Organizational Culture

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OrganizationalCulture
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C H A P T E R
S I X T E E N
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Organizational Culture Defined

• Basic pattern of shared assumptions, values, and
  beliefs considered to be the correct way of
  thinking about and acting on problems and
  opportunities facing the organization.

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Slide 17.2Components of Organizational Culture

• Routine behaviors.
• Norms shared by teams.
• 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.

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Elements of Organizational Culture

• Physical Structures
• Rituals/ Ceremonies
• Stories
• Language
• Beliefs
• Values
• Assumptions

Artifacts of Organizational Culture
Organizational Culture
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Organizational Subcultures

• Located throughout the organization
• Support or oppose (countercultures) firms
  dominant culture
• Two functions of countercultures
• provide surveillance and evaluation
• source of emerging values

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Artifacts of Organizational Culture

• Organizational stories
• social prescriptions and role models
• Rituals and ceremonies
• programmed routines and planned activities
• Organizational language
• Defining words, metaphors
• Physical structures and space
• Building structure, office design

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Oakelys Culture in Building Design

• Oakely, Inc.s protective and competitive
  corporate culture is apparent in its building
  design and workspace. The building looks like a
  vault to protect its cherished product designs
  (eyewear, footwear, apparel and watches).

Courtesy of Oakely, Inc.
Courtesy of Oakely, Inc.
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Problems with Strong Cultures

• Strong cultures may be a problem when
• Culture content is incompatible with the
  organizations environment.
• Strong cultures focus attention on one mental
  model.
• Strong cultures suppress dissenting values from
  subcultures.

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Bicultural Audit

• Part of due diligence in merger
• Minimizes risk of cultural collision by
  diagnosing companies before merger
• Three steps in bicultural audit
• 1. Examine artifacts identifying cultural
  differences between merging companies
• 2. Analyze audit data -- determine where cultural
  conflict and compatibility exist
• 3. Identify ways to bridge the two organizations
  cultures

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Merging Organizational Cultures

• Assimilation Strategy
• Deculturation Strategy
• Integration Strategy
• Separation Strategy

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Strengthening Organizational Culture
Foundersand leaders
Strengthening Organizational Culture
Culturally consistent rewards
Selection and socialization
Stable workforce
Managing the cultural network
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Slide 17.8Requirements for Successfully Changing
Organizational Culture

• Understand the old culture first.
• Support employees and teams who have ideas for a
  better culture and are willing to act on those
  ideas.
• Find the most effective subculture in the
  organization and use it as a model.
• Help employees and teams do their jobs more
  effectively.
• Use the vision of a new culture as a guide for
  change.
• Recognize that significant cultural change takes
  time.
• Live the new culture.