Organisational culture (chapter 7)

Question 1

Edgar Schein (2010)

Answer 1

Provided one of the first models of organisational culture which presents it at three levels which are progressively harder to access, but are more significant the deeper down they are.

Question 2

Charles Handy (2009)

Answer 2

Business guru and writer Handy is well-known for developing a typology proposes four types of culture.

Question 3

Linda Smirich (1983)

Answer 3

Sees culture as something the organisation either has - a possession that can be changed and controlled - or is - this sees culture as a part of the organisation, it isn’t owned by management, everyone is involved in creating it, and no one has the power to define it.

Question 4

Hugh Willmott (1993)

Answer 4

Critical management theorist who argues that there is a dark side of organisational culture - a form of slavery and control.

Question 5

Tom Peters and Robert Waterman (1982)

Answer 5

Argued that organisations need a ‘strong culture’ to be successful. They believed that getting the right culture increases productivity by creating a shared sense of purpose, which increases staff motivation.

Question 6

Organisational culture

Answer 6

The collective behaviour exhibited by members of an organisation, often seen as comprising values, beliefs, practices, history, and traditions.

Question 7

Mission statement

Answer 7

The stated aim of the organisation - often with the intention of inspiring employees and differentiating them from others.

Question 8

Cultural typology

Answer 8

A classification of the type of organisational culture.

Question 9

Cultural change

Answer 9

Often driven by management or consultants with the intention of making the organisation more productive; sees culture as a possession that management can control.

Question 10

Rational management

Answer 10

• Hard
• Based on facts and figures
• Managed through budgets, strategy, targets
• Control imposed via rules, procedures, etc
• Formal communication (newsletters, emails, etc)
• Formal authority structures and hierarchy
• Control, monitoring, evaluation
  (Peters and Waterman, 1982)

Question 11

Cultural management

Answer 11

• Soft
• Emotional appeal through shared values
• Workers control themselves (shared beliefs)
• Informal communication (symbols, stories)
• Reliance on informal opinion
• Trust, commitment, autonomy
  (Peters and Waterman, 1982)

Question 12

Typologies

Answer 12

A system of classification of traits that organisations have in common.

Question 13

Deal and Kennedy (1982)

Answer 13

Argued that an organisation’s culture is a product of the environment in which they operate - in particular the amount of risk associated with their key activities, and the speed of feedback that workers receive.

Question 14

The link between culture and feedback (Deal, Kennedy, 1982)

Answer 14

Work hard/play hard culture: fast feedback and low risk, e.g. sales and manufacturing.

Tough-guy macho culture: fast feedback and high risk, e.g. stockbrokers, media, sports, and construction.

Process culture: slow feedback and low risk, e.g. government bureaucracies.

Bet-your-company culture: slow feedback and high risk, e.g. pharmaceutical firm devising a new drug, oil companies.

Question 15

Handy’s four cultural categories (2009)

Answer 15

Power culture (Zeus), role culture (Apollo), task culture (Athena), personal/cluster culture (Dionysius).

Question 16

Quinn and Rohrbaugh (1983)

Answer 16

Created a cultural typology to assess not only organisational culture but leadership, communication, and employee selection.
Divides culture into four types: clan, adhocracy, hierarchy, market.

Question 17

Criticism of cultural typologies

Answer 17

They tend to generalise; organisations do not necessarily fit neatly into categories, and applying these typologies in a rigid way can mean we lose sight of some of the factors that make an organisation unique.
Accuracy is also dependent on an individual’s ability to successfully understand the culture and match it to the framework.
Don’t account for variations in culture within the organisation - e.g. departmental variations.

Question 18

Schein’s cultural iceberg (2010)

Answer 18

Sees culture as being like an iceberg - the important things occur below the surface; the things near the top are the easiest to change, but are the least significant. The further down the iceberg, the harder things are to change.

Question 19

Physical artefacts (Schein, 2010)

Answer 19

Express certain aspects of the culture, but are open to interpretation by the observer.
E.g. building, staff uniforms.

Question 20

Intangible beliefs/values (Schein, 2010)

Answer 20

These often start from the founder/leader and are passed on through mission statements or strategy.

Question 21

Underlying assumptions (Schein, 2010)

Answer 21

These are the essence of culture; changing them can result in anxiety and defence mechanisms.

Question 22

Intangible

Answer 22

Something that cannot be touched.

Question 23

Subculture

Answer 23

A localised culture with its own set of values and behaviours that reflects, but is distinct from, the wider culture. They can develop formally (departments) and informally (social networks).

Question 24

Founder

Answer 24

The person who established the organisation

Question 25

Rite

Answer 25

A solemn act or procedure to observe an event/occasion. Rites are events which express important parts of the culture.

Question 26

Ceremonies

Answer 26

A public act, often planned and formal, to celebrate an event/achievement/anniversary. They are planned by senior management or are a part of the organisation’s established calendar. They often have a symbolic meaning that emphasises important aspects of the organisation’s culture.
A formal and symbolic way of celebrating the organisational key values; they provide senior management with the opportunity to publicly support actions they think are positive.

Question 27

Rituals

Answer 27

Everyday habits that individuals do without thinking; they once had meaning but have gradually become a part of the everyday activities of the organisation.

Question 28

Informal/unofficial culture

Answer 28

Culture that is not known or supported by management but one that many employees share. It can arise in opposition to official, management-led culture.

Question 29

Informal/unofficial rites, ceremonies, rituals

Answer 29

Done largely between employees and are often tolerated, sometimes condemned, and regularly unknown to management.

Question 30

The cultural dynamics model (Hatch, 1993)

Answer 30

Mary Jo Hatch (1993) argues that Schein’s model would be more useful if it also focused on symbols and symbolic behaviour.
Hatch claims her model gives a more sophisticated understanding by presenting the dynamic nature of organisational culture, linking values, artefacts, symbols, and assumptions more explicitly together.

Question 31

Criticism of Peters and Waterman (1982)

Answer 31

Willmott (1993) argued that their work lacks conceptual development and did not really investigate the values and beliefs of the staff.

Question 32

Control and resistance

Answer 32

Hugh Willmott (1933) argued that organisational culture is a form of control - corporate culture controls people’s hearts, minds, and souls. Anyone that resists may be excluded.