3. Contents
Meaning and Nature of
Organization Culture
Origin of Organization Culture
Functions of Organization
Culture
Types of Culture
Creating and Maintaining
Organization Culture
Managing Cultural Diversity.
4.
5. Organizational Culture:
Organizational culture
refers to a system of shared
meaning held by members
that distinguishes the
organization from other
organizations.
A common perception held
by the organization’s
members; a system of
shared meaning
6. The Origin of Organizational Culture
The term organizational culture, or culture in the organizational context, was first introduced
by Dr. Elliott Jaques in his book The Changing Culture of a Factory. (Jaques, 1951).
This was a published report of “a case study of developments in the social life of one industrial
community between April 1948 and November 1950.”
The “case” was a publicly held British company engaged principally in the manufacture, sale,
and servicing of metal bearings.
The study was concerned with the description, analysis, and development of the corporate
group behaviors.
According to Dr. Jaques “the culture of the factory is its customary and traditional way of
thinking and doing of things, which is shared to a greater or lesser degree by all its members,
and which new members must learn, and at least partially accept, in order to be accepted into
service in the firm…”. (Jaques, 1951, p251).
In simpler terms, it means the extent people can share common wishes, desires and
aspirations and commit themselves to work together. It is a matter of being able to care about
the same things, and it applies to nations as well as to associations and organizations within
nations.
7. How Culture Originates
Stems from the actions of the founders:
Founders hire and keep only
employees who think and feel the
same way they do.
Founders indoctrinate and socialize
these employees to their way of
thinking and feeling.
The founders’ own behavior acts as a
role model that encourages
employees to identify with them and
thereby internalize their beliefs,
values, and assumptions.
8. Research identifies primary characteristics that capture
the essence of an organization’s culture:
Innovation and risk taking
Attention to detail
Outcome orientation
People orientation
Team orientation
Aggressiveness
Stability
Reward System
Management support
Conflict tolerance
Integration
Control
Communication patterns
11. Soft vs. Hard culture.
Soft work culture can emerge in an organization where the organization pursues multiple and
conflicting goals.
In a soft culture the employees choose to pursue a few objectives which serve personal or
sectional interests.
A typical example of soft culture can be found in a number of public sector organizations in
India where the management feels constrained to take action against employees to maintain
high productivity.
The culture is welfare oriented; people are held accountable for their mistakes but are not
rewarded for good performance.
Consequently, the employees consider work to be less important than personal and social
obligations. Whereas, its vice-versa in organizations who follow hard cultures.
Soft work culture can emerge in an organisation where the organisation pursues multiple and
conflicting goals. In a soft culture the employees choose to pursue a few objectives which
serve personal or sectional interests
16. Keeping Culture Alive
Selection
Concerned with how well the candidates will fit into
the organization
Provides information to candidates about the
organization
Top Management
Senior executives help establish behavioral norms that
are adopted by the organization
Socialization
The process that helps new employees adapt to the
organization’s culture
17. Stages in the Socialization Process
Pre-arrival
The period of learning prior to a new employee joining the organization
Encounter
When the new employee sees what the organization is really like and confronts
the possibility that expectations and reality may diverge
Metamorphosis
When the new employee changes and adjusts to the work, work group, and
organization
18. Summary: How Organizational Cultures
Form
Organizational cultures are derived from the founder
They are sustained through managerial action
19. How Employees Learn Culture
Stories
Anchor the present into the past and provide explanations and legitimacy for
current practices
Eg: Henry Ford to arrogant employees-”It’s my name that’s on the building”
Narratives about organization’s founders, rule breaking, rags to riches successes,
workforce reductions, relocations, reactions to past mistakes, organizational
coping
Rituals
Repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the key values of
the organization
Eg: Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants: Housekeeping Olympics
United Entertainment Group: Unusual Working hours by CEO Jarrod Moses
20. Material Symbols
Acceptable attire, office size, opulence of the office furnishings, and executive
perks that convey to employees who is important in the organization
Eg: Adidas Gurugram Office-Large free Gym used by 200 employees daily.
C.E.Os. driving Company Cars, Company Brands
Autodesk-Bring your Dog to work
Genentech-Biotech Leader: 7 weeks paid leave for every 5 years of service.
Language
Jargon and special ways of expressing one’s self to indicate membership in the
organization
Eg: Acronyms used, jargons used in the organization
21. Managing Cultural Diversity
Cultural diversity describes a representation of
different cultural and ethnic groups in society.
Organizational Cultural diversity/ Cultural
diversity at Workplace: Having Diverse employees.
It refers to the “result of practices, values,
traditions, or beliefs of employees based on race,
age, ethnicity, religion, or gender” Cultural
diversity in the workplace is when companies are
open to hiring employees from all sorts of different
backgrounds; regardless of race, religion and
culture.
When companies recruit and retain a diverse pool
of people, it brings about different benefits to the
company as well as its employees.
22.
23. ICICI Culture
ICICI Bank India’s second largest bank exudes a performance-oriented culture.
Its organizational practices place a premium on training, career development, goal setting, and pay-for-performance,
all with the intent of maximizing employee performance and customer service.
“We believe in defining clear performance for employees and empowering them to achieve their goals “ says ICICI
Bank executive director Kalpana Moraria.
“This has helped to create a culture of high performance across the organization
24. Wal-Mart Culture
Wal-Mart, Inc. Wal-Mart’s headquarters almost
screams out frugality and efficiency.
The world’s largest retailer has a spartan waiting
room for suppliers, rather like a government office
waiting areas.
Visitors pay for their own soft drinks and coffee.
