Module 4

AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

ashishpillai@gmail.com

AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

What is This?


AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

What is Organizational Culture?
A system of shared values, assumptions, beliefs, and
norms that unite the members of an organization.

Reflects employees’ views about “the way things are
done around here.”

The culture specific to each firm affects how employees
feel and act and the type of employee hired and
retained by the company.


AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Do Organizations Have Uniform Cultures?

Dominant Subcultures
Culture
Core
Values


AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Culture & Subcultures
Dominant culture -- most widely shared values
and assumptions

Subcultures
Located throughout the organization
Can enhance or oppose (countercultures) firm’s dominant culture

Are “countercultures” useful?
Provide surveillance and critique, ethics
Source of emerging values

AM ITY GLO BAL
The
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Artefacts of
Org. Culture
Elements
of
Organizational
Culture

Culture

AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Organizational Culture Profile
Org Culture
Dimensions Dimension Characteristics
Experimenting, opportunity seeking, risk taking, few
Innovation
rules, low cautiousness
Stability Predictability, security, rule-oriented
Respect for people Fairness, tolerance
Outcome
orientation Action oriented, high expectations, results oriented

Attention to detail Precise, analytic

Team orientation Collaboration, people-oriented

Aggressiveness Competitive, low emphasis on social responsibility


AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Artifacts of Organizational Culture

Observable symbols and signs of culture

Physical structures, ceremonies, language, stories

Maintain and transmit organization’s culture

Not easy to decipher artifacts -- need many of them


AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Artifacts – Stories & Legends
Social prescriptions of desired (undesired) behavior

Provides a realistic human side to expectations

Most effective stories and legends:
Describe real people
Assumed to be true
Known throughout the organization
Are prescriptive

AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Artifacts – Rituals & Ceremonies
Rituals
Programmed routines
(eg., how visitors are greeted, marking attendance, call
for meeting etc…)

Ceremonies
Planned activities for an audience
(eg., award ceremonies, celebrating occassions etc…)


AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Artifacts – Organizational Language
Words used to address people, describe
customers, etc.

Leaders use phrases and special vocabulary as
cultural symbols

Language also found in subcultures


AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Artifacts – Physical Structures

Building structure -- may shape and reflect culture

Office design conveys cultural meaning
Furniture, office size, wall hangings


AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Strength of Organizational Culture
How widely and deeply employees hold the
company’s dominant values and assumptions
Strong cultures exist when:
Most employees understand/embrace the dominant
values

Values and assumptions are institutionalized through
well-established artifacts

Culture is long lasting -- often traced back to founder

AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Functions of Strong Corporate Culture
Culture strength
advantages depend on:

• Environment fit
• Not cult-like
• Adaptive culture

Functions of Organizational
Strong Cultures Outcomes

• Control system • Org performance
• Social glue • Employee well-being
• Sense-making


AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

BUSINESS
CULTURE

ORGANIZATION OCCUPATIONAL
CULTURE CULTURE


AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
Finds national culture dimensions meaningful to
business
Basis:
Work related values not universal
National values may persist over MNC efforts to create corporate
culture
Home country values often used to determine HQ policies
MNC may create morale problems with uniform moral norms
Purpose: understanding of business situations
across-cultures

AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
Geert Hofstede – sampled 100,000 IBM employees
1963-1973
Compared employee attitudes and values across
40 countries
Isolated 4 dimensions summarizing culture:
1. Power distance
2. Individualism vs. Collectivism
3. Uncertainty avoidance
4. Masculinity vs. Feminity

AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Power Distance
Degree of social inequality considered normal by
people

Distance between individuals at different levels of a
hierarchy

Scale: from equal (small power distance) to
extremely unequal (large power distance)


AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Individualism Vs. Collectivism

Degree to which people in a country prefer to act as
individuals rather than in groups

Describes the relations between the individual and
his/her fellows


AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Uncertainty Avoidance
Degree of need to avoid uncertainty about the
future
Degree of preference for structured versus
unstructured situations
Structured situations: have tight rules may or may not be written
down

High uncertainty avoidance: people with more
nervous energy (Vs. easy-going), rigid society,
"what is different is dangerous."


AM ITY GLO BAL
BUSINESS SCHO O L

Masculinity Vs. Feminity
Division of roles and values in a society

Masculine values prevail:
Assertiveness, success, competition

Feminine values prevail:
Quality of life, maintenance of warm personal
relationships, service, care for the weak, solidarity


Module 4

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Module 4

Similar to Module 4 (20)

More from Ashish Pillai

More from Ashish Pillai (9)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Module 4