Chapter 3

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Chapter 3 Org Culture and Environment

• Symbolic versus omnipotent view of management
• Definition of organizational culture
• Seven dimensions of organizational culture
• Strong versus weak cultures
• Source of culture
• How employees learn culture
• General and specific environments
• Environmental uncertainty matrix
• Organizational stakeholders

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The Manager Omnipotent or Symbolic?

• Omnipotent View of Management
• Managers are directly responsible for an
  organizations success or failure.
• The quality of the organization is determined by
  the quality of its managers.

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The Manager Omnipotent or Symbolic?

• Symbolic View of Management
• Organizations success or failure due largely to
  forces outside managers control
• Managers ability to affect organization is
  constrained by
• The economy, customers, governmental policies,
  competitors, industry conditions, technology,
  and the actions of previous managers
• Managers merely symbolize control

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The Organizations Culture

• A system of shared meanings and common beliefs
  held by organizational members that determines,
  in a large degree, how they act towards each
  other.
• The way we do things around here.
• Values, symbols, rituals, myths, and practices

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Levels of Organizational Culture

• Architecture
• Material symbols
• Dress
• Behavior
• Rules
• Stories, myths, legends
• Language
• Favorite topics of conversation
• Rituals, ceremonies
• Beliefs
• Norms
• Values
• Assumptions

Observable
Unobservable
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HPs Organizational Culture

• College campus
• No doors/Open door policy
• First-name basis
• Flexible hours
• Company socials
• MBWA
• Profit sharing
• Job security
• No theft
• Trust and respect for individuals
• Achievement and contribution
• Uncompromising integrity
• Teamwork
• Flexibility and innovation

Observable
Unobservable
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Dimensions of Organizational Culture
Exhibit 3.2
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Strong vs. Weak Culture
Strong - Key values are deeply and widely
held Strong influence on employees
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Benefit of Strong Culture

• Higher employee commitment
• Higher organizational performance
• Easier recruitment and socialization of new
  members

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Factors Influencing Strength of Culture

• Size
• Age
• Rate of employee turnover
• Strength of original culture
• Clarity of cultural values and beliefs

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Sources of Organizational Culture

• The organizations founder
• Vision and mission
• Past practices of the organization
• The way things have been done
• The behavior of top management

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Continuation of Organizational Culture

• Recruitment of like-minded employees who fit
• Socialization of new employees to help them adapt
  to the culture

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How Employees Learn Culture

• Stories
• Narratives of significant events or actions of
  people that convey the spirit of the organization
• Rituals
• Repetitive sequences of activities that express
  and reinforce the values of the organization
• Material Symbols
• Physical assets distinguishing the organization
• Language
• Acronyms and jargon of terms, phrases, and word
  meanings specific to an organization

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Simple Rule for Getting Ahead

• Find out what the organization rewards and do
  those things!

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Examples of How Culture Influences Management
Practice

• Fitting in
• Look busy even if youre not.
• Work late, even if the office closes at 500
• Dont question the bosss decisions
• Managing
• Dont re-engineer in a democracy
• Dont take risks in a conservative organization
• Dont go it alone if teamwork counts

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The External Environment
Exhibit 3.8
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Defining the External Environment

• External Environment
• The forces and institutions outside the
  organization that potentially can affect the
  organizations performance.
• Components of the External Environment
• Specific environment external forces that have a
  direct and immediate impact on the organization.
• General environment broad economic,
  socio-cultural, political/legal, demographic,
  technological, and global conditions that may
  affect the organization.

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ENVIRONMENTAL FORCE Hewlett-Packard Los Angeles County California State University
Economy ? ? ?
Technology ? ? ?
Customer demands ? ?
Geo-political situation ? ?
Competition ?
Globalization ?
Demographics ? ?
Public accountability ? ?
Rules and regulations ?
The Board ?
The Media ?
Housing costs ?
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How the Environment Affects Managers

• Environmental Uncertainty
• The extent to which managers have knowledge of
  and are able to predict change their
  organizations external environment is affected
  by
• Complexity of the environment the number of
  components in an organizations external
  environment.
• Degree of change in environmental components how
  dynamic or stable the external environment is.

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Complexity and Dynamism (Speed of Change and
Unpredictability) at the Three Giants
FORCE HP LAC CSU
Economy ? ? ?
Technology ? ? ?
Customer demands ? ?
Geo-political situation ? ?
Competition ?
Globalization ?
Demographics ? ?
Public accountability ? ?
Rules and regulations ?
The Board ?
The Media ?
Housing costs ?
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Environmental Uncertainty Matrix
Exhibit 3.10
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