In each of the building’s inexpensive cubicles,
employees sit at inexpensive desk finding ways to
squeeze more efficiencies and lower costs out of
suppliers as well as their own work processes.
25. Twitter
Employees of Twitter can’t stop raving about the company’s culture.
Rooftop meetings, friendly coworkers and a team-oriented
environment in which each person is motivated by the company’s
goals have inspired that praise.
Employees of Twitter can also expect free meals at the San Francisco
headquarters, along with yoga classes and unlimited vacations for
some.
These and many other perks are not unheard of in the startup world.
But what sets Twitter apart?
Employees can’t stop talking about how they love working with other
smart people.
Workers rave about being part of a company that is doing something
that matters in the world, and there is a sense that no one leaves
until the work gets done.
Takeaway: You can’t beat having team members who are pleasant and
friendly to each other, and are both good at and love what they are
doing. No program, activity or set of rules tops having happy and
fulfilled employees who feel that what they are doing matters.
26. Google
Google has been synonymous with culture for years, and sets the
tone for many of the perks and benefits startups are now known
for.
Free meals, employee trips and parties, financial bonuses, open
presentations by high-level executives, gyms, a dog-friendly
environment and so on. Googlers are known to be driven,
talented and among the best of the best.
As Google has grown and the organization has expanded and
spread out, keeping a uniform culture has proven difficult
between headquarters and satellite offices, as well as among the
different departments within the company.
The larger a company becomes, the more that culture has to
reinvent itself to accommodate more employees and the need
for management
Hiring and expecting the best from employees can easily become
a stressor if your culture doesn’t allow for good work-life
balance.
Takeaway: Even the best culture needs to revisit itself to meet a
growing company’s team. The most successful company culture
leads to successful business, and that requires an evolving
culture that can grow with it.
27. •Facebook
Just like Google, Facebook is a company that has exploded in growth as
well as being synonymous with unique company culture.
Facebook offers, as do many similar companies, lots of food, stock
options, open office space, on-site laundry, a focus on teamwork and
open communication, a competitive atmosphere that fosters personal
growth and learning and great benefits.
Yet, Facebook has the same struggles as similar companies: a highly
competitive industry leads to a sometimes stressful and competitive
workplace. Additionally, a free and organic organizational structure that
worked for the smaller organization is less successful for the larger one.
To meet these challenges, Facebook has created conference rooms, has
separate buildings, lots of outdoor roaming space for breaks and has
management (even CEO Mark Zuckerberg) working in the open office
space alongside other employees. It’s an attempt at a flat organizational
culture using the buildings and space itself to promote a sense of
equality among the competition.
Takeaway: When your company depends on new hires who excel in a
competitive field, your company culture and any associated perks will
likely be the tipping point for applicants. You must stand out from other
companies vying for attention
28. • Walt Disney : The happiest place on
earth is the happiest place to work
Walt Disney is not just one of the most
recognizable brands in the world.
They are also the kindest community on
the planet.
A brand that is almost synonymous with
magic, Disney extends the magical
experience to its employees and
organizational culture.
What sets them apart: According to one
Disney employee, it’s their unparalleled
heritage, pride and culture, wonderful
community, amazing growth
opportunity and a creative atmosphere.
Disney only hires people who align with
what they stand for.
The Disney employee benefits include access to
Mickey’s Retreat (an exclusive area only for cast
members and their families), generous discounts on
Disney parks, hotels and merchandise, incentive
schemes, and private healthcare. Magical, isn’t it?
Takeaway: All the fancy office furniture, designer juice
bars, and loud vodka parties don’t really matter if
people aren’t nice to each other. This type of
organizational culture strives to make every place the
happiest place to work.
The fierce, competitive style and disciplined, authoritarian nature of
Hyundai, the giant Korean conglomerate, exhibits the same characteristics
often used to describe founder Chung Ju-Yung. Other founders with immeasurable
impact on their organization’s culture include Bill Gates at Microsoft,
Ingvar Kamprad at IKEA, Herb Kelleher at Southwest Airlines, Fred Smith at
FedEx, and Richard Branson at the Virgin Group.
Innovation and risk taking. The degree to which employees are encouraged
to be innovative and take risks.
2. Attention to detail. The degree to which employees are expected to
exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail.
3. Outcome orientation. The degree to which management focuses on results
or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to
achieve them.
4. People orientation. The degree to which management decisions take into
consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization.
5. Team orientation. The degree to which work activities are organized
around teams rather than individuals.
6. Aggressiveness. The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive
rather than easygoing.
7. Stability. The degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining
the status quo in contrast to growth.
When Henry Ford II was chairman of Ford Motor Company, you would have
been hard pressed to find a manager who hadn’t heard how he reminded his
executives, when they got too arrogant, “It’s my name that’s on the building.”
The message was clear: Henry Ford II ran the company.
A number of senior Nike executives spend much of their time serving
as corporate storytellers. 45 When they tell how co-founder (and Oregon
track coach) Bill Bowerman went to his workshop and poured rubber into
his wife’s waffle iron to create a better running shoe, they’re talking about
Nike’s spirit of innovation. When new hires hear tales of Oregon running star
Steve Prefontaine’s battles to make running a professional sport and attain
better performance equipment, they learn of Nike’s commitment to helping
athletes.
One of the best known
rituals is Walmart’s company chant. Begun by the company’s founder, the
late Sam Walton, as a way to motivate and unite his workforce, “Gimme a W,
gimme an A, gimme an L, gimme a squiggle, give me an M, A, R, T!” has
become a ritual that bonds workers and reinforces Walton’s belief in the
contribution his employees made to the company’s success
