10.2 Managing organisational culture Flashcards
What does the organisational culture refer to
The ethos, values and beliefs of a business and its employees
What is Handy’s model of culture
Used when attempting to study the business culture, managers and leaders
What cultures are part of Handy’s model
- Power culture
- Role culture
- Task culture
- Person culture
What is power culture
- Refers to a business that places importance on the authority and decision-making power of a small number of key employees
- Investment banks like Morgan Stanley have a few powerful individuals who make all important decisions
What is Role culture
A business which places importance on employees having clear roles within the organisation
What is task culture
A business which places importance on employees being associated with tasks and projects within the organisation
What is person culture
A business that places the importance on employees being valued and operating autonomously within the business
What does Hofstede’s model of national culture state
Businesses operating internationally will be affected by the cultural influences of the different countries in which they operate, and the influences are categorised
Categories on Hofstede’s model of national culture
- Individualism and collectivism
- Uncertainty avoidance
- Power distance
- Long term orientation
- Masculinity and femininity
Individualism and collectivism
Different countries will influence branches of a business in different ways as some countries have societies which value individuals whereas other countries have societies which value team members
Power distance
Different countries will influence branches of a business in different ways as some countries have societies which value individuals based on age and experience whereas other countries have societies which value individuals based on their skill and ability
Long term orientation
Different countries will influence branches of a business in different ways as some countries have societies and governments which value short-term approaches whereas other countries have societies and governments which value long-term approaches
Uncertainty avoidance
Different countries will influence branches of a business in different ways as some countries have high adversity to uncertainty whereas other countries have much lower adversity to uncertainty
Masculinity and femininity
Decision-making approaches may differ between cultures and that masculinity focusses on rewards and discipline whereas femininity focusses instead on relationships and being caring
What are the different types of organisational structures
- Functional
- Product
- Matrix
- Regional
Functional structure
When a business structures itself by the four main business functions of HR, finance, marketing and operations
Product structure
Structure around the product or services it produces so there will be staff from each function working in team assigned to each business product
Matrix structure
Structure around a matrix where each employee may report to two or more supervisors. e.g where one supervisor has knowledge of a product or project and another has knowledge of business function
Regional structure
Structure around a region, staff from each function work in a team assigned to each region
Influences when choosing organisational structure
-Industry
- Action of competitors
- Market conditions
What is CPA`
A widely-used project management tool that uses network analysis to help project managers to handle complex and time-sensitive operations in the most efficient way
CPA model includes
- A list of all activities required to complete the project
- The (duration) that each activity will take to completion
- The dependencies between the activities
What does CPA calculate
- The longest path of planned activities to the end of the project
- The earliest and Latest that each activity can start and finish without making the project longer (identifies the critical activities and can calculate total float)
What is a node
A circle on a CPA that represents a point in time where an activity is started or finished. The node is split into 3 sections
What is the left half of a node
The unique node (activity) number - the network diagram draws these in order
What is the top right section of a node
Shows the earliest start time (EST) that an activity can commence based on the completion of the previous activity
What is the bottom right section on a node
Shows the latest finish time (LFT) by which the previous activity must be completed
How is an activity shown on a CPA
By linking the nodes with a line. A letter representing the activity is usually shown above the relevant line
How is the duration of an activity shown on a CPA
Under the activity line - below the letter of activity
Advantages of CPA
- Helps reduce the risk and costs of complex projects
- Encourages careful assessment of the requirements of each activity in a project
- Help spot which activities have some slack (“float”) and could therefore transfer some resources = better allocation of resources
- A decision-making tool and a planning tool
- Provides managers with a useful overview of a complex project
- Links well with other aspects of business planning, including cash flow forecasting and budgeting
Disadvantages of CPA
- Reliability of CPA largely based on accurate estimates and assumptions made
- CPA does not guarantee the success of a project - that still needs to be managed properly
- Resources may not actually be as flexible as management hope when they come to address the network float
- Too many activities make the network diagram too complicated. Activities might have to be broken down into mini-projects
how to calculate float
latest finishing time - duration - earliest starting time
