9. Diversity/culture/climate

Question 1

Define culture

Answer 1

“A Culture is a group of people who share assumptions about behaviours demonstrating positive or negative values.”

shared meanings for understanding and acting in the world

Question 2

what are the 2 perspectives of culture

Answer 2

– Systems-oriented view

– Practice-oriented view

Question 3

Systems-oriented view of culture

Answer 3

• Norms, beliefs, values shared by a group of people
• Factor that influences behaviour of individuals – independent variable
• Focus on enduring aspects of culture
• Long-term perspective –meanings are stable and change slowly

Question 4

practice oriented view of culture

Answer 4

• Reproduction of meaning through everyday activities and practices
• Factor that both produces shared meanings and is influenced by shared meanings
• Focus on how shared meanings are reproduced and changed
• Short-term perspective – practices (and meanings) can change quickly as people adapt their activities for different contexts and situations

Question 5

5 basic dimensions of culture

Answer 5

1. power distance
2. individualism (vs collectivism)
3. Masculinity
4. Uncertainty Avoidance
5. Long-term orientation

Question 6

power distance

Answer 6

• level of acceptance of inequality between people in a society

Question 7

individualism (v collectivism)

Answer 7

degree to which a society reinforces individual achievement instead of collective achievement and interpersonal relationships

Question 8

masculinity

Answer 8

degree to which societies reinforce the traditional masculine work role model of achievement, control, and power

Question 9

Uncertainty avoidance

Answer 9

level of avoidance of uncertainty and ambiguity within a society

Question 10

long-term orientation

Answer 10

degree to which societies embraces, or does not embrace, long-term devotion to traditional values – expectations that change occurs slowly

Question 11

organisational culture

Answer 11

– shared, “taken-for-granted” assumptions that members of an organization have and which affect the way they act, think, and perceive their environment
– i.e., a systems-oriented view

Question 12

what what the organisational culture typologies

Answer 12

role culture
power culture
person culture
task culture

Question 13

role-culture

Answer 13

• bureaucratic
• rule-following
• emphasis on predictability and consistency

Question 14

power culture

Answer 14

• key figures hold and use power

- few formal rules to restrain power

Question 15

person culture

Answer 15

• focus on benefiting people in group

- goals set by people themselves

Question 16

task culture

Answer 16

• focus on work tasks
• engage with others in pragmatic ways
• goals set by task needs

Question 17

clan culture

Answer 17

-collaboration
-focus on employee
development

Flexibility and Discretion
Internal Focus and Integration

Question 18

adhocracy culture

Answer 18

• creativity
• focus on new ideas and innovations

Flexibility and Discretion
External Focus and Differentiation

Question 19

hierarchy culture

Answer 19

• control
• focus on efficiency and standardisation

Stability and Control
Internal Focus and Integration

Question 20

market culture

Answer 20

• competition
• focus on competitors and clients

Stability and Control
External Focus and Differentiation

Question 21

organisational climate

Answer 21

the affective dimension of culture: felt “experience” of culture by employees
– “…surface manifestation of culture”
– “…how work environments are cognitively appraised and represented in terms of their meaning to and significance for individual employees”

Question 22

Different aspects of organisational culture

Answer 22

safety culture
client-oriented culture
diversity culture

Question 23

safety culture

Answer 23

systems, norms, and practices to

reduce injury and maintain health

Question 24

client-oriented culture

Answer 24

systems, norms, and

practices for availability, e.g. 24/7 contact

Question 25

diversity culture

Answer 25

systems, norms, and practices
for treating people with different backgrounds,
customs, and beliefs

Culture that accepts and values differences in employees, e.g.,
– Gender
– Sexuality
– Religion
– Abilities
– Cultural identity
– Age

Question 26

what is intolerance to diversity culture?

Answer 26

Discriminatory practices
harassment
intimidation
mockery, insults
exclusion
incivility

Question 27

discrimination practices

Answer 27

Unequal reward for equal work

e.g. Denying opportunities to women of “child-bearing” age

Question 28

harassment

Answer 28

Unwanted sexual advances or other hostile conduct
e.g. Hiring strippers for office
parties

Question 29

intimitation

Answer 29

Threats or bullying e.g. Persistent unwarranted criticism of work

Question 30

mockery, insults

Answer 30

Jokes or negative stereotypes targeting particular individuals or groups
e.g. Asking Muslim employees if they are terrorists “as a
joke

Question 31

exclusion

Answer 31

Exclusion from work opportunities or events
e.g Meetings in evenings – not possible for those with
family responsibilities

Question 32

incivility

Answer 32

Aggressive or disrespectful behaviour

e.g.Continually cutting certain people off in conversation

Question 33

how is support for diversity built through training?

Answer 33

1. Communicate the broader social and legal framework
   – laws against discrimination
   – importance of fair treatment
2. Focus on similarities rather than differences
   – more positive reactions when training focuses on similarities
   (Holladay & Quinones, 2008)
3. Sell the potential benefits (see following slides)
4. Foster personal development
   – build people’s understanding and awareness of diversity
   – develop interpersonal skills when interacting with diverse others
   • From defensiveness to acceptance to integration

Question 34

what are the economical and performance arguments FOR diversity culture?

Answer 34

– Reduce underutilisation of talent in the population
– Improve performance by drawing on broader perspectives resulting in better decision-making
– Increase work motivation by building internal reputation for fairness and inclusion
– Build external reputation through meeting community expectations
• increase investments and attract talented employees

Question 35

what are the moral and social justice arguments FOR diversity culture?

Answer 35

– Harassment/discrimination is against the law
– Unfairness of disadvantaging people for anything not directly related to work performance
– Rectifying historical or current disadvantage

Question 36

organisational culture

Answer 36

shared, “taken-for-granted” assumptions that members of an organisation have and which affect the way they act, think and perceive their environment

Question 37

organisational climate

Answer 37

shared perceptions about a work unit’s policies, practices and what behaviours are rewarded and expected

Question 38

Psychological climeate

Answer 38

An individual person’s perceptions of the behavioural patterns of an entity

Question 39

observing and measuring culture: artifacts

Answer 39

The most visible elements of culture

Question 40

observing and measuring culture: values

Answer 40

standards of behaviour or principles about what is important

Question 41

observing and measuring culture: assumptions

Answer 41

“taken for granted” beliefs about humane nature

Question 42

What did Schein explain?

Answer 42

Founder’s values - Founders shape the culture of an organisation beginning from its early days. Entrepreneurs tend to have assumptions about how the world works, what motivates people and how business should b structured. The Choices they make the, the first employees they hire, the manner in which they make decisions and what behaviours they reward and punish result in embedding their own values into the organisation’s culture