Org culture, and types building culture

Organizational culture, types of culture, how to build a culture, variance of culture, types of organizations

1. ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

2. What is Organisational Culture? Culture is the soul of the organization—the beliefs and values, and how they are manifested. Culture provides stability to an organization and gives employees a clear understanding of “the way things are done around an organization.” Culture sets the tone for how organizations operate and how individuals within the organization interact.

3. Definition of Organizational Culture Organizational culture is the pattern of shared values, beliefs, and assumptions considered to be the appropriate way to think and act within an organization. The key features of culture are as follows: • Culture is shared by the members of the organization. • Culture helps members of the organization solve and understand the things that the organization encounters, both internally and externally

4. Because the assumptions, beliefs, and expectations that make up culture have worked over time, members of the organization believe they are valid. Therefore, they are taught to people who join the organization. • These assumptions, beliefs, and expectations strongly influence how people perceive, think, feel, and behave within the organization.

5. Levels of Culture Artifacts - These are what you see, hear, and feel when you encounter an organization’s culture. You may notice, for instance, that employees in two offices have very different dress policies, or one office displays great works of art while another posts company mottos on the wall.

6. Beliefs, Values, and Assumptions, unlike Artifacts, are not always readily observable. Beliefs are the understandings of how objects and ideas relate to each other. Values are the stable, long-lasting beliefs about what is important.

7. Assumptions are the taken-for-granted notions of how something should be. When basic assumptions are held by the entire group, members will have difficulty conceiving of another way of doing things.

8. Characteristics of Culture Research suggests that seven primary characteristics capture the essence of an organization’s culture: • Innovation and risk-taking. The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks. • Attention to detail. The degree to which employees are expected to work with precision, analysis, and attention to detail.

9. Outcome orientation. The degree to which management focuses on results, or outcomes, rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve these outcomes. People orientation: The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization. Team orientation. The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals.

10. Aggressiveness: The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easy going and supportive. Stability: The degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth

11. Function of Culture Culture performs a number of functions within an organization:It has a boundary-defining role because it creates distinction between one organization and others.It conveys a sense of identity to organization members. It helps create commitment to something larger than an individual’s self-interest. enhances stability; it is the social glue that helps hold the organization together by providing appropriate standards for what employees should say and do.

12. Do Organizations have Uniform Cultures? Organizational culture represents a common perception held by the organization’s members. Dominant culture: A system of shared meaning that expresses the core values shared by a majority of the organization’s members. Subcultures: Mini-cultures within an organization, typically defined by department designations and geographical separation. Core values in terms of the primary, or dominant, values that are accepted throughout the organization.

13. Contrasting Organisational Cultures How a Culture Begins: An organization’s current customs, traditions, and general way of doing things largely owe to what it has done before and how successful those previous endeavours have been. How Organizational Cultures Form: Once a culture is in place, human resource practices within the organization act to maintain it by giving employees a set of similar experiences. For example, the selection process, performance evaluation criteria, training and career development activities, and promotion procedures ensure that new employees fit in with the culture, rewarding those who support it and penalizing (even expelling) those who challenge it.

14. Three forces play a particularly important part in sustaining a culture: Selection practices, The actions of top management Socialization methods.

15. Selection: The explicit goal of the selection process is to identify and hire individuals who have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the jobs within the organization successfully.  Top Management: The actions of top management also have a major impact on the organization’s culture. Through what they say and how they behave, senior executives establish norms that filter down through the organization. These norms establish whether risk-taking is desirable; how much freedom managers should give their employees; what is appropriate dress; what actions will pay off in terms of pay raises, promotions, and other rewards; and the like.

16. Socialization: No matter how effectively the organization recruits and selects new employees, they are not fully trained in the organization’s culture when they start their jobs. Because they are unfamiliar with the organization’s culture, new employees may disturb the beliefs and customs that are in place. The organization will, therefore, want to help new employees adapt to its culture. This adaptation process is called socialization.

17. Matching People with Organizational Cultures Research by Goffee and Jones provides some interesting insights on different organizational cultures and guidance for prospective employees. Goffee and Jones argue that two dimensions underlie organizational culture.

18. The Two Dimensions The first is Sociability The second dimension is Solidarity Sociability This is a measure of friendliness. High sociability means people do kind things for one another without expecting something in return and they relate to each other in a friendly, caring way.

