Organizational

11 Culture
CHAPTER

November 2011
Supervised by: Dr. Nayal RashedPresented by: Eyad Al-Samman I.D.#: 201010047

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Main issues to be covered in this

chapter:
1. What is Organizational Culture?
2. What do cultures do?
3. How to create and sustain cultures?
4. How do employees of a certain
organization learn culture?
5. What are the ways for matching people
with cultures?
6. What are the key dimensions of differences
in cultural values?
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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

1. What is Organizational Culture?

Organizational Culture is a system
of shared meanings held by
members. This organizational
culture distinguishes the
organization from other
organizations.
Another simple definition:
Organizational Culture is a set of
shared values that organization
members have regarding the
functioning and existence of their
organization.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

1. What is Organizational Culture?

Characteristics that capture the essence of an

Organizations Culture are:
Attention
Attention. .11
to
todetail
detail
Outcome
Outcome. .22
orientation
orientation
People
People. .33
orientation
orientation

Aggressiveness
Aggressiveness. .44

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Defines how much importance a company

allocates to precision and detail in the workplace.
Paying more attention to results rather than
processes.

Defines how much should be the management

focus on its people; as associates or as Work
machines.
Every organization formulates the level of
aggressiveness with which their employees work.
For example, Microsoft is known for its
aggression and market dominating strategies.
Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

(Continued)

1. What is Organizational Culture?

Characteristics that capture the essence of an

Organizations Culture are:

5.
5.Innovation
Innovation
and
andRisk
Risktaking
taking

6.
6.Team
Team
orientation
orientation

7.
7.Stability
Stability

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This characteristic defines how much room

business allows for innovation. Places where you
take a risk, the chances of returns are higher.
Same goes for innovation.

Synergistic teams help giving better results as

compared to individual efforts.

Some organizations are focused on making

themselves and their operations stable rather
than looking at unselective or unsystematic
growth.

Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

1. What is Organizational Culture?

Benefits of Strong culture
- Initially, strong culture was conceived as a consistent set of beliefs, values,
assumptions, and practices embraced by members of the organization.

- Some noted that strong culture

is more important for
organizations than others. For
example, volunteer organizations
need to stress on culture more
than business organizations.

Motivation
Motivation

Solidarity
Solidarity

Strong
Strong
and
and

Sameness
Sameness

pervasive
pervasive
- Strong culture has core values
which are intensely held and
widely shared. It increases
behavioural consistency.

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culture
culture

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

1. What is Organizational Culture?

Disadvantages of Strong culture
- The internalized controls associated with a strong
culture result in individuals placing unconstrained
demands with themselves and acting as a barrier to
adaptation and change.

- A strong culture contribute to a displacement of goals

or sub-goals formation. This means that behavioural
ways of doing things become important and overshadow
the original purpose of organization.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

1. What is Organizational Culture?

Culture vs. Formalization
- Formalization is the extent to which rules and procedures are followed in
an organization.
leads

to

Formalization
Formalizationof
of
behaviour
behaviour

Culture
Culture

Strong
Strong
Culture
Culture

increases

Behavioural
Behavioural
consistency
consistency

- Behavioural consistency results in the predictability of how employees

perform jobs.
- Opponents say that Behavioural consistency leads to inflexibility where
employees may resist changes.
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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

1. What is Organizational Culture?

Organizational Culture vs. National Culture

National
National
Culture
Culture

-Has a GREAT IMPACT

on employees.
- Different in nature of
organizational culture.
- Originates from
consistency in values.

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Organizational
Organizational
Culture
Culture

-Has a LESS IMPACT on

employees.
- Different in nature of
national culture.
- Originates from
consistency in
practices.

Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

1. What is Organizational Culture?

Culture and its effect on Organization
Cultural
Cultural
Savvy
Savvy

- It is a working knowledge of the

cultural variables affecting
management decisions.
- It is a critical skill for managing
people in other countries.

- It is a sense of awareness
and honest caring about
another individuals culture.
- It requires to understand and
empathize the perspective of
those living in other and very
different societies.
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Cultural
Cultural
Sensitivity
Sensitivity
(Cultural
(CulturalEmpathy
Empathy) )

One of many faces of cultures

in the World
Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

2. What do Cultures Do?

Functions of culture within an organization:

Culture
Culture has
has a
a boundaryboundarydefining
defining role.
role.

Culture
Culture conveys
conveys a
a sense
sense
of
of identity.
identity.

Culture
Culture facilitates
facilitates the
the
generation
of
generation of
commitment.
commitment.

Culture
Culture enhances
enhances social
social
system
system stability.
stability.

Culture
Culture serves
serves as
as a
a
sense-making
sense-making and
and
control
control mechanism.
mechanism.
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Culture creates distinctions between one

organization and others.

This sense of identity is conveyed to the

organization members.

Commitment is for something larger than

ones individual self-interest.

Culture is the social glue that provides

appropriate standards for what employees
should say and do.
This mechanism guides and shapes
attitudes and behaviours of employees.

