2.5 Organisational (corporate) culture (HL) Flashcards
- What is meant by organisational culture?
Organisational culture describes the traditions and norms within an organisation. It is largely based on people’s beliefs, values and attitudes in the workplace.
- What are the five elements (or determinants) of organizational culture? (hint: NORMS)
Nature of the business Organisational structure Rewards Management styles Sanctions
- Why is it important to understand organizational culture?
The strength of an organization’s culture depends on the degree of unity among the staff. If staff are unified in their beliefs and values, the culture will be stronger, i.e. a strong culture exists when the staff understand, believe and support the vision and mission of the organization. By contrast, a culture gap exists if organizational values are not aligned. Subsequently, managers may need to exercise control by formal and perhaps bureaucratic procedures.
- Explain the meaning of cultural intelligence and why high CQ is important.
Cultural Intelligence, or cultural quotient (CQ), is the ability of an individual to blend into occupational, corporate and national cultures. High CQ is important because:
Sense of belonging and secruity for staff
Promote cohesiveness
Reduce mistakes and misunderstandings
Minimising problems
- What are the various types of organizational cultures?
Edgar H. Schein
Artefacts
Espoused values
Shared basic assumptions
Charles Handy Power cultures Role cultures Task cultures Person cultures
Deal and Kennedy Tough-guy macho culture Work-hard, play-hard culture Bet-the-company culture Process culture
Kotter and Heskett
Adaptive cultures
Inert cultures
Goffee and Jones
Sociability
Solidarity
Geert Hofstede Power distance Individualism versus collectivism Masculinity versus femininity Uncertainty avoidance Long-term versus short-term orientation
- What are cultural clashes and why do they occur?
Cultural clashes: exist when there is conflict or incompatibility between two or more cultures within an organisation. The exist because:
Growth of firms
Mergers or acquisitions
Change in leadership
- What is a ‘culture gap’?
Cultural gap - the difference between the desired culture of a business and the culture that actually exists.
- How might organizational culture be affected following a takeover or merger?
There might be a difference in the culture of the firm doing the takeover and the firm that is being taken over -> cultural clash.
- How do individuals influence organizational culture? How does organizational culture influence individuals?
Individuals influence by: Mentor Outreach Vision Engaging Role modelling
Organisational culture influences by the different types of cultures that exist - shaping individuals’ practices to be a certain way.
