Q5- Organisational Culture Flashcards
Define organisational culture:
-> a pattern of shared basic assumptions considered valid and transmitted to new members (beliefs, knowledge, customs)
Levels of culture (artefacts)
- Aspects of culture that are visible
- Public view of the organisation
Examples
~dress code
~physical symbols
~office layouts
Level of culture (espoused values)
- Strategies and goals of the organisation
- Contribution to development of standards within the organisation
Examples
~ language (way people communicate inside and outside of organisation)
~ corporate values and standards (how the company conducts business)
Basic assumptions:
- Foundation idea (no longer questioned)
- Difficult to identify
- Assumptions are usually based on something we have learned previously
- They are invisible
-> as you go further through the levels, the elements become less visible and more ingrained
-> Schien’s model 1992
Importance of organisational culture:
- an organisation’s culture may be one of its strongest assets or its biggest liability
- you can have a good strategy in place, but if you don’t have the culture and the enabling systems that allow you to implement that strategy, the culture of the organisation will defeat the strategy
Impact of organisational culture…
- Can be a source of competitive advantage
- Positive impact on performance
- Effective management control mechanism
- Make employees feel a sense of belonging
- Customers identify with organisations values
Examples of good organisational culture
- Facebook: promote collaboration
-> flat organisational structure, stimulating working environment, open office space - Pixar: creativity and excellence
-> continuous feedback, braintrust meetings, cross working on ideas
Strong organisational structure
- high level of agreement and commitment to values
- values are deeply embedded in
- purpose and motivation
- create harmony
Weak organisational culture
- poorly defined core values universally accepted
- lack of direction
- inconsistent behaviour
- communication more difficult
Advantages of a strong culture
- Improves relationships
- Regulate behaviours and norms among members of the organisation
- Reflects the values of the organisation to the outside
- Reduces employees skipping work and improves retention
- Can aid productivity and organisational performance
Examples of toxic business cultures
-> a strong culture with negative traits isn’t a good thing
1. Enron- culture of greed and excess
2. News international- phone hacking scandal/bribery
3. Barclays- losing customer focus in pursuit of profit
4. VW- culture of silence to cover up emissions scandal
5. Brew dog- culture of fear
5. Merger of Amazon & whole foods- culture clash
6. Nokia- failure to change
Disadvantages of a strong culture
- Can be difficult to change
- Inappropriate for a rapidly changing environment
- Can stress inappropriate values
- Gives the organisation a blinkered view that could affect their ability or desire to try new things
- Strong cultures can cause conflicts if come into contact with
Handys four overriding types of culture inherent in an organisation:
- Power (shaped by a central figure)
- Role (based on a formal structure)
- Task (team and task board)
- Person (based on individual expertise)
Power culture
- Central source of power
- Decisions made centrally - therefore can be quick
- Few rules and procedures
- Little bureaucracy
- adaptable to change in environment
- flexible and creative
- smaller, owner/manager companies
- relies on trust and communication
Role culture
- Highly defined hierarchical structure
- Power derives from position in organisation
- Decisions controlled from top down
- Bureaucratic (formal rules and procedures)
- large organisations
- stable, predictable environment
- can be slow to react
