Organizational Culture Fall 2005 Organizational Culture 1 Organization

Organizational Culture Fall 2005 Organizational Culture 1

Organization Culture • • • Fall 2005 Defining culture Does it matter? Describing culture Acquiring culture Changing culture Organizational Culture 2

Defining Culture • What is it? • “. . . the shared patterns of thought, belief, feelings, and values that result from shared experience and common learning” • “system of shared meaning” • “The social glue that holds the organization together” • Characteristics: • • • Fall 2005 Holistic Historically determined Socially constructed (perceptions) Soft Difficult to change Organizational Culture 3

Does It Matter? • Enhances group members’ ability to adapt and survive • Reduces uncertainty about what to do and how to do it (and thus, reduces anxiety) • Provides sense of mission • Strong or widely-held culture may lead to high performance (jury’s out on this one) Fall 2005 Organizational Culture 4

Single or Multiple Cultures ? • Multiple cultures may be a sign of conflict • Mergers • Top-down attempts to “manage” culture • Subcultures (core culture + adaptations) Fall 2005 Organizational Culture 5

What is Included? • • • Common language and conceptual categories Group boundaries and criteria for inclusion and exclusion Power and status Intimacy, friendship, and love Rewards and punishments: what is rewarded and punished, as well as what rewards and punishments are • Ideology and “religion”: that is, how to manage the unmanageable and explain the unexplainable Fall 2005 Organizational Culture 6

Recognizing Culture • Events: • Things • Rites and Ceremonies • Rituals • Communications • Myths • Stories Fall 2005 Organizational Culture • • • Symbols Language Gestures Physical setting Artifacts 7

Layers of Culture Symbols Rituals Heroes Values Fall 2005 Organizational Culture Practices 8

Cultural Dimensions (Hofstede) • • • Fall 2005 Process vs. results Employee vs. job Parochial vs. professional Open vs. closed Loose vs. tight Normative vs. pragmatic Organizational Culture 9

A Second Set of Cultural Dimensions • • Fall 2005 Innovation and risk-taking Attention to detail Outcome orientation People orientation Team orientation Aggressiveness Stability Organizational Culture 10

Sources of Culture • • Fall 2005 Founders Historical events Industry National culture Organizational Culture 11

Photo from: http: //www. culture. gouv. fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en/index. html Acquiring Culture • Selection process • Socialization of new members • Rites and ceremonies • Initiation • Passage • Celebration Fall 2005 Organizational Culture 12

Changing Culture • Can it be changed? • In a new organization: The founder effect • Maybe yes? • Maybe no? • Should it be changed? • Strong culture can be a barrier to innovation, growth and change Fall 2005 Organizational Culture 13