Organizational

Culture
By;
Anand Mohan
&
Abhishek Kumpawat
 ORGANISATIONAL
Policy/Rules STRUCTURE
Officialisation
Language Hierarchy
Facts

Dialect Heroes
Norms
Socialization
Attitudes
Beliefs
Rumors'
ORGANISATIONAL
CULTURE
 Organizational Culture
 the set of shared values and
norms that controls
organizational members’
interactions with each other
and with people outside the
organization
 Organizational Culture

 Values: general criteria, standards, or

guiding principles that people use to
determine which types of behaviors,
events, situations, and outcomes are
desirable or undesirable
 Norms: kinds of behavior that are
considered acceptable or typical for a
group of people
 Organizational Culture

 Based on enduring values embodied in

organizational norms, rules, standard
operating procedures, and goals
 People use these elements to guide their
actions and decisions when faced with
uncertainty and ambiguity.
 Important influence on members’ behavior
and response to situations
Comparison of Cultural Values

Americans Japanese Arabs

Freedom Belonging Family security
Independence Group harmony Family harmony
Self-reliance Collectivity Parental guidance
Equality Age/seniority Age
Individualism Group consensus Authority
Competition Cooperation Compromise
Efficiency Quality Devotion
Time Patience Patience
Directness Indirectness Indirectness
Do Organizations Have Uniform
Cultures?

Dominant Subcultures
Culture
Core
Values
Uniformity Of Culture
 Dominant Culture
 Represents the core values shared by a majority of
members in the organization
 Guides the day today behavior of the organization.
 Subculture
 Represents values & norms held by small minority
members in the organization.
 Tend to develop in large organizations.
 People belonging to same occupational groups have
common problems
 Core Values
 The primary or dominant values that are accepted
throughout the organization.
 Intensity of Commitment to
Core Values Core Values

Strong Versus
Weak Cultures

Level of Behavioral Level of Employee

Control Turnover
Stories Rituals

Elements of
Culture

Symbols &
Heroes
Language
Components of Organizational
Culture

 Routine behaviors.
 Norms shared by members.
 Dominant values.
 Guiding philosophy for policies toward
employees and customers.
 The rules of the game for getting along in
the organization.
 The climate of the organization.
Organizational Culture

Functions Liabilities
❖ Defining boundaries ❖ Impeding change

❖ Conveying identity ❖ Inhibiting diversity

❖ Promoting commitment ❖ Stifling creativity
❖ Controlling behavior
❖ Blocking mergers &
acquisitions
Four-Culture Typology

High Networked Communal

Sociability

Low Fragmented Mercenary

Low High
Solidarity
Networked Culture(This has high sociability
and low solidarity leading to:)

 Open physical spaces including social areas.

 Decorations with such as photos.
 Separated marked spaces to show territory (especially in negative
forms).
 Much talk, including informal meetings.
 Lots of use of email, phones, etc.
 Attention to communicating in the 'right' way.
 Socialising during work hours, which can be long.
 People identify with one another.
Mercenary Culture(This has low sociability and
high solidarity leading to:)

 Functional spaces that do the job and little

more.
 Displays of awards and recognitions.

 Talk is short and focused.

 Argument is confrontational.

 Long hours when it is needed (which is

often).
 People identify with winning.
Fragmented Culture(This has low sociability
and low solidarity leading to:)

 Private offices or people who work from home.

 Little talk or communications (with little
opportunity for casual chat too).
 Talk is focused on specific topics and kept
short.
 Most talk is directed to people outside the
organization.
 People identify with individualism and freedom.
Communal Culture(This has high sociability and
high solidarity leading to:)

 Open plan spaces.

 Highly visible corporate symbols.

 Focus on face-face communications.

 Persuasion is often based on guilt or shame.

 Work as living and vice-versa. Work-life

balance is irrelevant.
 People identify with company values
How A Culture Begins

Hiring and Indoctrination

Retention & Socialization

Behavior and
Role Modeling
Ways of Transmitting Organizational
Culture

Formal socialization
practices

Ceremonial
Employees The
Rites
learn organizational
and
through: language
Ceremonies

Signs, symbols, stories

Socialization:

 the process by which members

learn and internalize the values and
norms of an organization’s culture
A Socialization Model
Stages in the Socialization
Process
Prearrival Stage
The period of learning in the socialization process that
occurs before a new employee joins the organization.

