Managing Organisational Culture

Question 1

what is organisational culture

Answer 1

the way that people do things in a company, and the way that they expect things to be done. It’s an important way to shape the expectations and attitudes

Question 2

what can organisational culture affect

Answer 2

staff behaviour and how they make decisions, as well as an effect on planning, objective setting and strategy

Question 3

how is organisational culture created and reinforced

Answer 3

by company rules, managerial attitudes, managerial behaviour and recruitment policies

Question 4

how do reward systems affect culture

Answer 4

if an employee acts in an unethical manner, yet has high sales, rewarding them could lead to a culture valuing short term profits over the company’s reputation

Question 5

who are heroes

Answer 5

people who represent the company’s values

Question 6

what is a strong culture

Answer 6

when employees agree with the corporate values of the company.

Question 7

what are the benefits of having a strong culture

Answer 7

• employees need less supervision
• staff are more loyal to the business, so turnover is lower
• it increases motivation

Question 8

what is a weak culture

Answer 8

where the employees of a company don’t share the company’s values and have to be forced to comply with them

Question 9

who identified four main types of organisational culture

Answer 9

Charles handy

Question 10

what is a power culture

Answer 10

a centralised structure where decision making is limited to a small number of people or one person

Question 11

when may power culture begin to struggle

Answer 11

if the business grows and cannot be run from the centre

Question 12

what are employees likely to be in a power culture

Answer 12

resistant to change, because they don’t have the opportunity to give their opinions on what changes should and shouldn’t be made.

Question 13

what is the role of culture

Answer 13

they are common in bureaucratic organisations where authority is defined by job title.

Question 14

where is decision making in a role culture

Answer 14

senior managers, so employees don’t have the opportunity to get involved in the decision-making process

Question 15

what do role culture organisations tend to have

Answer 15

poor communication between departments so they respond slowly to change

Question 16

what could poor communication in a role culture lead to

Answer 16

they could lose out to competitors in new or expanding markets where strategies need to be developed and implemented quickly

Question 17

what do role culture organisations tend to do

Answer 17

avoid risk for fear of failure which means that change is quite rare

Question 18

what could change experience in a role culture organisation

Answer 18

they will meet resistance as employees are not used to doing things differently

Question 19

what is a person culture

Answer 19

a loose organisation of individual workers, usually professional partnerships such as solicitors, accountants, doctors, etc..

Question 20

what are the objective of a person culture defined by

Answer 20

the personal ambitions of the individuals involved. The firms have to ensure that the individuals actually have common goals

Question 21

how is decision making made in a person culture

Answer 21

jointly, so all employees are likely to be comfortable and accepting of any changes that are made because they have agreed to them.

Question 22

why is change difficult in a person’s culture

Answer 22

individuals will often think about what is best for themselves rather than thinking about what is best for the organisations

Question 23

what is a task culture

Answer 23

an organisation that places an emphasis on getting specific tasks done

Question 24

what does a task culture do

Answer 24

gets small teams together to work on a project, then disbands them

Question 25

where may there be conflict in a task culture

Answer 25

between teams for resources and budgets. It can be confusing if a firm has too many products or projects.

Question 26

What does a task culture support

Answer 26

objectives which are based on products

Question 27

what do task cultures respond well to

Answer 27

management by objectives, which translates corporate objectives into specific targets for each department and for each individual employee

Question 28

what is often the reaction to change in a task culture

Answer 28

they are likely to think that change is normal because they are used to changing teams often and working with a variety of people.

Question 29

what is an entrepreneurial culture

Answer 29

where employees are encouraged to look for new ways of bringing revenue into the company

Question 30

how important is change for an entrepreneurial culture

Answer 30

change is a big part, and all employees are responsible for coming up with ideas to improve how the business is run

Question 31

what is the benefit of an entrepreneurial culture

Answer 31

if employees are encouraged to be creative and innovative, they are likely to be much more open to change, especially when changes are made based on their suggestions

Question 32

what other cultures are there

Answer 32

customer-focused
clan
market

Question 33

how does culture affect staff

Answer 33

culture affects the motivation of the employees. For E.g. a power culture or role culture can demotivate creative staff who can see ways to improve things but don’t have the power to put changes into practice

Question 34

how does culture affect customers

Answer 34

organisational culture affects customers’ loyalty to a business. Businesses with a customer-focused culture are more likely to have customers loyal to their firm or their brands

Question 35

how does culture affect shareholders

Answer 35

the level of risk that businesses take depends on their organisational culture. Shareholders might get low returns on their investment if they invest in a company with a low-risk culture, whereas investing in a company with a high-risk culture gives shareholders the possibility of high return but there’s also the risk that they’ll lose money

Question 36

why might culture change with a new leader

Answer 36

they may change it to make it more similar to a business they have worked in before

Question 37

what is another reason to change organisational culture

Answer 37

in order to be more competitive. E.g business with a power culture can be slow to spot ways to save money, or more efficient ways of working, so adopting an entrepreneurial culture where all the staff are constantly looking for ways to improve the business could make the business more competitive

Question 38

how could employing new employees influence culture

Answer 38

new employees may have different expectations and aims, which could influence the pre-existing culture

Question 39

how can culture change if a business becomes a multinational

Answer 39

its culture may be influenced by the culture of the country the business has entered. Companies can use Hofstede’s size dimensions of national culture

Question 40

what does the amount of change in culture depend on

Answer 40

how strong the original culture was, how well it was reinforced and whether employees appreciate its values

Question 41

why can changing culture be difficult

Answer 41

• employees may be resistant to change
• it’s complicated
• it is expensive, as it involves changing the office layout, giving extra training and devising new processes
• recruitment and induction procedures may need to change

Question 42

what is the power distance index

Answer 42

the extent that people accept that power and wealth is distributed unequally

Question 43

what is the uncertainty avoidance index

Answer 43

the extent to which people attempt to minimise uncertainty

Question 44

what is individualism vs collectivism

Answer 44

the extent to which people are expected to look after themselves rather than support each other

Question 45

what is masculinity v femininity

Answer 45

masculines cultures are highly competitive and powerful, feminine cultures focus on the caring quality of life

Question 46

what is long term orientation

Answer 46

the higher the long term orientation, the more the society looks to the future and accepts new ideas, rather than the following tradition