3-2 Deal and Kennedy model of organisational culture

Question 1

The six elements as the basis of corporate culture are …

Answer 1

1. History: Shared past experience and traditions establish the core values that support the base for corporate culture.
2. Values and Beliefs: Shared values and beliefs are at the root of an organisation’s identity.
3. Rituals and Ceremonies: Whether Friday group lunches or wishing colleagues goodbye at the end of the day, these type of rituals and ceremonies are examples of things done within organisations to form their culture.
4. Stories: Examples of impressive achievement and dramatic exploits of employees at work embody organisational values. Stories shine light on employee expectations and organisational identity.
5. Heroic Figures: These are the people behind the stories, who become aspirational role models as a result of their work.
6. The Cultural Network: This is the casual network of who’s who within an organisation, with roles including:
   a. Storytellers relate to others examples of what’s going on and serve as historical guides to the organisation, which is especially useful when bringing in new people.
   b. Gossipers can be counted on to follow the comings and goings of colleagues, and share information which has inherent entertainment value.
   c. Whisperers have a line in to leadership and serve as messengers for information that employees may want delivered to management but not through traditional channels.
   d. Spies, in contrast to whisperers, share with management the details of what’s happening among employees.
   e. Priests and priestesses protect the organisation’s cultural values, based on their deep knowledge of the organisation and skill in interpreting situations based on its beliefs and history,

Question 2

There are 2 factors that influence an organisations culture and practices are:

Answer 2

1. How much risk is linked to the organisation’s activities

2. How quickly organisations determine the success of their strategies and actions

Question 3

The 4 types of cultures that stem from the 6 elements are:

Answer 3

1. Work Hard - Play Hard
2. Tough guy - Macho
3. Process culture
4. Bet your company

Question 4

2. Tough guy - Macho

Answer 4

a. A collection of individualists, risk-takers who move fast and require fast feedback on decisions
b. An “all-or-nothing” mentality driven by excitement and internal competition and conflict, i.e. the advertising, entertainment and sports team industries.
c. Short-term views, which can lead to failures in oversight; for example, Enron missed spotting debt from failed deals, and the collapse of Lehman Brothers resulted from bad debts.

When evaluating this style, consider:

Is my organisation’s degree of individualism suitable?

Does culture help or hinder my organisation’s cohesiveness and how important is this?

Is teambuilding without neglecting individual performance possible?

Question 5

1. Work Hard - Play Hard

Answer 5

a. This is a common culture among sales organisations, exemplified by employees taking few risks while receiving quick feedback.
b. Employees are high energy and upbeat.
c. High-volume sellers are this culture’s heroes
d. This culture acknowledges that success is team-dependent and everyone is driven to do their best.
e. Management uses sales contests as a tool to drive enthusiasm and encourage high performance

When evaluating this style, consider:

Is strong team performance ever hiding poor individual performance?

Is the organisation rewarding the right behaviours through contests and other kinds of recognition?

Question 6

4. Bet your company

Answer 6

a. High risk decisions yield results often years later
b. Examples include pharmaceutical, oil and gas, and other capital-intensive, large companies
c. Making the right decisions is critical, which drives long-term focus and a general agreement regarding planning, preparing and performing due diligence along the way.

When evaluating this style, consider:

Is the organisation able to react quickly to change?

Does the focus on long-term values undermine short-term gains?

Question 7

3. Process culture

Answer 7

a. Low risk, slow feedback, with individual actions having little impact on success
b. Examples include banks, large retailers, insurance companies and government organisations
c. Employee focus tends more to be on how things are done instead of results, given the slow feedback process
d. Technical skill and excellence is highly prized, with employees tending to appreciate the accuracy of the process and details, and less so the final outcome

When evaluating this style, consider:

How can managers spare employees from getting caught in process at the expense action?

What are effective ways to measure performance and reward appropriately?

Question 8

Deal and Kennedy model does not rank which culture is best instead it is focused on how cultures evolve and this best method to influence this evolution by:

Answer 8

1. View your corporate culture as one of many assets requiring management.
2. Review the four culture types and identify which most closely describes your organisation.
3. Be cognisant of the risk factors for each, and consider the questions outlined in each section.