Encounter Stage
The stage in the socialization process in which a new
employee sees what the organization is really like and
confronts the possibility that expectations and reality
may diverge.
Metamorphosis Stage
The stage in the socialization process in which a new
employee changes and adjusts to the work, work group,
and organization.
Entry Socialization Options

• Formal vs. Informal

• Individual vs. Collective

• Fixed vs. Variable

• Serial vs. Random

Formal vs. Informal
 Formal tactics segregate newcomers
from existing organizational members
during the learning process.
 With informal tactics, newcomers
learn on the job, as members of a
team.
Collective vs. Individual
 Collective tactics provide newcomers
with common learning experiences
designed to produce a standardized
response to a situation.
 With individual tactics, each newcomer’s
learning experiences are unique, and
newcomers can learn new, appropriate
responses for each situation.
Fixed vs.Variable
 Fixed tactics give newcomers precise
knowledge of the timetable associated
with completing each stage in the
learning process.
 Variable tactics provide no information
about when newcomers will reach a
certain stage in the learning process.
Sequential vs. Random
 Sequential tactics provide newcomers with
explicit information about the sequence in
which they will perform new activities or
occupy new roles as they advance in an
organization.
 With random tactics, training is based on
the interests and needs of individual
newcomers because there is no set
sequence to the newcomers’ progress in
the organization.
Ceremonial Rites
 Organizationsuse several types of
ceremonial rites and ceremonies to
communicate cultural norms and
values.
 Rites of passage
 Rites of integration

 Rites of enhancement
 Organizational Rites and
Ceremonies
TYPE EXAMPLE POSSIBLE
CONSEQUENCES
Facilitate transition into
Rites of Orientation new roles; minimize
passage programmes differences in way roles
are carried out
Rites of Company Enhance power & identity;
enhance- ceremonies emphasize value of proper
ment e.g. Awards behavior
Rites of Office Encourage common feelings
integration Party that bind members
together
 How Organizational Cultures
Sustain

Top
Management
Philosophy
of the Organizational
Selection
Organization’s Culture
Founders

Socialization
How Organizational Cultures
Sustain
 Sources of Organizational Culture
 The organization’s founder
 Vision and mission

 Past practices of the organization

 The way things have been done

 The behavior of top management

 Continuation of the Organizational Culture

 Recruitment of like-minded employees who “fit”
 Socialization of new employees to help them adapt to
the culture
Issues Associated with
External Adaptation and Survival

 Identifying the organization's primary mission,

and selecting strategies to pursue it.
 Setting specific targets.
 Determining how to pursue the goals, including
selecting an organizational structure and
reward system.
 Establishing criteria to measure individual and
team goal accomplishment.
Issues Associated with Internal
Integration
 Identifying methods of communication, and
developing a shared meaning for important
concepts.
 Establishing criteria for membership in groups and
teams.
 Determining rules for acquiring, maintaining, and
losing power and status.
 Developing systems for encouraging desirable
behaviors and discouraging undesirable behaviors.
Effects of Organizational Culture on
Employee Behavior and Performance

 Allows employees to understand the firm’s

history and current approach.
 Fosters commitment to corporate philosophy
and values.
 Serves as a control mechanism for employee
behaviors.
 Certain cultural types may produce greater
effectiveness and productivity.
 How to change an
organizational culture
CHANGE THE
CEO

ADD NEW
MEMBERS

INVOLVE
MEMBERS CHANGE IN
O.C.
CHANGE THE
REWARD SYS.

CULTURE
SHOCK

CHANGE VALUE
SYSTEM
Reference
 McShane Steven l. and Glinov Marry Ann Von, Organizational behavior, McGraw-Hill.
 Robbins Stephen P. and Judge Timothy A., Organizational behavior, PHI Learning.
 Prasad L. M., Organisational behaviour, Sultan Chand & Sons.
 www1.ximb.ac.in/users/fac/visiting/vfac.nsf/.../Org%20Culture.ppt
 siteresources.worldbank.org/.../Hopper_Organizational_Culture.ppt
 www2.tech.purdue.edu/Ols/courses/.../Orgculture.ppt
 http://chiakwongmin.blogspot.com/2005/06/goffee-and-jones-cultural-model.html