Organisational Culture Flashcards
What is culture?
“learned beliefs, values, rules, norms, symbols,
and traditions that are common to a group of people” Northouse (2007)
shared qualities of a group that make them unique
* is the way of life, customs, & scripts of a group of people
What is organisational culture?
“… the pattern of basic assumptions that a given group has invented, discovered or developed in learning to cope with its problems. These assumptions have worked well enough to be considered valid and taught to new members as the correct way to perceive think and feel.” (Schein, 1985, 2010)
aka how things are done around here
Levels of Culture – Schein (2004, p.26)
suggests three levels of culture:
Artefacts: Visible organisational structures
and processes
Espoused Beliefs and Values: Strategies, goals, philosophies
Underlying Assumptions: Unconscious, taken-for-granted beliefs, perceptions, thoughts and feelings
what does espoused mean?
explicitly stated by organisation e.g. in policy documents
Handy Typology (organisational culture)(Handy, 1995)
Organisations are classified based on two factors:
- Centralisation – where power is located, how much
power is centred at the top of the organisation - Formalisation – the extent to which rules,
procedures and policies are used to organise the
activity of the organisation
what is handy typology (ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE) model made of?
role culture
person culture
task culture
power culture
power culture in handys cultural model
its where power is held by just a few individuals and this spreads throughout the business, there relatively few rules with those with power deciding what happens its found in smaller entrepreneurial businesses
employees judged by what they achieve
can result in quick decision making and is a strong culture but can also turn toxic
its Autocratic
Attracts those who are:
– Power oriented
– Politically minded
– Risk taking
– Unconcerned with security
Can be tough & abrasive place to work
* Low morale & high turnover can be problematic
role culture in handys cultural model
its based on the role in which yu play it has a high degree of control and structure and power is determined through how high you are in the organisational structure
often have a tall structure with long chains of command
decision making often slow (red tape) may also be risk averse with a lack of innovation
Its autocratic/paternalistic
High degree of formalization, standardization, bureaucracy
Attracts those who like:
– Security
– Opportunity to develop expertise
– Steady progress
task culture in handys cultural model
its when teams in an organisation are formed to address problems or work on projects etc
power within the the team shifts depending on whos in the team expertise etc and the status of the project works best with a matrix structure
Groups often make own objectives (A risk)
Attracts those who like:
– Autonomy
– Judgement by results
– Working in groups
– Respect based on capacity
* Difficult control for management
person culture in handys cultural model
people see themselves as unique and superior to the business
the power lies within the individuals
although unlikely this may be seen in lawyers and accountants etc
its democratic
Control very difficult
Influence is shared
Power base is expertise of individuals
Difficult to manage
Organisational culture research:
Critical evaluation
OC complex and difficult to understand
“Organizations have cultures” perspective – comparative
surveys as method
“Organizations are cultures” perspective – qualitative case
studies: e.g. underlying assumptions of org life need to be
explored be in-depth interviewing of insiders
Neglect individual differences as irrelevant (based in
anthropology as discipline)
(Schneider et al., 2013, ARP)