19. Solidarity It considers the strength of the group’s task orientation. High solidarity means people can overlook personal biases and rally behind common interests and common goals.

20. Four Culture Typology Networked culture High on sociability, low on solidarity Organizations with this type of culture view members as family and friends. People know and like each other. People willingly give assistance to others and openly share information. The major downside to this culture is that the focus on friendships can lead to a tolerance for poor performance and creation of political cliques.

21. Mercenary Culture Low on sociability, high on solidarity Organizations with this type of culture are fiercely goal-focused. People are intense and determined to meet goals. They have a zest for getting things done quickly and a powerful sense of purpose. A mercenary culture is not just about winning; it is about destroying the enemy. This focus on goals and objectivity leads to a minimal degree of politicking. The major downside to this culture is that it can lead toan almost inhumane treatment of people who are perceived as low performers.

22. Communal Culture High on sociability, high on solidarity Organizations with this type of culture value both friendship and performance. People have a feeling of belonging, but there is still a ruthless focus on goal achievement. Leaders of these cultures tend to be inspirational and charismatic, with a clear vision of the organizations’ future. The major downside to this culture is that it often consumes employees’ lives.

23. Fragmented culture Low on sociability, low on solidarity Organizations with this type of culture are made up of individualists. Commitment is first and foremost to individual members and their job tasks. There is little or no identification with the organization. In a fragmented culture, employees are judged solely on their productivity and the quality of their work. The major downside to this culture is that it can lead to excessive critiquing of others and an absence of collegiality and cooperation.

24. creating corporate culture Good leaders take an interest in the  positive and negative effects of organizational culture . Effective leaders have a vision for the culture they want and work to develop it in the organization: They  encourage staff to believe in their vision  and empower them to help make it a reality. They  encourage employees to respect and care  about each other. They  build trust  between themselves and their team. When employees act in ways that exhibit the desired culture,  leaders celebrate  them. For instance, to develop a culture where employees act independently, management should  acknowledge staffers who do great independent work . They  eliminate negative behaviors . If the CEO wants a workplace culture that celebrates diversity, they have to discourage bigotry and discrimination. They  walk the walk . No amount of vision statements and speeches will be as effective as staff seeing the leader lives by the values they talk about.

25. what makes culture toxic? Poor communication.  If managers don't talk openly to their staff, or if employees can't share their thoughts with management, that leads to a breakdown in trust. A toxic employee  who backstabs or bullies colleagues can erode organizational culture. If management doesn't rein the employee in, other employees may assume the company will tolerate them behaving the same way. Prioritizing profit  above everything else encourages employees to cut ethical corners to suit the bottom line. Setting employees competing  against each other works against building a cooperative culture. Micromanagement.  If employees feel they're under constant scrutiny, they stress out. Resistance to change makes it harder to fight the  negative impact of organizational culture. If managers or other workers  don't perform to the company's standards , employees will realize how much they can get away with. Lack of engagement.  If the company shows no interest in employees, that makes it harder for them to care.

26. effects on management The positive and negative effects of organizational culture influence managers as well as lower-ranked employees. For example, a small company may expect managers to help out employees when they need it. That's a positive culture, fostering a spirit of teamwork. The effects of organizational culture on managers also shape how decisions get made. The culture can emphasize data-driven decisions dominated by analytics and statistics, or favor going with your gut. Culture shapes decisions as much as the facts in the case.

27. negative impact of organizational culture In a healthy organization, the effects of organizational culture on employee performance will be positive. Employees know they're valued and enjoy the work environment, so they're ready to give their best. A negative culture has the opposite effect: An organizational culture that doesn't value quality work gives the employees  no reason to strive  for quality. A culture that tolerates bad behavior  gives other employees license to behave  the same way. Unhealthy organizational culture leaves employees  feeling miserable , with decreased motivation to commit to their job. An unpleasant culture can  increase employee turnover  because nobody wants to stick around where they're miserable. If the culture becomes known outside the company, it may become harder to attract new recruits too. 

28. HOFSTEDE’s Cultural Dimension

29. Deal & Kennedy Corporate culture

30. Grave’s Taxonomy

31. Impact of culture on Behaviour in Organizations Planning Staffing Career Management Appraisal and Compensation