3. Culture Flashcards
Culture
“system of shared beliefs” and assumptions implicitly held by members in a group (organisation) that governs our psychology and behaviour
Cultural characteristics (8)
- Individualism: Individual agency and individual goals
- Collectivism: Collective power and collective goals
- Adaptability: Innovative and flexible as well as to take risks and experiment.
- Detail orientation: Exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail.
- Results/Outcome orientation: focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve them.
- People/Customer orientation: The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within and outside of the organization.
- Collaboration/Team orientation: work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals.
- Integrity: Exhibit integrity and high ethical standards in their work.
Cultural strength
degree to which a set of cultural characteristics are enforced by the group
Tight Culture
many norms and rules + strong reinforcement
Loose culture
few norms and rules + weak reinforcement
Explicit Control System
things that offers clear templates for behaviour and are very specific, but cannot describe all contingencies (Laws or Rules)
Implicit Control System (culture)
provides general ways of thinking and behaving that can be applicable for all the possible situations, quite abstract
Socialisation
process that adapts employees to the organizational cultures
why socialisation?
Previously dissimilar employees adjust to conform, influenced by statements and behaviour of colleagues. Socialised employees know how things are done and what behaviours and perspectives are acceptable
3 stages of socialisation
Prearrival – Stage of learning that occurs before a new employee joins the organisation
Encounter – New employee learns culture by observing others’ statements and behaviour
Metamorphosis – Stage in which a new employee changes their thoughts and behaviour in line with organisational cultures
what is the group of language, symbol, stories/myths, ceremonies/rituals, dress/uniform, technology/structure/physical environment
Artifacts – what you see, hear and feel
Consequences of culture and socialisation
- People become more similar
- Share values, beliefs and basic assumptions
Reverse causality
our personality may determine which culture we join
Person-Organisation Fit (PO Fit)
a theory that people are attracted to and selected by organisations based on the match between employee personality and company culture
what does a good fit lead to?
Good fit will increase likelihood of being selected and promoted, higher job satisfaction and performance and increases wellbeing in the workplace
Attraction-Selection-Attrition Theory
- Attraction – individuals attracted to organisations with culture similar to their personality
- Selection – organisations more likely to select employees who have personality similar to their cultures
- Attrition – Employees who have misfits are more likely to leave their organisations
Antecedents of Culture
Functionality, Leader-Trait, Cultural Transfer (Joon’s paper)
Functionality Perspective
Cultures are created because those cultures are beneficial to groups
“Fittest cultures survive over time” Exist because they are functional. Control systems helps us effectively and efficiently deal with problems.
Leader-Trait Perspective
Evidence shows that their personality shapes organisational culture, can be nothing to do with functionality.
Cultural Transfer Perspective
when leaders consider functionality of cultures but often fail to create functional cultures because of bounded rationality theory and availability bias. Instead, they rely on past experience and create same cultures they experienced in the past
Bounded rationality theory
cognitive capacity or rationality is limited
Availability bias
- People make judgement based on available information
