TOPIC ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Ing. Pavel Adámek, Ph.D. adamek@opf.slu.cz • •Culture: surface manifestations, values and basic assumptions • •Organizational values • •Organizational socialization • •Culture managed versus tolerated • •Types of organizatinoal culture • • • • • • Content •shapes the image that the public has of an organization; • •influences organizational effectiveness; • •provides direction for the company; • •helps to attract, retain and motivate staff. Organizational Culture •Corporate culture - how things are done in a company on a daily basis. • •It affects how employees perform their work, and how they relate to each other, to customers, and to their managers. • •Organizational culture affects not only task issues – how well or badly an organization performs – but also emotional issues – how workers feel about their work and their companies. • Organizational culture has been a popular topic since the early 1980s: •Japan’s industrial success during the 1970s and 1980s; •increasing globalization, placing organizational culture into sharp focus alongside national culture; •the contentious view that management can consciously manipulate culture to achieve organizational (change) objectives; •the belief that intangible (soft) factors such as values and beliefs impacted on financial (hard) ones and the conviction that managers were capable of changing cultures. Organizational Culture Organizational Culture •First level is the surface manifestations of Organizational culture, also called ‘observable culture’. • •It refers to the visible things that a culture produces. • •It includes both physical objects and also behaviour patterns that can be seen, heard or felt – they all ‘send a message’ to an organization’s employees, suppliers, and customers. Culture: surface manifestations, values and basic assumptions •Artefacts are material objects created by human hands to facilitate culturally expressive activities. They include tools, furniture, appliances, and clothing. •Ceremonials are formally planned, elaborate, dramatic sets of activities of cultural expression, e.g. opening events, prize-givings, graduations, religious services. •Courses and workshops are used to instruct, induct, orient, and train new members in company practices. •Heroes are characters, living or dead, who personify the values and beliefs; who are referred to in company stories, legends, sagas, myths and jokes; and who represent role models that current employees should emulate. •Jokes are humorous stories intended to cause amusement. Culture: surface manifestations, values and basic assumptions •Language is the particular form or manner in which members use vocal sounds and written signs to convey meaning to each other. It includes specialist technical vocabulary related to the business (jargon) as well as general naming choices. • •Legends are handed-down narratives about wonderful events based on company history.These fascinate employees and invite them to admire or deplore certain activities. • •Mottoes are maxims adopted as rules of conduct. Unlike slogans, mottoes are rarely, if ever, changed. • •Norms are expected modes of behaviour that are accepted as the company’s way of doing things, thereby providing guidance for employee behaviour. Culture: surface manifestations, values and basic assumptions •Physical layout concerns things that surround people, providing them with immediate sensory stimuli, as they carry out culturally expressive activities. • •Slogans are short, catchy phrases that are regularly changed. They are used both for customer advertising and to motivate employees. • •Stories are narratives describing how individuals acted and the decisions they made that affected the company’s future. Stories can include a mixture of both truth and fiction. • •Symbols refer to any act, event, object, quality, or relationship that serves as a vehicle for conveying meaning. Culture: surface manifestations, values and basic assumptions •Organizational values are the accumulated beliefs held about how work should be done and situations dealt with. They can be encapsulated either in phrases or in single words such as •Citizenship •Diversity •Excellence •Honesty •Integrity •Innovation •Respect •Safety •Teamwork Organizational Values Corporate Values Adidas •Performance: Sport is the foundation for all we do and executional excellence is a core value of our Group. • •Passion: Passion is at the heart of our company. We are continuously moving forward, innovating, and improving. • •Integrity: We are honest, open, ethical, and fair. People trust us to adhere to our word. • •Diversity: We know it takes people with different ideas, strengths, interests, and cultural backgrounds to make our company succeed. We encourage healthy debate and differences of opinion. Corporate Values Facebook •Focus on impact • •Move fast • •Be bold • •Be open • •Build social value Corporate Values H&M •We believe in people •We are one team •Straightforward and open-minded •Keep it simple •Entrepreneurial spirit •Constant improvement •Cost-consciousness Corporate Values Uber At Uber, company values are called “cultural norms”: •We build globally, we live locally. •We are customer obsessed. •We celebrate differences. •We do the right thing. •We act like owners. •We persevere. •We value ideas over hierarchy. •We make big bold bets. Corporate Values Uber At Uber, company values are called “cultural norms”: •We build globally, we live locally. •We are customer obsessed. •We celebrate differences. •We do the right thing. •We act like owners. •We persevere. •We value ideas over hierarchy. •We make big bold bets. Corporate Values Starbucks Coffee •Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome. • •Acting with courage, challenging the status quo and finding new ways to grow our company and each other. • •Being present, connecting with transparency, dignity and respect. • •Delivering our very best in all we do, holding ourselves accountable for results. Corporate Values Netflix - https://inside.6q.io/the-nine-netflix-company-values/ •Judgement •Communication •Impact •Curiosity •Innovation •Courage •Passion •Honesty •Selflessness Corporate Values •Originally, a single person, or a group of people, has an idea for a new business, and brings in other key people to create a core group who share a common vision. This group creates an organization, brings in others, and begins to build a common history. • •A company’s current top management acts as its ‘culture carriers’. Thus ‘organizational’ values are really always the values of the current company elite (senior managers). This is similar to the way that ‘organizational goals’ actually represent the preferred aims of chief executives and their management teams. • Sources of Values •This is the process through which an employee’s pattern of behaviour, values, attitudes, and motives is influenced to conform to those of the organization. • •It includes the