The manager: omnipotent or symbolic?

Omnipotent view of management the view that managers are directly responsible for an organizations success or failure. In the organizations performance manager has to be held accountable regardless of the reasons. Symbolic view of management the view of an organizations success or failure is due to external forces outside managers control. A managers ability to affect outcomes is influenced & constrained by external factors.

Parameters of Managerial Discretion

.

Organizational Environment

Managerial Discretion

Organizational Culture

What is Organizational Culture?

It is the shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of doing things that influence the way organizational members act. The organizational culture the way we do things around here influences what employees can do & how they view, define, analyze, and resolve problems & issues.

What is Organizational Culture?

Culture is a perception Individuals perceive the OC on the basis of what they see, hear, or experience within the organization. The shared aspect of culture Even though individuals may have different backgrounds or work at different organizational levels, they tend to describe the OsC in similar terms. Culture is descriptive It is concerned with how members perceive the organization, not with whether they like it. It describes rather than evaluates.

Dimensions of Organizational Culture

Attention to Detail Innovation & Risk Taking Outcome Orientation

Organizational Culture Stability

People Orientation

Aggressiveness

Team Orientation

Dimensions of Organizational Culture

1.

2.

3.

Attention to Detail degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis & attention to detail. Outcome Orientation degree to which managers focus on results or outcomes rather than on how these outcomes are achieved. People Orientation degree to which management decisions take into account the effects on people in the organization.

Dimensions of Organizational Culture

4.

5.

6.

7.

Innovation and Risk Taking degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and to take risks. Stability degree to which organizational decisions and actions emphasize maintaining the status quo. Aggressiveness degree to which employees are aggressive and competitive rather than cooperative. Team Orientation degree to which work is organized around teams rather than individuals.

Factors of organizations culture

1. 2.

3.

Size; How long it has been around, how much turnover there has been among employees; Intensity with which the culture was originated.

Strong vs. Weak Organizational Culture

Strong Cultures
Value widely shared Culture conveys consistent massages about whats important Employees can tell stories about company history/heroes Employees strongly identify with culture Strong connection between shared values and behaviors

Weak Cultures
Values limited to a few people usually top management Culture sends contradictory messages about whats important Employees have little knowledge of company history or heroes Employees have little identification with culture Little connection between shared values and behavior

How an Organizations Culture is Established and Maintained

Top Management
Philosophy of Organizations Culture Selection Criteria Organizations Culture

Socialization

How employees learn culture?

Stories, typically contain a narrative of significant
events/people, including things as the organizations founders, rule breaking, reactions to past mistakes, etc.

Ritual, repetitive sequences of activities that express and

reinforce the values of the organization, what goals are most important, and which people are important.

Material Symbols, the layout of an organizations

facilities, how employees dress, the size of offices, etc. MSs convey to employees who is important, the degree of equality desired by top management, and the kind of behavior that are expected and appropriate.

Language, the use of L as a way to identify and unite

members of culture.

Managerial Decisions Affected by Culture

Planning The degree of risk that plans should contain Whether plans should be developed by individuals or teams The degree of environmental scanning in which management will engage

Managerial Decisions Affected by Culture II

Organizing How much autonomy should be designed into employees job Whether tasks should be done by individuals or in teams The degree to which department managers interact with each other

Managerial Decisions Affected by Culture III

Leading
The degree to which managers are concerned with increasing employee job satisfaction What leadership styles are appropriative Whether all disagreements even constructive ones should be eliminated

Managerial Decisions Affected by Culture IV

Controlling
Whether to improve external controls or to allow employees to control their own actions What criteria should be emphasized in employee performance evaluations What repercussions will occur from exceeding ones budget

Current organizational culture issues facing managers

1. Creating an Ethical Culture Suggestions for Managers: Be a visible role model; Communicate ethical expectations; Provide ethics training; Visibly reward ethical acts and punish unethical ones; Provide protective mechanisms so employees can discuss ethical dilemmas and report unethical behavior without fear

Current organizational culture issues facing managers II

2. Creating an Innovative Culture Challenge and Involvement; Freedom; Trust and openness; Idea time; Playfulness/humor; Conflict resolution; Debates; Risk taking

Current organizational culture issues facing managers III

3. Creating a customer-responsive Culture 1. The type of employees themselves; 2. Rigid rules, procedures, and regulations; 3. The widespread use of empowerment; 4. Good listening skills; 5. Role clarity; 6. Employees who are conscientious in their desire to please the customer

Current organizational culture issues facing managers IV

4. Spirituality and Organizational Culture
Workplace spirituality is a culture where organizational values promote a sense of purpose through meaningful work that takes place in the context of community.

Cultural characteristics:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Strong Sense of Purpose Focus on Individual Development Trust and Openness Employee Empowerment Toleration of Employee Expression

External Environment
those factors and forces outside the organization that affect the organizations performance. 2 components: Specific environment General environment

The Specific Environment those external

forces that have a direct impact on managers decisions & actions and are directly relevant to the achievement of the organizations goals

Public Pressure Groups

Competitors

The Organization

Suppliers

Customers

The General Environment broad external

conditions that may affect the organization
Economic

Demographical

Global

Technological

Political / Legal

Sociocultural

Ways the environment affects managers

1.

Through the degree of environmental uncertainly that is present Through the various stakeholder relationship that exist between the organization and its external constituencies

2.

Environmental Uncertainly
The degree of change & complexity in an organizations environment.
If the components in an organizations environment change frequently it is a dynamic environment. If change is minimal it is a stable one. The degree of complexity refers to the number of components in an organizations environment & the extent of the knowledge that the organization has about those components.

Organizational Stakeholders
(any constituencies in the organizations environment that are affected by the organizations decisions and actions)
.

Customers Employees

Social & Political Action Groups Competitors

Unions

Shareholders

Trade & Industry Associations

Communities

Governments

Suppliers

Organization

Media

The importance of relationships between stakeholders and managers

1.

It can lead to organizational outcomes such as improved predictability of environmental changes, more successful innovations, greater degree of trust among stakeholders, and greater org. flexibility to reduce the impact of change.

The importance of relationships between stakeholders and managers

2.

It is the right thing to do: an organization depends on these external groups as sources of inputs (resources) and as outlets for outputs (goods & services), and managers should consider their interests as they make decisions and take actions.

How can the relationship be managed?

1.

2.

3.

4.

Identify who the organizations stakeholders are. Determine what particular interests/concerns these stakeholders might have (product quality, financial issues, etc.). Decide how critical each stakeholder is to the organizations decisions and actions. Determine how to manage the external stakeholder relationships.