Ch. 15 - Organizational Culture & Change Flashcards
Organizational Culture
The shared social knowledge within an organization regarding the rules, norms, and values that shape the attitudes and behaviours of its employees
How do employees learn the most important aspects of an organization’s culture?
Through other employees
What are the 3 major components to an organization’s culture?
Observable artifacts
Espoused values
Basic underlying assumptions
True or False: Organizational culture usually aligns with the company’s mission statement.
False
Organizational culture often does NOT match with the company’s mission
Observable artifacts
Aspects of an organization’s culture that employees and outsiders can easily see or talk about
What are the six major types of observable artifacts?
Symbols
Physical Structures
Language
Stories
RItuals
Ceremonies
Symbols (Observable Artifact)
The images an organization uses, which generally convey messages
Physical Structures (Observable Artifact)
The organization’s buildings and internal office designs
Language (Observable Artifact)
The jargon, slang, and slogans used within an organization
Stories (Observable Artifact)
Anecdotes, accounts, legends, and myths passed down from cohort to cohort within an organization. Helps educate employees about an organization’s culture
Rituals (Observable Artifact)
The daily or weekly planned routines that occur in an organization
Ceremonies (Observable Artifact)
Formal events, generally performed in front of an audience of organizational members. These events recognize employees for their accomplishments.
Espoused Values
The beliefs, philosophies, and norms that a company explicitly states. Can range from published documents (eg. a company’s vision or mission statement) to verbal statements made to employees by executives and managers
What is the difference between espoused values and enacted values?
Espoused values are values a company claims to be important, while enacted values are the values that are actually important to a company based on their decision-making and behaviour
Basic underlying assumptions about organizational culture
Taken-for-granted beliefs and philosophies that are so ingrained that employees simply act on them rather than questioning the validity of their behaviour in a given situation
What is the most long-lasting and difficult aspect of organizational culture to change
Basic underlying assumptions
What two dimensions are used to divide different organizational cultures?
Solidarity
Sociability
Solidarity
The degree to which group members think and act alike
Sociability
How friendly employees are to one another
What are the general types that can be used to describe an organization’s culture
Fragmented Culture
Networked Culture
Mercenary Culture
Communal Culture
Fragmented Culture
An organizational culture type in which employees are distant and disconnected from one another (low solidarity, low sociability)
Networked Culture
An organizational culture type in which employees are friendly to one another, but everyone thinks differently and does work on their own (low solidarity, high sociability)
Mercenary Culture
An organizational culture type in which employees think alike but are not friendly to one another (high solidarity, low sociability)
Communal Culture
An organizational culture type in which employees are friendly to one another and all think alike
Small organizations tend to have ___________ cultures. As companies grow, they might move toward a _____________ culture, because solidarity is harder to foster when groups get large.
1st Blank: Communal
2nd Blank: Networked
What are the specific culture types that can be used to describe an organization’s culture?
Customer Service Culture
Safety Culture
Diversity Culture
Sustainability Culture
Creativity Culture
How do organizations achieve different specific culture types?
Organizations manipulate observable artifacts and espoused values to create specific cultures that help them achieve their goals
Customer Service Culture
A specific culture type focused on service quality. Shown to change employee attitudes and behaviours toward customers. These changes result in higher levels of customer satisfaction and sales
Safety Culture
A specific culture type focused on the safety of employees. Especially prevalent in environments where the risk of accidents or injuries is very high
Diversity Culture
A specific culture type focused on fostering or taking advantage of a diverse group of employees. These organizations leverage the talents of their diverse employees
Sustainability Culture
A specific culture type focused on promoting sustainability both inside and outside of the organization. Helps recruit top talent as the culture resonates with many job applicants
Creativity Culture
A specific culture type focused on fostering a creative atmosphere
Culture Strength
The degree to which employees agree about how things should happen within the organization and behave accordingly
What are some characteristics of companies with strong culture strength?
