Ch. 15 Organizational Culture Flashcards
Organizational Culture
-System of Shared meaning based on a set of key characteristics that the organization values
-helps and organization differentiate itself from other organizations
Characteristics of Organizational Structure:
-Innovation and risk-taking
-Attention to detail
-Outcome orientation
-People orientation
-Team orientation
-Aggressiveness
-Stability
Dominant Culture
Expresses the core values that are shared by majority of the organization’s members
Subcultures
Develop in Large organizations to reflect common problems, situations, or experiences that members face
String Culture
A culture in which the core values are intensely held and wildly shared
Weak Culture
Characterized by vagueness, ambiguity, and/or inconsistencies
What Do Cultures Do?
-Convey’s a sense of identity for its members
-Generates commitment to something larger than self interest
-Serves a sense-making and control mechanism for guiding attitudes and behaviors
Barrier to Change
-Especially problematic when shared values are not consistent with those that will enhance the organization’s effectiveness
-If an organization’s environment is undergoing rapid change, its entrenched culture may no longer be appropriate
Barrier to Diversity
-Tendency to hire those who are like the majority
-If the cultural values support the institutional biases or insensitivity
barrier to mergers & acquisitions
-Often fail because two cultures are not compatible
How a culture begins
- Founders hire and keep employees who think and feel the same way they do.
- Founders indoctrinate and socialize these employees to their way of thinking and feeling.
T3. he founders’ behavior acts as a role model that encourages employees to identify with them and thereby internalize their beliefs, values, and assumptions.
Keeping Culture Alive Includes:
Selection
Top Management
Socialization
Selection
-Concern with how well the candidates will fit into the organization.
-Provides information to candidates about the organization.
Top Management
Senior executives help establish behavioral norms that are adopted by the organization.
Socialization
The process that helps new employees adapt to the organization’s culture.
