Chapter 10: Organizational Culture

Question 1

Organizational Culture

Answer 1

• A system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations
• Culture is a descriptive term; different than attitudes such as job satisfaction
o We’re talking about what the culture is and how it impacts employee behaviour

Question 2

Layers of Culture

Answer 2

• Driven by beliefs, values and assumptions held by organizational members, that make up an organizations culture (cannot see)
• You can see language, stories, rituals, symbols to see organizational culture

Question 3

Seven Characteristics of Organizational Culture

Answer 3

•	Innovation and risk-taking
o	The degree to which employees are encouraged to take risks/experiment
•	Attention to detail
o	Precision in working you’re doing
•	Outcome orientation
o	Values achievement and results
•	People orientation
o	Considers impact of decisions on employees
•	Team orientation
o	How activities are organized
•	Aggressiveness
o	How competitive is an organization
•	Stability
o	How focused is the organization on growing

Question 4

A Culture’s Functions

Answer 4

•	Stability or “Social glue”
o	Employees know what to do when they show up to work, focusing on innovation, are they more aggressive etc..
•	Boundary-defining role
o	Allows you to be distinct from other organizations
•	Sense of identity
o	“I work for amazon”
•	Creates commitment
•	Provides social control
o	Employees begin to monitor each other

Question 5

Organizations Have Uniform Cultures

Answer 5

• Core values or dominant (primary) values are accepted throughout the organization
o Dominant culture: Expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organization’s members
o Subcultures: Tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common problems, situations, or experiences/Ex: Business school values may have different values than faculty of Arts

Question 6

3 signs for a strong organization culture

Answer 6

• The organization’s core values are both intensely held and widely shared
• Powerful influence on the behaviour of employees
• Build cohesiveness, loyalty, and organizational commitment

Question 7

How Organizational Cultures Form

Answer 7

• Selection: Identify and hire individuals who will fit in with the culture
o Hiring the right people
• Top Management: Senior executives establish and communicate the norms of the organization
o Helps employees learn the process
• Socialization: Organizations need to teach the culture to new employees

Question 8

A Socialization Model

Answer 8

• Prearrival: Employees come in and develop expectations from what they read online, from interviews
• Encounter: Have to deal with gap between what is expected and what reality was
• Metamorphosis: Employees that can change, or reevaluate expectations, metamorphosis: changing expectations to fit what they encountered, results in productivity and commitment

Question 9

How Employers and Outsiders Learn Culture

Answer 9

• Stories
o Herb Keleher coming out as a flight attendant and hands out drinks
o Stories help understand innovation, which allow to understand culture
• Rituals
o Repetitive activities that have a symbolic meaning
o Ex: SouthWest Airlines dress up on Halloween
• Material Symbols
o Tell you what’s valued
o Open door office etc..
• Language
o Amazonians, amabots

Question 10

Changing Organizational Culture

Answer 10

• Culture is difficult to change because it often represents the established mindset of employees and managers
• Change is most likely when most or all of the following conditions exist:
o A dramatic crisis: Opportunity for organizations to change culture
o Turnover in leadership: Old leaders may not want to, organizations will then bring in new younger CEO’s
o Young and small organizations: When the organization is younger, easier to change culture
o Weak culture: Weak culture= easier for organization to shift and mold culture
• Needs to make sure reward systems, HR practice policies in order to change organization culture. Need to put the mechanisms in place for stuff to happen.