Chapter 10 Flashcards
Organizational Culture
System of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations
Characteristics of Organizational Culture
Innovation and Risk Taking - degree to which employees are encouraged to innovate and take risks
Attention to Detail - The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis and attention to detail
Outcome orientation - the degree to which management focuses on results rather than the process/technique
People Orientation - the degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on individuals within the organization
Team orientation - the degree to which work activities are oriented around teams rather than individuals
aggressiveness - the degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easy going
stability - the degree to which the organization emphasizes maintaining status quo in contrast to growth
Artifacts
aspects of an organization’s culture that you see, hear and feel
Beliefs
The understanding of how ideas and objects relate to each other
Values
The stable, long-lasting beliefs of what is important
Assumptions
the taken-for-granted notion of how something should be in an organization
Organizational Climate
- shared perceptions organizational members have about their organization and work environment
Dominant Culture
Expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organization’s members
Subcultures
Tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common problems, situations or experiences
How does a culture begin?
- founders higher and keep only employees who feel and think the same way as them
- founders indoctrinate and socialize these employees to their way of thinking and feeling
- Founders’ own behaviour encourages employees to identify with the founders and internalize those beliefs, values and assumptions
Selection
Identify and hire individuals who will fit in with the culture
Top management
Senior executives establish and communicate the norms of the organization
Socialization
Organizations need to teach the culture to new employees
What are the liabilities of organizational culture?
Barriers to change
Barrier to diversity
Barrier to Mergers and Aquisitions
Assimilation
The entire new organization is determined to take on teh culture of one of the merging organizations
Integration
A new hybrid culture is formed
Lewin’s 3 step model for change?
- unfreezing the status quo
- moving it to a new state
- refreezing the new change to make it permanent
What are the 3 ways unfreezing happens?
- the driving forces, which direct behaviour away from the status quo, can be increased
- the restraining forces, which hinder movement from the existing equilibrium can be decreased
- combine the previous 2 approaches
Action Research
- refers to a change in process based on research
What is the process of action research?
- diagnosis
- analysis
- feedback
- evaluation
Appreciative Inquiry
rather than looking for problems to fix this approach emphasizes the unique qualities and special strengths of an organization
4 d’s of Appreciative Inquiry
discovery
dreaming
destiny
design
What are the sources of individual resistance to change?
self interest
low tolerance for change
misunderstanding and lack of trust
different assessments
What are the sources of organizational resistance to change?
Structural inertia
Limited focus of change
Group inertia
Threat to expertise
Threat to established power relationships
Threat to established resource allocations
How to overcome resistance to change?
Education and communication Participation and involvement Building support and commitment Developing positive relationships Implementing changes fairly Manipulation and co-optation Selecting people who accept change Explicit and implicit coercion
Where is change more likely to come from?
outside change agents
employees who are new to the organization (who have less invested in the status quo) or
managers who are slightly removed from the main power structure.
