Organizational Culture

1
Organizational Culture

• What is Organizational Culture?
• What is the difference between strong and weak
  cultures?
• What do cultures do?
• How are cultures created?
• How do employees learn about culture?

2
Rand Merchant Banks Culture

• When employees at Rand Merchant Bank received a
  booklet entitled The Complete Book of Rules, they
  discovered that the pages inside were blank. The
  book was a reminder that the South African
  financial institutions culture encourages
  employees to make their own decisions.

Courtesy of Rand Merchant Bank
3
What is Org. Culture?

• Culture is a term used to describe the basic
  pattern of shared beliefs, assumptions, and
  values of an organization.

4
Compare SAS Institute Wal-Mart, Inc.

• SAS 200 acre campus, free on-site medical care,
  unlimited sick days, ski trips, personal
  trainers, inexpensive gourmet cafeterias,
  encourages a 35 hour work week.
• Wal-Mart Inc. visitors have a waiting room and
  pay for own pop and coffee, emphasize efficiency
  and lowest possible operating costs, inexpensive
  office furniture.

5
What Does Culture Do?

• Distinguishes one organization from another
• Creates a sense of identity for employees
• Serves as a sense-making and control mechanism
  that guides and shapes employees attitudes and
  behaviors

6
Dominant and Subcultures

• Dominant culture is really what we mean when we
  refer to Org. culture
• Subcultures can support the dominant culture or
  act as countercultures and oppose the core values
  of the organization
• Two functions of countercultures
• provide surveillance and critique, ethics
• source of emerging values

7
Strong vs. Weak Cultures

• Strong exists when most employees believe in
  and accept the dominant values of the
  organization.
• Weak dominant values are short lived and held
  mainly by upper management
• Adaptive cultures employees focus on the needs
  of customer and various stakeholders and keep
  pace with change

8
Research

• Studies over the years testing the relationships
  of culture strength and organizational
  performance have found only a modest, positive
  relationship between the two.

9
How is Culture Created Communicated?

• Early beliefs and values come from the companys
  founders
• We infer cultural characteristics from stories,
  legends, rituals and ceremonies, language,
  structure, and symbols

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Stories Legends

• Have the most impact when they are presumed to be
  true, are known by most employees and can provide
  a lesson or advice as to what to do or not to do.

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Rituals

• Rituals
• programmed routines
• (eg., how visitors are greeted, how employees are
  recognized, how upper management communicates
  with employees, how meetings are conducted etc.)

12
Ceremonies

• More formal activities that benefits the
  employees of an organization.
• Examples retirement banquets, years of service
  award ceremonies, special gathering to launch a
  new product, sales person(s) of the year ceremony
  etc.

13
Artifacts Organizational Language

• Words used to address co-workers, customers,
  stakeholders and so on.
• Leaders use metaphors and special vocabulary as
  cultural symbols
• eg. Container Stores Being Gumby being
  flexible and helpful etc.

14
Common Metaphors

• Organizational Culture, learning, life-cycles
• The bread of life, heated debate, a rainbow of
  flavors, life in the fast lane, grow your own
  potential, youve got the power

15
Artifacts Physical Structures/Symbols

• Building structure -- may shape and reflect
  culture
• Oakleys Interplanetary Headquarters in
  Foothill Ranch, California
• Office design conveys cultural meaning
• Furniture, office size, wall hangings