4.

0 Organisational culture

By Dr. M. Mbasera
organizational culture defined

• Edgar Schein defines organizational culture as “a pattern of

basic assumptions – invented, discovered or developed by a
given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external
adaptation and internal integration – that has worked well
enough to be considered valuable and, therefore to be taught to
new members as the correct way to perceive, think and fell in
relation to those problems”.
Basic Elements of Culture
• Artefacts: According to Schein, Artefacts are the first level of organizational culture.
Artefacts are the things that come together to define a culture and reveal what the
culture is about to those who pay attention to them. They include products, services, and
even behaviour patterns of the members of an organization. Things that “one sees,
hears, and feels when one encounters a new group with an unfamiliar culture”.
• 2. Espoused Values: Espoused values are the second level of organizational culture.
Values are things worth doing, or the reasons for doing what we do. Values are the
answers to the “why” questions. For examples, why are you reading this book? To know
more about Organization Behaviour. Why is that Important? To be a better HR Manager.
Why do you need more money? To fulfil my wife’s desire to own a farm house. Such
questions go on and on, until you reach the point where you no longer want something
for the sake of something else. At this point, we have arrived at a value. Corporations
have values, such as size, profitability, or making
• 3. Basic Assumptions: The third level of organizational culture, are the beliefs that
organization members take for granted. Culture prescribes “the right way to do things” at
an organization, often through unspoken assumptions
Important Characteristics of organisational
culture
• Observed behavioural regularities. When organizational participants interact with one another, they use common
language, terminology, and rituals related to deference and demeanour.
• 2. Norms. Standards of behaviour exist, including guidelines on how much work to do, which in many organizations
come down to “Do not do too much; do not do too little.”
• 3. Dominant values. There are major values that the organization advocated and expects the participants to share.
Typical examples are high product quality, low absenteeism, and high efficiency.
• 4. Philosophy. There are policies that set forth the organization’s beliefs about how employees and/or customers are to
be treated.
• 5. Rules. There are strict guidelines related to getting along in the organization.
• Newcomers must learn those “ropes” in order to be accepted as full-fledged members of the group.
• 6. Organizational climate. This is an overall “feeling” that is conveyed by the physical layout, the way participants
interact, and the way members of the organization conduct themselves with customers or other outsiders.
 How employees learn culture?
• Culture is transmitted to employees in a number of ways. The most significant are stories, rituals, symbols, and language.

• Stories: Organizational “stories” typically contain a narrative of significant events or people including such things as the organization’s founders, rules
breaking, reactions to past mistakes, These stories provide prime examples that people can learn from and tell employees “why we do things in a
certain way”. To help employees learn the culture, organizational stories anchor the present in the past and exemplify what is important to the
organization.

• Rituals and Ceremonies: Corporate rituals are repetitive sequences of activates that express and reinforce the values of the organization, what goals
are most important, and which people are important and which ones are superfluous. Ceremonies and rituals reflect such activities that are enacted
repeatedly on important occasions. Members of the organization who have achieved success are recognized and rewarded on such occasions. For
example, awards given to employees e.g. end of year awards are reflections of culture of that institution.

• Material / Cultural Symbols: Symbols communicate organizational culture by unspoken messages. When you walk into different businesses, do you
get a “feel” for the place – formal, casual, fun, serious, and so forth? These feelings you get demonstrate the power of material symbols in creating an
organization’s personality. Examples: - assigned parking space for senior executives in the company premises, large offices given to senior managers,
luxury automobiles given to senior or successful officers of the organization.

• Organizational Heroes: Top Management and prominent leaders of the organization become the role models and a personification of an
organization’s culture. Their behaviour and example become a reflection of the organization’s philosophy and helps to mould the behaviour of
organizational members.

• Language: - Many organizations and units within organizations use language as a way to identify members of a culture. By learning this language,
members attest to their acceptance of the culture and their willingness to help to preserve it.
Characteristics of a healthy
organisational climate
a healthy organisational climate might be expected to exhibit such characteristic features
as:
• The integration of organisational goals and personal goals;
• The most appropriate organisation structure based on the demands of the sociotechnical
system;
• Democratic functioning of the organisation with full opportunities for participation;
• Justice in treatment with equitable HRM and employment relations policies and
practices;
• Mutual trust, consideration and support among different levels of the organisation;
• The open discussion of conflict with an attempt to avoid confrontation;
• Managerial behaviour and styles of leadership appropriate to the particular work
situations;
 Characteristics of a healthy organisational
climate continue
• Acceptance of the psychological contract between the individual and the
organisation;
• Recognition of people’s needs and expectations at work, and individual
differences and attributes;
• Equitable systems of rewards based on positive recognition;
• Concern for the quality of working life and job design;
• Opportunities for personal development and career progression;
• A sense of identity with, and loyalty to, the organisation and a feeling of
being a valued and important member.
If organisational climate is to be improved, then attention should be given to
the above features.
 Activities
• Define culture?
• What are the basic elements of culture?
• 4. Explain the characteristics of Organisational Culture.
• 5. What are the major elements of organizational culture, and where
do they come from?
• 5. What are characteristic features which a healthy organisational
climate might exhibit