Culture

1. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

2. DEFINITION
 Culture is the unique dominant pattern of shared
beliefs, assumptions, values, and norms that
shape the socialization, symbols, language and
practices of a group of people.
 The attitudes and approaches that typify the way
staff carry out their tasks.
 Culture is developed and transmitted by people,
consciously and unconsciously, to subsequent
generations.

3. WHAT MUST BE FOR CULTURE TO EXIST?
1. It must be shared by the vast majority of
members of a group or society;
2. It must be passed on from generation to
generation; and
3. It must shape behaviour and perceptions.

4. CULTURAL
ICEBERG
Observable
elements of
culture
Not observable
•Practices
•Language
•Symbols
•Norms
•Values
•Assumptions

5. SHARED ASSUMPTIONS
 Shared assumptions are the thoughts and
feelings that members of a culture take for
granted and believe to be true.

6. VALUES AND NORMS
 Values are the basic beliefs people hold that
specify general preferences and behaviours,
and define what is right and wrong.
Cultural values are reflected in a society’s morals,
customs and established practices
 Norms are rules that govern behaviours of
groups of people.

7. SYMBOLS
 A symbols is any visible object, act, or event
that conveys meaning to others. Examples:
Artefacts
Dress
Office layout
Slogans
ceremonies

8. LANGUAGE
 Language is a shared system of vocal sounds,
written signs, and/or gestures used to convey
meaning among members of a culture.
The Nike swoosh was inspired by the
Greek goddess Nike, the winged goddess
of victory. The swoosh symbolizes her
flight. It conveys the meaning of a brand of
sports shoes

9. PRACTICES
 Practices are observable cultural customs
such as taboos (culturally forbidden
behaviours) and ceremonies

10. SOCIALIZATION
 Socialization is the process by which people
learn values, norms, behaviours and social
skills. It is the means by which new members
are brought into a culture.

11. HOFSTEDE’S 6 CULTURAL DIMENSIONS

12. MASCULINE/FEMININE (MAS)
What motivates people: wanting to be the best (masculine) or liking what you
do
(feminine).
·High Score on MAS falls on the Masculinity side of this dimension.
Represents a preference in society for achievement, heroism,
assertiveness and material reward for success. Society at large is more
competitive.
·Femininity, stands for a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the
weak and quality of life. Society at large is more consensus-oriented.

13. UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE (UAI)
·How a country or society handles the fact that the future or situations can
be unpredictable or unclear: should we try to control the future or just let it
happen?
·The uncertainty avoidance dimension tells the degree in which citizens of a
society feel apprehensive or nervous with uncertainty and ambiguity and have
created beliefs and institutions to specifically protect against it.
·Countries that possess a strong UAI have strict codes of belief, laws, and
behavior and are unaccepting of different behavior and ideas. There is a strong
emotional need for rules.
·Weak UAI societies maintain a more relaxed attitude in which practice counts
more than principles.More “care-free”; accepts inherent ideas; not threatened by
change or different ideas.

14. LONG VS. SHORT TERM
ORIENTATION (LTO)
Long-term orientation exists when you are focused on the future.
You are willing to delay short- term material or social success or even shot-term
emotional gratification in order to prepare for the future. If you have this cultural
perspective, you value persistence, perseverance, saving and being able to
adapt.
Short-term orientation exists when you are focused on the present or past and
consider them more important than the future. If you have a short-term
orientation, you value tradition, the current social hierarchy, and fulfilling your
social obligations. You care more about immediate gratification than long-term
fulfillment.

15. INDULGENCE VS.
RESTRAINT (IDV)
Indulgence stands for the capacity of the society to allow relatively
free gratification of basic and natural human drives related to
enjoying life and having fun.
Restraint stands for a society’s tendency to suppress gratification of
needs and regulates it by means of social norms.

16. POWER DISTANCE (PDI)
•
• Degree to which less powerful people accept & expect that power is
distributed unequally
• Hierarchical order created in which people have a place or status
• Score of >50 means people are more accepting of a hierarchical order
• Score of <50 seek equalization of power, pursue inequalities

17. INDIVIDUALISM VS.
COLLECTIVISM (IDV)
• A society’s ability to create and rely upon a social framework that supports
each respective person
• Score of >50 is a looser social framework
• Score of <50 is a tighter social framework with people looking after each
other

18. ORGANIZATIONAL
CULTURE
A system of shared meaning held
by members that distinguishes
the organization from other
organizations
•Composed of seven key
characteristics
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19. SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS OF
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
1. Innovation and Risk
Taking
2. Attention to Detail
3. Outcome Orientation
4. People Orientation
5. Team Orientation
6. Aggressiveness
7. Stability
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20. CULTURE IS A DESCRIPTIVE TERM
Culture
• Organizational culture is
concerned with how
employees perceive an
organization’s culture, not
whether or not they like it
• Descriptive
Job Satisfaction
• Measures affective
responses to the work
environment: concerned
with how employees feel
about the organization
• Evaluative
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21. DO ORGANIZATIONS HAVE UNIFORM
CULTURES?
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• The dominant culture expresses the core
values that are shared by a majority of the
organization’s members
• Subcultures tend to develop in large
organizations to reflect common problems,
situations, or experiences of members
• Subcultures mirror the dominant culture
but may add to or modify the core values