careful selection of new company members, their instruction in appropriate ways of thinking and behaving; and the reinforcement of desired behaviours by senior managers. Organizational socialization Stages of Socialization Do you speak IKEA? •The has view holds that every organization possesses a culture which, along with its strategy, structure, technology, and employees, is part of the organizational machine that can be controlled and managed. This is also known as the ‘critical variable’ view. • •The culture is ‘given’ to new hires who have not participated in its formation. From this perspective, culture is acquired by employees. It is seen as capable of definition, intervention, and control, representing a ‘tool for change’ that can be used by managers. Culture „has“ versus culture „is“ •How managers can change their company’s culture from ‘weak’ to ‘strong’; • •How culture can help a company innovate and adjust rapidly to environmental changes? • •The part played by leaders’ visions and styles of management in managing their cultures. • • Cultural leadership is seen as maintaining, promoting and developing the company’s culture. • Culture managed versus tolerated For example: •Disrupted and reorganized the traditional inside/outside boundary by holding team meetings before or after work at city centre cafés or nearby parks. •The teambuilding meetings involved participants bringing personal items from home to the workshop. • •It also encouraged inside-the-organization activities that normally took place outside work, e.g. wearing pyjamas, drinking alcohol, bringing home-made food to share with colleagues, decorating a work area with personal items, and dressing casually – to be ‘free to be themselves’. Culture managed versus tolerated There are four components to an organization’s culture: beliefs, behavioural rules, traditions, and rituals. The degree to which these components are present or absent determine the strength or weakness of a culture. WEAK CULTURE A culture is weak when its beliefs, behavioural rules, traditions, and rituals are not apparent to its members or there is incongruence between stated values and behaviour. Culture strength CHARACTERISTICS OF A WEAK CULTURE 1.Narrow/Isolated Thinking: People in these organizations believe they have all the answers. 2.Resistance to Change: The organization focuses on maintaining the status quo, avoiding risk, and not making mistakes. It is the leadership in the culture that allows these factors to pervade and paralyze the organization rather than focusing on innovation and success. 3.Political Internal Environment: issues and problems get resolved along the lines of power. Vocal support or opposition, personal lobbying, and the formation of coalitions interested in a particular outcome stifles change. 4.Unhealthy Promotion Practices: This characteristic is evident when an organization promotes a dedicated or long-time employee to management who is hard-working and good at day-to-day operations, but lacks leadership skills, vision, and the ability to think strategically. Culture strength STRONG CULTURE A culture is considered strong when there is cohesion around beliefs, behavioural rules, traditions, and rituals. Strong cultures typically feature their beliefs, behavioural rules, traditions, and rituals in public displays so that employees can use these cultural elements for decision making throughout the organization. Strong cultures include: •More than one strong leader who articulates beliefs, behavioral rules, traditions, and rituals that are aligned with customer needs, strategic direction, and competitive environments. •Organizational commitment to operating its business as directed by the culture. •Unfaltering commitment by the organization to support its key stakeholders — business partners, suppliers, employees, customers, and shareholders (if any) — and by extension the community, society, and environment. Culture strength CHARACTERISTICS OF A STRONG CULTURE 1.Culture-reinforcing Tools: These include things like ceremonies, symbols, language, behavioral rules, and policies. Ceremonies and symbols help recognize and celebrate high-performance employees and help create an emotional bond among all employees. 2.Intensely People Oriented: Organizations with strong cultures display their concern for their employees in a variety of ways. These include: –Treating employees with dignity and respect –Granting employees enough autonomy to excel and contribute –Holding managers at every level accountable for the growth and development of people who report to them –Using of a full range of rewards and consequences to reinforce high-performance behavior –Setting clear performance standards for all employees 3.Results Oriented: High-performance cultures invest more time and resources to ensure that employees who excel and achieve performance targets are identified and rewarded. 4.Emphasis on Achievement And Excellence Culture strength The core of a positive culture Types of organizational culture •Clan oriented cultures are family-like, with a focus on mentoring, nurturing, and “doing things together.” • •Adhocracy oriented cultures are dynamic and entrepreneurial, with a focus on risk-taking, innovation, and “doing things first.” • •Market oriented cultures are results oriented, with a focus on competition, achievement, and “getting the job done.” • •Hierarchy oriented cultures are structured and controlled, with a focus on efficiency, stability and “doing things right. Manager-Initiated Interventions •Organizational culture being partly the outcome of societal factors. • •National cultural stereotypes are well established: Scots are mean; Americans are brash; Germans are humourless; French are romantic; and Japanese are inscrutable. National cultures National cultures Video: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x791mfj • Culturam dimension and GLOBE country rankings • Culturam dimension and GLOBE country rankings •We can distinguished surface manifestations of culture at level one (e.g., artefacts, rites, ceremonials); organizational values at level two (e.g. Customer obsession); and basic assumptions at level three which actually was the culture (e.g. nature of reality and truth). •Organizational culture is either something that a company has, or what a company is. •Organizational culture is a single, integrated unit or a differentiated entity consisting of multiple, different subcultures, fragmented with conflicting interests. •An organization’s culture can be managed by its leaders or it is beyond their direct control and has to be tolerated by them. •We categorized the cultures of organization using a four-type framework: role, power, task, and person. •culture could be differentiated along five dimensions: power distance; uncertainty avoidance; individualism–collectivism; masculinity–femininity; and short-term–long-term perspective. • • RECAP We can share our thoughts and ask questions J Pavel Adámek adamek@opf.slu.cz