical organisation, leaders need to work on the embedded culture that steers employee behaviour
14-19Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Merging Cultures: Bicultural Audit• Part of due diligence in merger• Minimises cultural collision by diagnosing
companies• Three steps in bicultural audit:
– Identify cultural artefacts– Analyse data for cultural conflict or compatibility– Identify strategies and action plans to bridge
cultures
14-20Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Merging Organisational Cultures
Assimilation
Deculturation
Acquired company embraces acquiring firm’s cultural values
Acquiring firm imposes its culture on unwilling acquired firm
IntegrationCultures combined into a new composite culture
SeparationMerging companies remain separate with their own culture
14-21Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Changing/Strengthening Organisational Culture
14-22Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Changing/Strengthening Organisational Culture continued• Actions of founders/leaders
– Organisational culture sometimes reflects the founder’s personality
– Transformational leaders can reshape culture— organisational change practices
• Aligning artefacts– Artefacts keep culture in place– e.g. create memorable events,
communicating stories, transferringculture carriers
14-23Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Changing/Strengthening Organisational Culture continued• Introducing culturally consistent rewards
– Rewards are powerful artefacts—reinforce culturally-consistent behaviour
• Attracting, selecting, socialising employees– Attraction-selection-attrition theory– Socialisation practices
14-24Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Attraction-Selection-Attrition Theory• Organisations become more homogeneous
(stronger culture) through:– Attraction: applicants self-select and weed out
companies based on compatible values– Selection: applicants selected based on values
congruent with organisation’s culture– Attrition: employees quit or are forced out when
their values oppose company values
14-25Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Organisational Socialisation DefinedThe process by which individuals learn the values, expected behaviours and social knowledge necessary to assume their roles in the organisation
14-26Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Socialisation: Learning and Adjustment• Learning process
– Newcomers make sense of the organisation’s physical, social and strategic/cultural dynamics
• Adjustment process– Newcomers need to adapt to their new work
environment New work roles New team norms Newcomers with diverse experience adjust
better
14-27Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Stages of Socialisation
14-28Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Facebook’s Landing Teams
Facebook instils its unique corporate culture at new sites by parachuting in a ‘Landing Team’ of current employees. The Landing Team carefully selects applicants for their compatibility with Facebook’s culture and coaches newcomers on the Facebook way of life
14-29Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty LtdMcShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Improving Organisational Socialisation• Realistic job preview (RJP)
– A balance of positive and negative information about the job and work context
• Socialisation agents– Supervisors: technical information, performance
feedback, job duties– Co-workers: ideal when accessible, role models,
tolerant and supportive
Organisational Culture
Chapter 14