Cultural approaches in organizational approaches

Prescriptive versus desriptive appraoches in organizational culture.

1. Cultural Approaches Sub topic: The Cultural Metaphor Prescriptive Approaches to Culture Descriptive and Explanatory Approaches to Culture PRESENTED BY: RABIATUL ADAWIYAH BINTI IBRAHIM NAQIBAH IZZATI BINTI MOHAMMAD JOHAN INTAN FITRI AISYAH BINTI HAMZAH

2. The Cultural Metaphor A culture is a complicated patchwork of values, symbols, and behaviors that define a group of people. (Miller, 2015) What is Malaysian culture? Values : Different ethnicity Symbol : Bunga Raya, Jalur Gemilang Rites and ritual : Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali

3. The Cultural Metaphor To investigate the qualities that make an organization what it is. E.g.: What makes Google different from Apple? What makes UiTM different from any other university? As noted by Pacanowsky and O’Donnell-Trujillo (1983), “Each organization has its own way of doing what it does and its own way of talking about what it is doing”

4. Cultural Approaches : Overview Prescriptive Views of Culture Deal and Kennedy’s “Strong Cultures” Peters and Waterman’s “Excellent Cultures” Descriptive and Explanatory Approaches to Culture Organizational Cultures are Complicated Organizational Cultures are Emergent Organizational Cultures are not Unitary Organizational Cultures are Often Ambiguous

5. A. Prescriptive Approaches to Culture Deal and Kennedy’s “Strong Cultures” Four key components of a strong cultures: Values and Beliefs Heroic Figures Rituals and Ceremonies The Cultural Network Peters and Waterman’s “Excellent Cultures” 8 Themes

6. 1. Deal and Kennedy’s “Strong Cultures” Business success can be enhanced through the development of a "strong" culture (Deal and Kennedy, 1982). Individual improvement and organizational performance can be achieved if an organization has the components of a strong culture.

7. 1. Deal and Kennedy’s “Strong Cultures” Deal and Kennedy identify four key components of a strong cultures: Values and Beliefs Heroic Figures Rituals and Ceremonies The Cultural Network

8. 1. Deal and Kennedy’s “Strong Cultures” Values and Beliefs – Values are the beliefs and the visions that member hold for an organization. A shared beliefs of what is really important, and the values that determine what the organization stands for. For example: Prudential Insurance represents a value of stability.

9. 1. Deal and Kennedy’s “Strong Cultures” Heroic Figures – Heroes are the individual who come to exemplify and organization’s values. Related to stories are the employees and managers whose status is elevated because they embody organizational values. These heroes serve as role models and their words and actions signal the ideal to aspire to. For example: Bill Gates exemplifies entrepreneurship and philanthropy through his work at Microsoft.

10. 1. Deal and Kennedy’s “Strong Cultures” Rituals and Ceremonies – Ceremonies through which an organization celebrates its values. Things that employees do every day that bring them together. Examples: Friday afternoon get-togethers or simply saying goodbye to everyone before you leave for the day. An awards banquet for outstanding employee

11. 1. Deal and Kennedy’s “Strong Cultures” The Cultural Network – The communication system through which cultural values are instituted and reinforced. The cultural network consist of both formal and informal organizational channels. Example for formal channel: Newsletter E-mail Example for informal channel : Storytellers, Gossipers, Whisperers, Spies, Religious people

12. 2. Peters &Waterman’s “Excellent Cultures” Attempt to identify aspects of organizational culture Studied “excellent” 62 organizations Identified themes that characterized the cultures

13. Theme Description 1. A bias for action Excellent organizations react quickly and do not spend excess time planning and analyzing. 2. Close relations to the customer Excellent organizations gear decisions and actions to the needs of customers. 3. Autonomy and entrepreneurship Excellent organizations encourage employees to take risks in the development of new ideas. 4. Productivity through people Excellent organizations encourage positive and respectful relationships among management and employee.

14. Theme Description 5. Hands-on, value driven Excellent organizations have employees and managers who share the same core value of productivity and performance. 6. Stick to the knitting Excellent organizations stay focused on what they do best and avoid radical diversification. 7. Simple form, lean staff Excellent organizations avoid complex structures and divisions of labor. 8. Simultaneous loose-tight properties Excellent organizations exhibit both unity of purpose and the diversity necessary for innovation.

15. Descriptive and Explanatory Approaches to Culture Characteristics: Organizational cultures are complicated Organizational cultures are emergent Organizational cultures are not unitary Organizational cultures are often ambiguous

16. 1. Organizational cultures are complicated Organizational culture is reflected through: Rites Ceremonies Stories that organizational members tell Organizational hallway talks Edgar Schein (1992) categorized these various aspects as the outer layer of an organizational culture “onion” The middle layer of this model is the individual and group values

17. 2. Organizational cultures are emergent Organizational cultures are socially created through the process of interaction between the organization members A study of organizational culture should concentrate on the communication processes through which culture is created ( Pacanowsky and O’Donnell-Trujillo, 1983) Communication process can be regarded as “performances” that are interactional, contextual, episodic, and improvisational

18. 3. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES ARE NOT UNITARY Organization will never have a single culture only. Organizations are characterized by a multitude of ORGANIZATIONAL SUBCULTURES Co-exist in harmony, conflict or indifference to each other Inconsistencies among cultural views are expected and desirable.

19. How do subcultures emerge? A wide range of subcultures could emerge at various sites in a single organization Vertical Slice : Division Horizontal Slice : Hierarchical level Specific work group, networks of personal contacts, demographic similarity Various subcultures within an organization represent important differences in power and in interests. Brings fundamental schisms in power and ideology in the organization Eg : The cultures held by the students and staff of faculty

20. 4. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES ARE OFTEN AMBIGUOUS There is not always a clear picture of the organization’s culture Organizations are rapidly changing. Organizational culture might also be in a state of flux Uncertain of what to do