Organizational Culture and Behavior

Chapter 16: Organizational Culture

Overview

• Organizational Culture: The shared social knowledge within an organization regarding the rules, norms, and values that shape employee attitudes and behaviors.
     - Learning: Culture is learned from other employees.
     - Guidance: Informs employees about organizational rules, norms, and values.
     - Control Mechanism: Creates a system of control over employees.

Class Agenda

• Organizational Culture
• Differences in Organizational Cultures:
     - Culture Components
     - General Culture Types
     - Specific Culture Types
     - Culture Strength
     - Maintaining an Organizational Culture
     - Changing an Organizational Culture
• Importance of Organizational Culture
     - Application: Managing Socialization

An Integrative Model of Organizational Behavior

• Organizational Mechanisms
     - Culture
     - Structure
• Individual Mechanisms
     - Job Satisfaction
     - Stress
     - Motivation
     - Trust, Justice, and Ethics
     - Learning and Decision Making
• Group Mechanisms
     - Leadership: Styles & Behaviors
     - Leadership: Power & Negotiation
     - Teams: Processes & Communication
     - Teams: Characteristics & Diversity
• Individual Characteristics
     - Ability
     - Personality & Cultural Values
• Individual Outcomes
     - Job Performance
     - Organizational Commitment

Cultural Components

Three Major Components of Organizational Culture:

1. Observable Artifacts: Manifestations of culture that employees can see and discuss.
      - Examples:
        - Symbols: Corporate logos, employee uniforms.
        - Physical Structures: Office layout, location of buildings.
        - Language: Jargon, slang, slogans within the organization.
        - Stories: Anecdotes and myths passed down through employees.
        - Rituals: Planned routines in an organization.
        - Ceremonies: Formal events often in front of organizational members.
2. Espoused Values: Beliefs, philosophies, and norms explicitly stated by a company.
      - May not correspond with enacted values (actual behavior).
      - Example from Discover’s Core Values:
        - 1. Doing the right thing
        - 2. Innovation
        - 3. Simplicity
        - 4. Collaboration
        - 5. Openness
        - 6. Volunteerism
        - 7. Enthusiasm
        - 8. Respect
3. Basic Underlying Assumptions: Ingrained beliefs that employees act on without questioning the validity.
      - Example: Safety considerations in engineering firms.
      - Long-lasting and difficult to change.

General Culture Types

• Typology divided by solidarity and sociability:
     - Solidarity: Degree of consensus among group members.
     - Sociability: Friendliness of employees.
     - Cultural Types:
       - Fragmented Culture: Employees are distant.
       - Mercenary Culture: Employees think alike but are unfriendly.
       - Networked Culture: Friendly employees think differently.
       - Communal Culture: Employees are both friendly and think alike.

Specific Culture Types

• Organizational manipulation of artifacts and values to achieve goals:
     - Customer Service Culture: Focused on quality service.
     - Safety Culture: Emphasizes employee safety.
     - Diversity Culture: Promotes workforce diversity.
     - Sustainability Culture: Advocates for sustainability.
     - Creativity Culture: Encourages a creative atmosphere.

Culture Strength

• Definition: High-intensity culture where employees agree on expected behaviors.
     - Strong Culture:
       - Unites and directs employees.
       - Takes time to develop.
       - Can have positive or negative effects; not always synonymous with