22. STRONG CULTURES
• In a strong culture, the organization’s core
values are both intensely held and widely
shared
• Strong cultures will:
 Have great influence on the
behavior of its members
 Increase cohesiveness
 Result in lower employee
turnover
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23. CULTURE VERSUS
FORMALIZATION
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• Both seek predictability, orderliness, and
consistency
• Culture controls by increasing behavioral
consistency
• Formalization controls through policies and
written documentation
• Strong cultures can be a substitute for
formalization

24. CULTURE’S FIVE BASIC FUNCTIONS
• Defines Boundaries
• Conveys a Sense of Identity
• Generates Commitment Beyond Oneself
• Enhances Social Stability
• Sense-making and Control Mechanism
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25. CULTURE AS A LIABILITY
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• Barrier to Change
 Culture is slow to change – even in a dynamic
environment
• Barrier to Diversity
 Culture seeks to minimize diversity
 Can embed prevalent bias and prejudice
• Barrier to Acquisitions and Mergers
 Most mergers fail due to cultural incompatibility

26. CULTURE AS A LIABILITY
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• Barrier to Change
 Culture is slow to change – even in a dynamic
environment
• Barrier to Diversity
 Culture seeks to minimize diversity
 Can embed prevalent bias and prejudice
• Barrier to Acquisitions and Mergers
 Most mergers fail due to cultural incompatibility

27. CULTURE’S FIVE BASIC FUNCTIONS
• Defines Boundaries
• Conveys a Sense of Identity
• Generates Commitment Beyond Oneself
• Enhances Social Stability
• Sense-making and Control Mechanism
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28. CREATING CULTURE
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• Ultimate source of an organization’s culture
is its founders
• Founders create culture in three ways:
 By hiring and keeping those who think and feel the
same way they do
 Indoctrinating and socializing those employees to their
way of thinking and feeling
 Acting as a role model and encouraging employees to
identify with them

29. KEEPING A CULTURE ALIVE
• Selection – seek out those who fit in
• Top Management – establish norms of
behavior by their actions
• Socialization – help new employees adapt
to the existing culture
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30. A SOCIALIZATION
MODEL
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• Pre-arrival –initial knowledge about the
organization and own unique ideas
• Encounter – exposed to the organization
• Metamorphosis – member changed to fit
within the organization

31. DIMENSIONS OF
SOCIALIZATION PROGRAMS
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 Intense Programs
 Formal – new workers separated for
training
 Collective – group basis
 Fixed – planned activities
 Serial – role models used
 Divestiture – strip away characteristics
to build up new ones
 M
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 I
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32. HOW ORGANIZATION CULTURES
FORM
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Success in employee socialization depends
on management’s selection of socialization
method and the closeness of new employees’
values to those of the organization

33. HOW EMPLOYEES LEARN CULTURE
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Culture is transmitted to
employees through:
 Stories – provide
explanations
 Rituals – reinforce key
values
 Material Symbols – convey
importance
 Language – identify and
segregate members

34. CREATING AN ETHICAL
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
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4 A strong culture with high risk tolerance, low-to-moderate aggressiveness,
and focuses on means as well as outcomes is most likely to shape high
ethical standards
 Managers must be visible role models
 Communicate ethical expectations
 Provide ethical training
 Visibly reward ethical acts and punish unethical ones
 Provide protective mechanisms
 A positive culture is one that emphasizes the following:
 Building on Employee Strengths
 Rewarding More Than Punishing
 Emphasizing Vitality and Growth of the Employee

35. GLOBAL
IMPLICATIONS
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National and Organizational Cultures:
• Organizations exist in a global context
• Must be aware of local and national cultures
Suggestions and Observations:
•Organizations heavily dependent on foreign markets and
labor
• National culture does influence organizational culture
• All managers must be culturally sensitive

36. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS
• Create the culture
you want when
the organization is
small and new
• If established
culture needs to
be changed,
expect it to take
years

37. KEEP IN MIND…
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• Organizational culture is concerned with
how employees perceive the culture, not
whether or not they like it
• Ethical and positive organizational cultures
can be created – methods differ
• National culture influences organizational
culture

38. SUMMARY
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• Defined organizational culture and described its
common characteristics.
• Compared the functional and dysfunctional effects of
organizational culture on people and the organization.
• Explained the factors that created and sustained an
organization’s culture.
• Showed how culture was transmitted to employees.
• Demonstrated how an ethical culture and a positive
culture could be created.
• Showed how national culture might affect the way
organizational culture is transported to a different
country.