Chapter 9 Flashcards
Organisational culture
System of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organisation and guides behaviour.
Subcultures
Unique patterns of values and philosophies within a group that are not inconsistent with dominant culture of larger organisation or social system.
Countercultures
Patters of values and philosophies that outwardly reject dominant culture of larger organisation.
Observable culture
Aspects of culture that can be observed in day to day org practices. Stories, rites, rituals, symbols, rules and roles.
Shared values
Linking values and actions can lead to shared values that provide strong corporate identity, enhance collective commitment, provide stable social system, reduce need for formal control, resist change.
Org culture functions
External adaption: answering important instrumental or goal related questions about coping with the environment.
Internal integration: creation of collective identity that defines membership and behavioural norms.
Integration perspective
views culture as a system of shared meanings, unity and harmony.
Differentiation perspective
System of shared beliefs in different groups
Ambiguity/fragmentation perspective
Doesn’t see clear cultural groupings as normal state but sees ambiguity as normal state bc meanings between individuals change over time.
Managing cultures
Strong culture and shared values can create competitive advantage, must be observable as well as incorporating belief systems that are enacted by top management. Management must understand existing culture in order to manage or change it.
Common assumptions
Collection of truths org members share as a result of their joint experiences that guides values and behaviours.
Levels of culture: surface - observable culture, shared values, deeper - common assumptions