3
4
5

Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

2. What do Cultures Do?

Culture as a liability:
-Culture is a liability when shared values are not in agreement
with those that will foster the organizations effectiveness in a
dynamic surrounding environment.
Environment
Environment is
is
dynamic
dynamic and
and is
is
undergoing
undergoing rapid
rapid
change,
change,

Environment
Environment is
is
stable,
stable,

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-Organisations deep-rooted culture

may no longer be appropriate.

-Consistency of behaviour is an asset

to an organisation.
- Consistency of behaviour may,
however, burden the organisation
and make it difficult to respond to
changes in the environment.

Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

2. What do Cultures Do?

Cultural Variables:
-Individual cultural variables can be classified in eight
categories that form the subsystems in any society.

Kinship
Kinship

The
The formal
formal or
or informal
informal
education
education affects
affects expectations
expectations
of
people
in
workplace,
of people in workplace,
training
training programs
programs and
and
leadership
leadership styles.
styles.

A
A kinship
kinship system
system is
is adopted
adopted
by
a
given
society
to
by a given society to guide
guide
family
family relationship.
relationship.

Economy
Economy
A
A nations
nations economic
economic system
system
powerfully
powerfully influences
influences
organizational
organizational processes
processes such
such
as
as distribution,
distribution, incentive
incentive
systems
systems and
and repatriation
repatriation of
of
capital.
capital.

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Education
Education

Politics
Politics
System
System of
of government
government in
in a
a
society
society imposes
imposes varying
varying
constraints
constraints on
on the
the
organisation
organisation and
and its
its freedom
freedom
to
to do
do business.
business.

Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

(Continued)

2. What do Cultures Do?

Cultural Variables:

-Individual cultural variables can be classified in eight

categories that form the subsystems in any society.

Religion
Religion

Many
Many types
types of
of social
social
associations
arise
in
associations arise in cultures
cultures
out
out of
of formal
formal and
and informal
informal
groups.
groups.

Spiritual
Spiritual beliefs
beliefs of
of a
a society
society
are
powerful
that
they
are powerful that they go
go
beyond
beyond other
other cultural
cultural aspects.
aspects.

Health
Health
System
System of
of healthcare
healthcare affects
affects
employee
employee productivity
productivity and
and
attitudes
attitudes toward
toward physical
physical
fitness.
fitness.

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Association
Association

Recreation
Recreation
Recreation
Recreation is
is the
the manner
manner in
in
which
which people
people use
use their
their leisure
leisure
time
time and
and attitudes
attitudes toward
toward
leisure.
leisure.

Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

3. Creating and Sustaining

Cultures?
How does a culture begin?

How does a culture begin?

-Ultimate source of an organisations culture can be traced to its founders

who have a major impact on the organisations early culture.
- Culture creation process occurs in three ways:

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First
Way
First Way

Founders only hire and keep employees who

think and feel the way they do.

Second
Way
Second Way

Founders instruct and socialize these

employees to their way of thinking and
feeling.

Third
Way
Third Way

Founders own behaviour acts as a role

model which encourages employees to adopt
their beliefs, values and assumptions.

Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

3. Creating and Sustaining

Cultures?
Keeping a Culture Alive:

Keeping a Culture Alive:

-Practices within the organisation which

maintain the culture include:
1
2

The
The selection
selection process.
process.
Performance
Performance evaluation
evaluation criteria.
criteria.

Training
Training and
and career
career development
development
activities.
activities.

Promotion
Promotion procedures
procedures ensuring
ensuring that
that
employees
integrate
with
the
culture.
employees integrate with the culture.

Rewarding
Rewarding employees
employees who
who support
support
culture.
culture.

Punishing
Punishing employees
employees who
who challenging
challenging
culture.
culture.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

3. Creating and Sustaining

(Continued)

Cultures?
Keeping a Culture Alive.

Keeping a Culture Alive.

- Forces that sustain a culture:

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Actions
Actions of
of top
top management
management

Selection
Selection practices
practices

Socialization
Socialization methods
methods

Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

3. Creating and Sustaining

Cultures?
Hofstedes Value Dimensions:

-Hofstede proposed a framework for understanding how values underlie

organizational behaviour.
-Hofstede proposes four value dimensions as follows:

Power
Power distance
distance

The degree to which a society expects there

to be differences in the levels of power.

Uncertainty
Uncertainty
avoidance
avoidance

Extent to which people in a society feel

threatened by ambiguous situations.

Individualism
Individualism vs.
vs.
Collectivism
Collectivism

Two concepts are unrelated. Individualism is the

tendency of people to look after themselves and
family only and neglect society.

Masculinity
Masculinity vs.
vs.
Femininity
Femininity

Masculine values include materialism and lack of

concern for others. Feminine values include
concerns for others and quality of life.

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Ch. 11 :: Organizational Culture

Thank You for

Your Attention

www.facebook.com/eyadnalsamman
OUM-Yemen 2011

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