Unit 1 HL (2.7, 2.5, BMT 11) Flashcards
What is Organizational culture?
- The shared values, attitudes, and beliefs of the people in a group or in a business
- Influences the way employees interact and make decisions
- The way we do things around here or what is normal
What might influence organizational culture?
What type of business is it?
- Mission and vision statements
- NGO vs investment bank
Organizational structure
- Vertical vs horizontal
Location
- Country, city, etc
Management
- Centralized or decentralized
- Autocratic or democratic
Other
- Personalities, Age of firms, etc…
- Coffee room behavior
What is Culture clash?
- Conflict between two or more cultures within an organization
- Often when businesses go through change
When do culture clash happen?
Growth
- E.g. traditional, family business go public
- Traditional values vs shareholder profit
Mergers
- E.g. from different countries
- E.g. Daimler (German) and Chrysler (US) merger in 1998
Leadership styles change
- E.g. autocratic leadership takes over from a lassez-faire one
- E.g. new leader encourages teamwork when previous employees worked on their own
Types of organizational culture
- Charles Handy’s “Gods of Management”
- Schneider Culture Model
- Quinn & Cameron’s Competing Values Framework
- Deal & Kennedy’s Cultural Model
Zeus
(Charles Handy’s “Gods of Management”)
- All decision-making and control are held by leader or board.
- Autocratic leadership
- Centralized decision making
E.g. private car park, management rooms
Apollo
(Charles Handy’s “Gods of Management”)
- Employees have well-defined roles and responsibilities
- Cultures with formal chains of authority, command, and responsibility
- Traditional and lack of creativity
E.g. military, bureaucratic organizations, government departments, businesses with traditional values
Athena
(Charles Handy’s “Gods of Management”)
- Teams solve problems independently.
- Emphasis on teamwork and execution.
- Groups have authority and foster creativity.
- Clear goals set, performance measured by results.
Dionysus
(Charles Handy’s “Gods of Management”)
- No emphasis on teamwork
- Interest of individuals > organization
- Individuals prioritize personal goals.
- Success relies on individual skills, talent, creativity, and drive, not teams or management.
E.g. firms of lawyers
Sources of Conflict in the Workplace
- Lack of job security
- Salary and benefits
- Working hours
- Poor communication
- Inequity
- Personality clash
- Leadership style
- Expectations - e.g. overtime
- Values
- Redundancies - make people leave the business (lay off)
- Organizational change, e.g. new offices
- Resistance to change
Approaches to conflict in the workplace by employees
Industrial Action
- Actions to put pressure on the other side to solve conflict
Collective bargaining (Unions)
- EEs negotiate with the employed together, usually using chosen EE representatives
- EEs should have more power when working together
- EEs can also form/join a Trade Union
Work-to-rule
- Only do work that is outlined in the contract and refuse to do any additional work
- E.g. stop working at exactly 5 pm (overtime ban, no work during lunch break)
Strike action
- Stop working for a period of time and refuse to work
Approaches to conflict in the workplace by employers
Collective bargain with ERs
- Saves the business time and makes EEs feel listened to
Threats of redundancies
- Make them redundant if they don’t agree to terms
Changes of contract
- Increased working hours or job requirements when renewing contracts
Lock-outs
- Temporarily close the factory so workers do not get paid
Closure
- Completely close the factory - leading to redundancies
Approaches to conflict resolution
- Employee participation and industrial democracy
- No-strike agreement
- Single-union agreement
- Conciliation and arbitration
No-strike agreement
- Union members agree to not strike
- Usually in return for an agreement - e.g. pay will always increase in line with inflation
- Reduce EEs power in the future
- But will hopefully increase the image of the Union, leading to more members
Employee participation and industrial democracy
- Strengthen EE-ER relations, giving EEs more influence.
- Examples: Employee on the board, share ownership, democratic leadership.
- Higher EE motivation reduces future conflicts.
Single-union agreement
- ER negotiates with one union instead of multiple.
- A single union simplifies objectives, increasing agreement chances.
Conciliation and arbitration
- The use of a 3rd party to help resolve a dispute
- Conciliation = use of the 3rd party to encourage EE and ER communication and reach a compromise
- Arbitration = use of 3rd party to listen to both sides and make a binding decision (3rd party makes a decision, and EE and ER must follow the decision made by 3rd party)
Pros of using Gantt Charts
- Gives planners the big picture of the projects - key tasks, timings, etc.
Can identify:
- Projects that can be done sequentially (saves times)
- Minimum time needed
- Tracks progress on the Gantt chart for adjustments.
Cons of using Gantt Charts
- Complex for large projects.
- Chart data are predictions and may be inaccurate.
- Requires regular updates for changes or delays.
Individualism vs Collectivism
Measures whether the culture values:
- Prioritising the individual over the team (individualism)
- Prioritising the team over the individual (collectivism)
Measures the degrees to which individuals are integrated into groups:
- Me vs We
In general:
- European countries are Individualistic
- Asian countries are Collectivistic
Masculinity vs Femininity
Measures the extent to which the culture follows stereotypical gender roles
Masculine traits:
- Competitive
- Ambition
- Assertiveness
Feminine traints:
- Consulting others
- Caring
- Cooperation
Power Distance
measures the extent to which hierarchy and rank are accepted in society
High power distance
- Juniors accept that seniors have power
- Centralized decision making
- Higher rank is acknowledged
Lower power distance
- Respect is earned
- Juniors can challenge seniors
- More delegation
Short-termism vs Long-termism
- How far in advance does the culture plan for?
- How likely are they to sacrifice the short-term for long-term gains
Short terminism:
- Results now or soon
- UK, US, etc
Long terminism:
- Can make sacrifices now if there’s a long-term gain
- Asian countries
Uncertainty avoidance
Attitude to uncertainty
- Highly structured routine
- Be told what to do
- Highly supervised
- Timetables
OR
- Flexibility over how to do things
- Less supervision
- Can use own initiative
Indulgence vs Self Restraint
Indulgent:
- Satisfy needs and wants
- Enjoy life, have fun
Self-restraint:
- Duty is more important than pleasure
- Sacrifice
Evaluating Hofstede
Has some use in multinational organizations
- Designing Hierarchies
- Training
- Centralization vs decentralization
BMT 11 - Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
1) Individualism vs Collectivism
2) Masculinity vs Femininity
3) Power Distance
4) Short-termism vs Long-termism
5) Uncertainty avoidance
6) Indulgence vs Self-restraint
Cons of Hofstede
- Builds into stereotypes
- Lots of of other factors are significant to differences
Charles Handy’s “Gods of Management”
Handy’s Shamrock Organization
