Assignment 1 5105

may2025

CH02PPT-withnotes.pptx

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Chapter 2

National and Organizational Culture

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Introduction

Anthropologists propose that culture…

Is learned and shared

Defines the boundaries of different groups

A national culture is the sum total of…

The beliefs, rituals, rules, customs, artifacts, and institutions that characterize the population of a nation

Values are…

The guidelines and believes that a person uses when confronted with a situation in which a choice must be made

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National culture is learned, it is shared, and it defines the boundaries of different groups and various aspects of national culture (e.g., aesthetics, religion, attitudes, legal factors, language, and education) that are interrelated. Thus, a national culture is the sum total of the beliefs, rituals, rules, customs, artifacts, and institutions that characterize the population of the nation.

Introduction

Managers must understand national and organizational cultures

Both affect how transactions are conducted

Adaptation to new environments involves…

Learning new values

Processing information in new ways

Working within established norms, customs, and rituals

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In order to succeed in an increasingly global economy, effective managers need to understand that national and organizational cultures have a pronounced effect on behavior within organizations.

Culture and Societal Value Systems

Organizations operate efficiently only when shared values exist among the employees

Values are the conscious, affective desires or wants of people that guide behavior

Values are a society’s ideas about what is right or wrong

Passed along through education systems, religions, families, communities, organizations

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In addition to national culture, the culture within an organization also exerts influence over employee behavior. When a person moves from one firm to another or even from one department to another in the same company, he or she senses and experiences differences between the environments. Attempting to adjust to these different environments involves learning new values, processing information in new ways, and working within an established set of norms, customs, and rituals. The adaptation to new environments is becoming a common occurrence and is likely to remain so well into the 21st century. Although adaptation is difficult, it can be better understood by learning about organizational culture.

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

Culture

Power Distance

Uncertainty Avoidance

Masculinity-Femininity

Individualism

Short/Long Orientation

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One useful framework for understanding the importance of values in organizational behavior is provided by Hofstede. The result of his research on 116,000 people in 50 countries has been a four–value dimension framework. From this initial research, Hofstede identified four value dimensions by which cultures can differ: (1) power distance, (2) uncertainty avoidance, (3) individualism, and (4) masculinity. A fifth dimension, long-term orientation, was added as a result of subsequent research.

Cultural Dimensions

Society’s values impact organizational values because of the interactive nature of work, leisure, family, and community.

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A society’s values have an impact on organizational values because of the interactive nature of work, leisure, family, and community. American culture has historically given work a central place in the constellation of values. Work remains a source of self-respect and material reward in the United States. Work also serves as a place to achieve personal growth and fulfillment. As the demographics and makeup of the workforce become more culturally diverse, it will become extremely important for managers to learn about the value system and orientations of the changing workforce.

EXHIBIT 2.1 Sample of Hofstede’s Research on Cultural Values

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The results of Hofstede’s research are shown in what he calls maps of the world. The maps reveal at a glance the similarities and differences in work values across nations. Exhibit 2.1 presents a sample of Hofstede’s research findings. The five cultural value dimensions are interdependent and complex. Consequently, the effects of values on workplace productivity, attitudes, and effectiveness are difficult to determine. Managers must be cautious about grossly overgeneralizing. For example, not all Americans value individualism, masculinity, a low power distance, and moderate uncertainty avoidance

Organizational Culture Defined

Culture can be sensed or felt, but not seen

Consists of attitudes, emotions, perceptions

Influences behavior, attitudes, and effectiveness

There is no single definition of culture

Involves assumptions, adaptations, perceptions, and learning

Includes symbols, language, ideologies, rituals, and myths

Creates pattern of beliefs, values, expectations

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Schein’s Definition of Culture

A pattern of basic assumptions

Invented, discovered, or developed by a group

As it learns to cope with the problems of external adaptation and internal integration

Has worked well enough to be considered valid

Is taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems

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Organizational culture is what the employees perceive and how this perception creates a pattern of beliefs, values, and expectations Edgar Schein defined organization culture as: A pattern of basic assumptions—invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with the problems of external adaptation and internal integration—that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems.

Organizational Culture and Its Effects

Organizational culture involves shared expectations, values, and attitudes, so it exerts influence on…

Individuals

Groups

Organizational processes

Influence can be positive or negative, weak or strong

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Despite being an important concept, organizational culture as a perspective to understand the behavior of individuals and groups within organizations has its limitations. First, it is not the only way to view organizations. We have already discussed the systems view without even mentioning culture. Second, like so many concepts, organizational culture is not defined the same way by any two popular theorists or researchers. Some of the definitions of culture are as follows:  Symbols, language, ideologies, rituals, and myths.  Organizational scripts derived from the personal scripts of the organization’s founder(s) or dominant leader(s).  Is a product; is historical; is based upon symbols, and is an abstraction from behavior and the products of behavior.

EXHIBIT 2.2 Three Levels of Organizational Culture

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Organizational culture is what the employees perceive and how this perception creates a pattern of beliefs, values, and expectations. Edgar Schein defined organization culture as: A pattern of basic assumptions—invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with the problems of external adaptation and internal integration—that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. The Schein definition points out that culture involves assumptions, adaptations, perceptions, and learning. At layer two are values or the things that are important to people. Values are conscious, affective desires or wants. In layer three are the basic assumptions people make that guide their behavior. Included in this layer are assumptions that tell individuals how to perceive, think about, and feel about work, performance goals, human relationships, and the performance of colleagues. Exhibit 2.3 presents the Schein three-layer model of organizational culture.

