Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure Flashcards
Organizational culture
Sometimes called corporate culture; system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organization and guides the behavior of its members
Corporate culture
Set of shared taken-for-granted implicit assumptions that group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about, and reacts to its various environments. See also Organizational culture
Organizational structure
A formal system of task and reporting relationships that coordinates and motivates an organization’s members so that they can work together to achieve the organization’s goals
Human resource practices
Consist of all of the activities an organization uses to manage its human capital, including staffing, appraising, training and development, and compensation
Person-organization (PO) fit
The extent to which your personality and values match the climate and culture of an organization
Espoused values
Explicitly stated values and norms preferred by an organization
Enacted values
Values and norms actually exhibited in the organization
Symbol
An object, act, quality, or event that conveys meaning to others
Story
A narrative based on true events, which is repeated—and sometimes embellished upon—to emphasize a particular value
Hero
A person whose accomplishments embody the values of the organization
Rites and rituals
The activities and ceremonies, planned and unplanned, that celebrate important occasions and accomplishments in an organization’s life
Organizational socialization
The process by which people learn the values, norms, and required behaviors that permit them to participate as members of an organization
Clan culture
Type of organizational culture that has an internal focus and values flexibility rather than stability and control
Adhocracy culture
Type of organizational culture that has an external focus and values flexibility
Market culture
Type of organizational culture that has a strong external focus and values stability and control
Hierarchy culture
Type of organizational culture that has an internal focus and values stability and control over flexibility
Organization
A group of people who work together to achieve some specific purpose. A system of consciously coordinated activities of two or more people
Common purpose
A goal that unifies employees or members and gives everyone an understanding of the organization’s reason for being
Division of labor
Also known as work specialization; arrangement of having discrete parts of a task done by different people. The work is divided into particular tasks assigned to particular workers
Hierarchy of authority
Also known as chain of command; a control mechanism for making sure the right people do the right things at the right time
Flat organization
Organizational structure with few or no levels of middle management between top managers and those reporting to them
Unity of command
Principle that stresses an employee should report to no more than one manager in order to avoid conflicting priorities and demands
Span of control
The number of people reporting directly to a given manager
Authority
The right to perform or command; also, the rights inherent in a managerial position to make decisions, give orders, and utilize resources
Accountability
Describes expectation that managers must report and justify work results to the managers above them
Responsibility
The obligation one has to perform the assigned tasks
Delegation
The process of assigning managerial authority and responsibility to managers and employees lower in the hierarchy
Centralized authority
Organizational structure in which important decisions are made by upper managers—power is concentrated at the top
Decentralized authority
Organizational structure in which important decisions are made by middle-level and supervisory-level managers—power is delegated throughout the organization
Organization chart
Box-and-lines illustration of the formal relationships of positions of authority and the organization’s official positions or work specializations
Organizational design
Creating the optimal structures of accountability and responsibility that an organization uses to execute its strategies
Simple structure
The first type of organizational structure, whereby an organization has authority centralized in a single person, as well as a flat hierarchy, few rules, and low work specialization
Functional structure
The second type of organizational structure, whereby people with similar occupational specialties are put together in formal groups
Divisional structure
The third type of organizational structure, whereby people with diverse occupational specialties are put together in formal groups according to products and/or services, customers and/or clients, or geographic regions
Product divisions
Divisional structures in which activities are grouped around similar products or services
Customer divisions
Divisional structures in which activities are grouped around common customers or clients
Geographic divisions
Divisional structures in which activities are grouped around defined regional locations
Matrix structure
Fourth type of organizational structure, which combines functional and divisional chains of command in a grid so that there are two command structures—vertical and horizontal
Horizontal structure
Also called a team-based design, teams or workgroups, either temporary or permanent, are used to improve collaboration and work on shared tasks by breaking down internal boundaries
Boundaryless organization
A fluid, highly adaptive organization whose members, linked by information technology, come together to collaborate on common tasks; the collaborators may include competitors, suppliers, and customers
Hollow structure
Often called network structure, structure in which the organization has a central core of key functions and outsources other functions to vendors who can do them cheaper or faster
Modular structure
Seventh type of organizational structure, in which a firm assembles product chunks, or modules, provided by outside contractors
Virtual structure
An organization whose members are geographically apart, usually working with e-mail, collaborative computing, and other computer connections
Coordinated effort
The coordination of individual efforts into a group or organization-wide effort
