7. Organizational Culture and Social Influence - Study Notes

Learning Objectives

  • L1 Understand the motives for social conformity.
  • L2 Describe the socialization process and the stages of organizational socialization.
  • L3 Describe the implications of unrealistic expectations and the psychological contract for socialization.
  • L4 Define organizational culture and discuss the assets and liabilities of strong cultures.
  • L5 Discuss the contributors to an organization’s culture.
  • L6 Describe how to diagnose an organizational culture.

Social Influence in Organizations

  • Before considering organizational culture, understand social influence and socialization, as people often feel or act differently due to dependence on others in group settings.
  • Two kinds of dependence that set the stage for influence:
    • Information dependence: reliance on others for information about how to think, feel, and act; signals from others influence thoughts, feelings, and actions; explained by social information processing theory.
    • Effect dependence: reliance on others due to their capacity to provide rewards and punishments; group desires approval; managers can reward/punish (e.g., promotions, raises, favorable task assignments).

Information Dependence and Social Information Processing Theory

  • Information dependence gives others the opportunity to influence thoughts, feelings, and actions via signals sent to us.
  • This process is explained by social information processing theory.

Effect Dependence

  • Dependence on others because of their ability to provide rewards and punishments.
  • The group has a vested interest in how individuals think and act.
  • Members seek group approval; managers hold rewards/punishments (e.g., promotions, raises, task assignments).

The Social Influence Process and Conformity

  • A direct consequence of information and effect dependence is the tendency to conform to group-established social norms.
  • Conformity can vary across cultures (e.g., conformity differences between China and American workplaces; examples and discussions are provided in linked video resources).

The Social Influence Process and Conformity: Motives

  • There are three motives for social conformity:
    • Compliance
    • Identification
    • Internalization

Compliance

  • Conformity to a social norm to acquire rewards or avoid punishment.
  • Primarily involves effect dependence.
  • Is the simplest, most direct motive for conformity to group norms.
  • Example prompt: Has the pandemic altered social norms inside and outside the workplace?

Identification

  • Conformity to a social norm because those promoting the norm are attractive or similar to oneself.
  • Information dependence is especially important: if someone is similar to you, you rely on them for information about how to think and act.

Internalization

  • Conformity to a social norm due to true acceptance of the beliefs, values, and attitudes underlying the norm.
  • Conformity occurs because it is seen as right, not for rewards or avoiding punishment; driven by internal rather than external forces.

From Conformity to Organizational Socialization

  • Simple compliance can create a foundation for deeper identification and involvement with organizational norms and roles.
  • The process through which this occurs in organizations is known as organizational socialization.

Organizational Socialization

  • Socialization is the process by which people learn the attitudes, knowledge, and behaviours necessary to function in a group or organization.
  • It is a learning process in which new members acquire information and knowledge, change attitudes, and perform new behaviours.
  • Socialization is the primary means by which organizations communicate the organization’s culture and values to new members.

Organizational Identification

  • Organizational identification refers to the extent to which individuals define themselves in terms of the organization and what it represents.
  • It reflects learning and acceptance of an organization’s culture.

The Socialization Process: Stages

  • The socialization process occurs before formal membership begins and after entry, continuing over time.
  • It is an ongoing process in three stages:
    • Stage 1: before entry (anticipatory socialization)
    • Stage 2: immediately after entry (encounter)
    • Stage 3: after some period of time as a member (metamorphosis)

Socialization and The Psychological Contract

  • Psychological contract: beliefs about reciprocal obligations and promises between employees and the organization.
  • Employees expect certain rewards (e.g., bonuses, promotions) in exchange for hard work and loyalty.
  • People join organizations with expectations about what membership will entail and what they will receive in return for their efforts.

Psychological Contract Breach

  • Breach: employee perceptions that the organization failed to fulfill promises or obligations in the psychological contract.
  • Breach is common and relates to affective reactions, work attitudes, and work behaviours.
  • Breach results in negative emotions, feelings of violation and mistrust toward management; associated with decreased innovation-related behaviours and lower customer satisfaction.

Why Psychological Contract Breach Occurs

  • Recruiters promise more than the organization can provide.
  • Newcomers lack sufficient information to form accurate perceptions.
  • Organizational changes can cause organizations to knowingly break promises they cannot or will not keep.

Reducing Psychological Contract Breach

  • Organizations should ensure truthful and accurate information about promises and obligations for new members.
  • Breach is less likely when socialization is intense.
  • What organizations actually give employees matters, and the psychological contract can influence newcomers’ socialization.

