Chapter 10

Question 1

What are the seven primary characteristics of an organizations culture?

Answer 1

• Innovation and risk-taking: is it encouraged?
• attention to detail: working with precision/analysis
• outcome orientation: results focused vs process focused
• people orientation: decision making and impact in people
• team orientation: teams vs individuals
• aggressiveness: competitive vs supportive
• stability: status quo vs growth/change

Question 2

What are some examples of “strong org cultures”?

Answer 2

• westjet (Southwest Airlines)
• general electric
• 3M

Question 3

What are Artifacts?

Answer 3

• symbols of the culture in the physical/social environment
• aspects of an org culture that you can see, hear, and feel

-stories, rituals, symbols, language

Question 4

What are beliefs?

Answer 4

Understandings of how objects and ideas relate to eachother

Question 5

What are org values?

Answer 5

The stable long lasting beliefs about what is important

Question 6

What are espoused values versus enacted values

Answer 6

Espoused: what they say

Enacted: what they do

Question 7

What are assumptions?

Answer 7

The taken-for-granted notions of how something should be in an org

• guide how an employee should act and think
• “act ethically” vs “improve bottom line”

Question 8

T/F: Sometimes you dont notice the culture of your org until you experience another

Answer 8

True

Question 9

T/F: organizations may have many different org cultures (MNC’s)

Answer 9

True

Organizations have a dominant culture with different subcultures(even countercultures)

Question 10

T/F: with decentralized organizations, org culture can bring people together

Answer 10

True

-it is harder to establish a strong org culture in a decentralized organization

Question 11

What is an organizational climate?

Answer 11

The shared perceptions organizational members have about their organization and work environment

Question 12

What are the steps for creating/ sustaining an org culture?

Answer 12

• founders: usually leave strong imprint on the culture of a company (culture often outlasts the founder)
• selection: many organizations go to great lengths to hire those that match the culture. Hire for skills or “fit”. Hopefully if you dont fit the org culture you will be selected out
• top management: senior executives establish the norms of the org
• socialization (top management):organizations need to “teach” the culture to new employees
• internalization (org culture)

Question 13

What are the 3 things within socialization?

Answer 13

• pre-arrival: period of learning that occurs before a new employee joins the org (each individual arrives with a set values, attitudes, and expectations about work to be done and org) ex. Business school
  
  • encounter: when a new employee sees what the org is really like and confronts the possibility that expectations and reality may diverge (confront the possibility that expectations of the org may differ from reality) may become disillusioned/unsatisfied – orientation, mentorships and training help ease the pain
  • metamorphosis: when a new employee adjusts to the values and norms of the job, work group, and org. Accepted by peers. This leads to productivity, commitment, turnover

Question 14

What are the 3 liabilities of organizational culture

Answer 14

Barrier to change

barrier to Diversey

Barrier to mergers and acquisition’s

Question 15

Define organizational culture

Answer 15

Refers to a system of shared meaning shared by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations