Module 9 Flashcards
What is organisational culture?
Organizational Culture is the value and beliefs which are understood by employees. Communicated values and beliefs become shared employees expectations. An organization might have multiple cultures, e.g. reflected in the specific professional orientations and skills of groups of employees. The quality of the fit between the organization’s culture and its strategy direction influences the organization. A strong culture that integrates the various subunits and occupational cultures enables excellent integration and methods for managing conflict.
What are disadvantages of a strong company culture?
Disadvantages of a strong company culture:
• A strong culture might limit the flexibility of a company in the face of rapid change required to adjust to changed circumstances.
• Strong cultures may not mix well when one firm acquires another.
• Some strong cultures threaten reaching of organizational goals because the culture legitimizes infighting, secrecy, and empire-building.
What is the home approach to cultural improvement?
The HOME approach to culture improvements stresses the following aspects of improving and creating an organization’s culture. It is based on two principles, the management’s trust and respect for the workforce and the improvement of the quality of the employment relationship in the company.
History
Oneness
Membership
Exchange
What factors should managers look out for to spot decline in a mature firm?
Managers should look out for changes in the following factors:
• Excess personnel (and excessive job classifications).
• Tolerance of incompetence (failure to dismiss poorly performing employees).
• Cumbersome administrative procedures (excessive red tape and regulations).
• Unusually powerful staff who overwhelm line decision-makers and deride them as conventional and unsophisticated.
• Form over substance, e.g., the planning system and its rules become more important than the results of planning.
• Few clear goals and criteria for measuring organizational success.
• Reluctance to tolerate conflict or preferring harmony over disagreement in spite of its potential damage to decision-making.
• Loss of effective communication and excessive centralization of decision-making.
• Outdated organizational structure.
• Increased scapegoating by leaders (a rise in political behavior at the top of the management hierarchy).
• Resistance to change.
• Low morale.
• Special interest groups become more vocal (resist changes in technology and methods).
• Decreased innovation (fewer new products are developed and introduced in the market).
How do organisations respond to environmental challenges?
Organizations often respond to these environmental challenges by changing.
• Job design. The work performed by individuals or teams can be modified to provide more opportunities for satisfying the needs of employees.
• People. The organization improves the quality of service and speeds up decision-making by developing a program of employee empowerment based on the use of self-directed teams.
• Control systems. The organization can alter its performance appraisal and reward systems. These changes encourage new behaviors which employees believe will result in their receiving rewards which they value.
What three conditions need to be met to make a successful corporate transition?
In order to make successful corporate transitions three conditions have to be met:
• Dissatisfaction with the status quo among employees who must change their behavior.
• The need for a model or vision of the future, which will guide the redesign of the organization.
• The need for a well-managed process of change to help employees modify their attitudes and behavior.
Outline the Organisational Change Process?
Thawing out the firm - recognising the need for change - diagnosis - resistance Changing - selection of change methods - carry over to the work setting - evaluate the results of change Refreezing - institutionalise change (new culture) - diffusion the change to subsidiaries
When is institutionalisation less likely to work?
- Formal evaluation is not conducted
- Change program is not multi-level and multi-method
- Change program takes too long to complete
- Program does not involve constituencies outside of the organization
- Promised rewards are not provided
- Employee expectations are not met
- New members of the organization are not exposed
- “idea champion” leaves the firm
- environment changes cause management to abandon institutionalization
What is organisational development?
Organizational Development (OD) is a system-wide application of behavioural science knowledge to the planned development and reinforcement of organisational strategies, structures and processes for improving an organisation’s effectiveness. A strong emphasis is placed on interpersonal and group processes. OD is based on the following assumptions:
• Employees are growth seeking and they desire self-fulfilment.
• Employees can assume delegated authority and they try to contribute to organisational goals.
• Open and honest communication in organisations is desirable.
• Most organisations can benefit from improved trust and cooperation.
List change methods?
T-groups
Team building
Survey feedback
Grid OD
Outline the steps in grid OD?
Grid OD: It may take a large organization several years to complete all six steps. The first three steps are designed to remove communication barriers while the last three are designed to foster better planning and goal-setting:
- Grid seminar.
- Intra-group development.
- Intergroup development.
- Development of an ideal strategic model.
- Attaining the ideal strategic model.
- Stabilization and process critique.
What are the possible management styles?
- Country Club Mgt (attention to the needs of people for a satisfying relationship leads to a friendly workplace)
- Impoverished Mgt (Exertion of minimum effort to get required work down while just sustaining organisational membership)
- Organisational Man Mgt (Adequate organisational performance is possible through balancing the necessity of work with maintaining employee morale)
- Team Mgt (Work accomplished by committed people)
- Authority-Obedience (little concern for people)