What is the Psychological Contract for Women

  • Discussion prompt: Have companies failed to make women feel safe? A need for a new and better psychological contract for women.
  • Related video resources provided in the transcript.

Methods of Socialization

  • Organizations differ in who socializes, how it is done, and how much is done.
  • Common methods include:
    • Realistic job previews
    • Employee orientation programs
    • Socialization tactics
    • Mentoring
  • These topics are explored in more detail in the text.

Organizational Culture

  • The process of socialization both depends on and shapes the organization’s culture.
  • Culture can heavily affect employee attitudes and behaviour.
  • Many employees place more importance on strong organizational culture than on compensation.

What Is Organizational Culture?

  • Informally, culture can be thought of as an organization’s style, atmosphere, or personality.
  • Culture provides uniqueness and social identity.
  • Organizational culture consists of shared beliefs, values, and assumptions within the organization.

How Culture Shapes Norms and Behavior

  • Shared beliefs, values, and assumptions determine the norms that develop and the patterns of behavior that emerge.
  • CULTURE -> NORMS -> BEHAVIOUR
  • Other important characteristics accompany culture.

Characteristics of Organizational Culture

  • Represents a true “way of life” for organizational members; influence is often taken for granted.
  • Tends to be fairly stable over time; once established, it can persist despite turnover, providing social continuity.
  • The content of culture can be internal or external to the organization.
  • Culture can significantly impact both organizational performance and member satisfaction.

Subcultures

  • An organization can have several cultures, known as subcultures.
  • Subcultures form within a larger culture based on differences in training, occupation, or departmental goals.
  • Effective organizations develop an overarching culture to manage differences between subcultures.

The “Strong Culture” Concept

  • A strong culture is an organizational culture with intense and pervasive beliefs, values, and assumptions.
  • Strong culture provides great consensus about what the organization is about or what it stands for.
  • Examples referenced include Hilti Corp. (Can-do attitude), Google (Innovation culture), Shopify (Collaboration and innovation), Netflix (high performance culture).
  • Note: Videos illustrating these cultures are linked in the transcript.

Strong Cultures: Size, Conformity, and Success

  • An organization does not need to be large to have a strong culture.
  • Strong cultures do not necessarily result in blind conformity.
  • Strong cultures are associated with greater success and effectiveness (e.g., Netflix example).

Assets of Strong Cultures

  • Coordination: Core values and assumptions facilitate cross-unit learning and coordination.
  • Conflict resolution: Core values help determine appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms.
  • Financial success: When culture supports mission/strategy/goals, it contributes to organizational effectiveness (e.g., WestJet Airlines, admired culture).

Liabilities of Strong Cultures

  • Strong cultures can be liabilities in certain conditions:
    • Resistance to change
    • Culture clash (e.g., during mergers or acquisitions)
    • Pathology (cultures that perpetuate infighting, secrecy, paranoia)
  • A video example discusses gaming industry culture and related pathologies.

Culture Contributors

  • Two key factors shape and maintain cultures:
    • The founder’s role
    • Socialization

The Founder’s Role

  • Many cultures reflect the founder’s values; top management strongly shapes culture.
  • The culture tends to emulate what top management pays attention to.
  • Examples include Alibaba’s founder-led culture and leadership insights related to Jack Ma (video resources linked in the transcript).

Socialization as a Cultural Engine

  • The exact socialization process is a key determinant of the resulting culture.
  • Strong cultures invest in careful, step-by-step socialization for new recruits.
  • Example: Facebook culture and onboarding practices (video resource linked in the transcript).

Diagnosing a Culture

  • One way to grasp a culture is to examine symbols, rituals, and stories that characterize the organization’s way of life.
  • For insiders, symbols, rituals, and stories teach, communicate, and reinforce culture.

Symbols

  • Symbols are strong indicators of corporate culture.
  • Executives can consciously use symbols to reinforce cultural values.

Rituals

  • Rites, rituals, and ceremonies convey the essence of a culture.
  • Examples of rituals include recognition awards and events, monthly/beach/employee nights, award ceremonies.

Stories

  • Organizations communicate culture through stories (folklore, past events).
  • Stories explain how things work and reflect the organization’s culture.
  • Common themes in organizational stories address: is the big boss human? can the little person rise to the top? will I get fired? will the organization help me when I have to move? how will the boss react to mistakes? how will the organization deal with obstacles?

Common Themes of Organizational Stories

  • Underlying issues of equality, security, and control.
  • Stories often have a “good” version and a “bad” version, with retellings signaling core values.

Summary

  • Review covered topics: motives for social conformity; socialization process and stages; organizational culture; assets and liabilities of strong cultures; contributors to culture; diagnosing an organizational culture.