Strong culture unites and directs employees
Takes time to develop and is very difficult to change
Can have both positive and negative effects
What are the advantages of a strong organizational culture?
Differentiates the organization from others
Allows employees to identify themselves with the organization
Facilitates desired behaviours among employees
Creates stability within the organization
What are the disadvantages of a strong organizational culture?
Makes merging with another organization more difficult
Attracts and retains similar kinds of employees limiting the diversity of thought
Can create extreme behaviours among employees
Makes adapting to the environment more difficult
Subcultures
Cultures created within small subsets of the organization’s employees
How do subcultures form?
Subcultures may form under a strong leader in one area of the company or because different divisions act independently
Countercultures
Subcultures whose values do not match those of the organization. May signal a need for change within the organization
Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA) Framework
Theory that employees will be drawn to organizations with cultures that match their personality (attraction), and organizations will select employees that match (selection), and employees will leave or be forced to leave when they are not a good fit (attrition)
Socialization
The primary process by which employees learn the social knowledge that enables them to understand and adapt to the organization’s culture
True or False: The socialization process ends once an employee has been working in an organization for a year
False
Socialization does not end until the employee leaves the organization
What are the stages in the socialization process?
Anticipatory Stage
Encounter Stage
Understanding and Adaptation
Anticipatory Stage
A stage of socialization that occurs before employment. Begins as soon as a potential employee develops an image of what it would be like to work for a company
Encounter Stage
A stage of socialization that begins the day an employee starts work. The employee compares the information as an outsider to the information learned as an insider
Reality Shock
A mismatch of information that occurs when an employee finds that aspects of working at a company are not what they expected them to be
What is the goal of an organization’s socialization efforts?
To minimize reality shock as much as possible
Understanding and Adaptation
The final stage of socialization, during which newcomers come to learn the content areas of socialization and internalize the norms and expected behaviours of the organization
What are the four questions organizations need to answer successfully for effective organizational change?
- Is there a need to change? (Analysis & Diagnosis)
- What conditions might help or hinder change efforts? (Understanding & Managing Resistance)
- How appropriate are the change interventions?
- Was the change effort successful?
Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI)
A structured diagnostic tool used to describe and categorize corporate cultures
Clan-Oriented Culture
A very personal place, like an extended family. Characterized by mentoring, nurturing, and participation
Adhocracy-Oriented Culture
Dynamic and entrepreneurial, people take risks. Characterized by value innovation and entrepreneurship
Hierarchically-Oriented Culture
Favours structure and control. Characterized by coordination, efficiency, and stability
Market-Oriented Culture
Results-oriented, getting the job done. Characterized by competition and achievement
Resistance
The deliberate act of opposing or withstanding change
How can employees express resistance?
Lower task performance
Lower levels of citizenship behaviour
Elevated counterproductive behaviour
Increased withdrawal
What are the types of change interventions used by organizations?
Selection
Training
Performance Management
Changes in Leadership
Mergers & Acquisitions
Selection
The process of choosing people who have the right mix of knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to fit the desired culture
Training
Helping employees and managers acquire new knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to support a desired culture
Performance Management
Measuring and motivating job behaviours that support a desired culture
Changes in Leadership
A new leader signals to others what is important and how to behave. New leaders often have different expectations of their employees compared to past leaders.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Combining companies with distinct cultures to create a new desired culture (where the best of both companies is represented)
Person-organization fit
The degree to which a person’s personality and values match the culture of an organization
Realistic Job Previews (RJPs)
The process of ensuring that a prospective employee understands both the positive and negative aspects of the jobs. Occur during the anticipatory stage of socialization, during the recruitment process
Orientation Programs
A common form of training during which new hires learn more about the organization
Mentoring
The process by which a junior-level employee develops a deep and long-lasting relationship with a more senior-level employee within the organization
What is the relationship between person-organization fit and job performance?
Weak positive relationship
What is the relationship between person-organization fit and organizational commitment?
Strong positive relationship
