Chapter 3 Organizational Environments and Culture 2014 Cengage

Chapter 3 Organizational Environments and Culture © 2014 Cengage Learning MGMT 6

3 -1 discuss how changing environments affect organizations 3 -2 describe the four components of the general environment 3 -3 explain the five components of the specific environment 3 -4 describe the process that companies use to make sense of their changing environments 3 -5 explain how organizational cultures are created and how they can help companies be successful © 2014 Cengage Learning

Characteristics of External Environments • Environmental change • Environmental complexity • Resource scarcity • Uncertainty © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -1

Environmental Change The rate at which a company’s general and specific environments change. • Stable – slow rate of change • Dynamic – fast rate of change © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -1

Punctuated Equilibrium Theory Stability Dynamic Change Stability © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -1

Environmental Complexity • Simple – few environmental factors that affect organizations • Complex – many environmental factors that affect organizations 3 -1 © 2014 Cengage Learning

Resource Scarcity The abundance or shortage of critical resources in an organization’s external environment. © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -1

Uncertainty The extent to which managers can understand or predict the external changes and trends affecting their business. © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -1

© 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -1

© 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -2

Economy • A growing economy provides a favorable environment for business growth. • Business confidence indices show confident managers are about future business growth. © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -2

Technological Component • Technology – an umbrella term for the knowledge, tools, and techniques used to transform inputs into outputs Changes in technology can help companies provide better products or produce their products more efficiently. © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -2

Sociocultural Component • Demographic characteristics, general behavior, attitudes, and beliefs of people in a particular society © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -2

Political/Legal Component • The legislation, regulations, and court decisions that govern and regulate business behavior • Many managers are unaware of the potential legal risks associated with traditional managerial decisions like recruiting, hiring, and firing employees. 3 -2 © 2014 Cengage Learning

Specific Environment • • • Customers Competitors Suppliers Industry regulations Advocacy groups © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -3

Customer Component • Reactive customer monitoring – Identifying and addressing customer trends and problems after they occur • Proactive customer monitoring – Identifying and addressing customer needs, trends, and issues before they occur © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -3

Competitor Component • Competitors – companies in the same industry that sell similar products or services • Competitive analysis – a process of monitoring the competition that involves identifying competition, anticipating their moves, and determining their strengths and weaknesses © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -3

Supplier Component • Suppliers – companies that provide material, human, financial, and informational resources to other companies Supplier dependence vs. Buyer dependence © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -3

Behaviors • Opportunistic behavior – when one party benefits at the expense of another • Relationship behavior – focuses on establishing a mutually beneficial, longterm relationship between buyers and sellers © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -3

Industry Regulation Component Regulations and rules that govern the practices and procedures of specific industries, businesses, and professions © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -3

Federal Regulatory Agencies and Commissions • • • 3 -3 Consumer Product Safety Commission Department of Labor Environmental Protection Agency Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Federal Communications Commission Federal Reserve System Federal Trade Commission Food and Drug Administration National Labor Relations Board Occupational Safety and Health Administration Securities and Exchange Commission © 2014 Cengage Learning

Advocacy Groups Concerned citizens who band together to try to influence the business practices of specific industries, businesses, and professions • Public communication • Media advocacy • Product boycott © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -3

Making Sense of Changing Environments • Environmental scanning • Interpreting environmental factors • Acting on threats and opportunities © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -4

Environmental Scanning Searching the environment for important events or issues that might affect an organization. • Managers scan the environment to reduce uncertainty. • Organizational strategies affect environmental scanning. • Environmental scanning contributes to organizational performance. © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -4

Interpreting Environmental Factors • Threat or opportunity? • Threat – managers typically take steps to protect the company from further harm • Opportunity – managers consider strategic alternatives for taking advantage of those events to improve performance © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -4

© 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -4

Creation and Maintenance of Organizational Cultures • Primary source of organizational culture is the company founder. • Organizational culture is sustained by… – organizational stories – organizational heroes © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -5

© 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -5

© 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -5

Changing Organizational Cultures • Behavioral addition • Behavioral substitution • Change visible artifacts • Hiring people with values and beliefs consistent with desired culture © 2014 Cengage Learning 3 -5

Charlie Wilson’s War 1. 2. 3. <click screenshot for video> This chapter discussed organizational culture as having three levels of visibility. Visible artifacts are at the first level and are the easiest to see. Which visible artifacts did you observe in this sequence? Values appear at the next level of organizational culture. You can infer a culture’s values from the behavior of organizational members. Which values appear in this sequence? Organizational members will unconsciously behave according to the basic assumptions of an organization’s culture. You also infer these from observed behavior. Which basic assumptions appear in this sequence? © 2014 Cengage Learning

Camp Bow Wow 1. 2. 3. <click screenshot for video> What aspects of Camp Bow Wow’s corporate culture reflect the surface level of the organizational culture? What aspects reflect the values and beliefs? What aspects reflect the unconsciously held assumptions and beliefs. Why did Camp Bow Wow have to change its culture when it became a national franchise? What impact does Heidi Ganahl’s personal story have on employees at Camp Bow Wow? © 2014 Cengage Learning