Organizational Culture and Its Effects

Culture provides and encourages stability

The more employees share and accept the core values, the stronger the culture and the more influential it is on behavior

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Since organizational culture involves shared expectations, values, and attitudes, it exerts influence on individuals, groups, and organizational processes. For example, members are influenced to be good citizens and to go along. Thus, if quality customer service is important in the culture, then individuals are expected to adopt this behavior, and if adhering to a specific set of procedures in dealing with customers is the norm, then this type of behavior would be expected, recognized, and rewarded. Researchers who have studied the impact of culture on employees indicate that it provides and encourages a form of stability. Organizational identity provided by an organization’s culture instills a feeling of stability.

Culture

Motivation

Efficiency

Creating Organizational Culture

Can culture be created and imposed?

It is difficult to simply create core values

Imposed values are often met with resistance

Disparity between reality and a stated set of values creates confusion, irritation, skepticism

Cultures take time to evolve

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Many leaders and founders of organizations believe they can create specific types of organizational cultures, including those focusing on customer service, ethical, and diversity cultures.

Creating Organizational Culture

Types of cultures

Customer-Service

Ethical

Diversity

Benefits of a positive culture

Increased teamwork

Information sharing

Better employee morale

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Culture has been defined in numerous ways including customer service, ethical and diversity. Benefits of a positive culture are numerous including increased teamwork, information sharing, and morale. The text provides examples of these types of culture.

Influencing Culture Change

Themes that appear in research…

Cultures are elusive and hidden, so they are hard to diagnose, manage, and change

Deliberate attempts to change culture are not really practical

Cultures sustain people through periods of difficulty and ward off anxiety

People naturally resist change to a new culture

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Managers who are interested in producing cultural changes face a daunting challenge. However, courageous managers can and do intervene and alter their organization’s culture.

Exhibit 2-3 Zappos’ Ten Core Values

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Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos (owned by Amazon), has created a positive, fun, and high performance culture at the online retailer. Hsieh creates and maintains a positive culture by hiring only those individuals who fit well with Zappos’ unique culture and by training all new hires in a similar manner. As Exhibit 2-5 illustrates, Zappos’ culture is built on the following ten core values.

Sustaining the Culture

Socialization

The process by which organizations bring new employees into the culture

A transmittal of values, assumptions, and attitudes

The goal is achieving person-organization fit

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Socialization is the process by which organizations bring new employees into their culture. There is a transmittal of values, assumptions, and attitudes from the older to the new employees.

P-O Fit

Transmission of values

Socialization

EXHIBIT 2.4 A Model of the Process of Organizational Socialization

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Employees are more likely to adjust to the new job and be accepted socially if they take a proactive approach to learning about how things work, who makes the decisions, what the organization values, and so on. Also, new employees benefit from a well-organized company-sponsored socialization program. There are several ways in which organizations can structure the socialization.

Socialization: The Process Model

Ways to Structure Socialization

Collective

Formal

Sequential

Investiture

Serial

Fixed

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Two ways of analyzing how socialization works in organizations are the process and career stage models. The process model of organizational socialization presented. A new employee, through a combination of seeking information and experiencing socialization tactics from the organization, can adjust to his or her role and gain social acceptance. Once adjustment and acceptance are achieved, the new employee may experience a variety of positive outcomes such as better job performance and perceived fit with the organization, high commitment, and job satisfaction, and lower intentions to leave the organization. Employees are more likely to adjust to the new job and be accepted socially if they take a proactive approach to learning about how things work, who makes the decisions, what the organization values, and so on. Also, new employees benefit from a well-organized company-sponsored socialization program.

Career Stage Model of Socialization

Socialization stages coincide with…

Anticipatory Socialization

Accommodation

Role Management

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There are several ways in which organizations can structure the socialization process for new employees, including exposing them to a common set of experiences (e.g., luncheons, orientations, speakers, facility tours, etc.); establishing a fixed sequence of steps or timetable before the employee can begin the new job; and, assigning an experienced employee to serve as a role model or mentor for the newcomer.

EXHIBIT 2.5 A Checklist of Effective Socialization Practices

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Organizational socialization processes vary in form and content from organization to organization. Even within the same organization, various individuals experience different socialization processes.

Mentoring

Mentor – a friend, coach, advisor or sponsor who supports, encourages, and helps a less experienced protégé.

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In work organizations, a mentor can provide coaching, friendship, sponsorship, and role modeling to a younger, less-experienced protégé. In working with younger or new employees, a mentor can satisfy his or her need to have an influence on another employee’s career. Some organizations use mentoring as a means of developing leaders.

Mentoring Functions

Career Functions

Sponsorship

Exposure and visibility

Coaching

Production

Challenging assignments

Psychological Functions

Role modeling

Acceptance

Confirmation

Counseling

Friendship

Although mentoring functions can be important in socializing a person, it is not clear that a single individual must play all of these roles. New employees can obtain valuable career and psychosocial influences from a variety of individuals—managers, peers, trainers, and personal friends.

EXHIBIT 2.6 Phases of the Mentoring Relationship

Phases

Initiation

Cultivation

Separation

Redefinition

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Most mentor–mentee relationships develop over time. There appear to be several distinct phases of mentor–mentee relationships. A four-phase model proposed by Kram. The reasons that cause movement in the relationship are described as turning points. Initiation, cultivation, separation, and redefinition cover general time periods of six months to more than five years.

Ways to Be a Great Mentor

Determine the most valuable technique

Don’t be afraid to be honest

Get a mentor yourself

Get mentorees to agree with your style of intervention

Don’t keep your feelings bottled up

Understand that mentoring is an important relationship, for both of you

Work at building trust and at feeling it yourself

Realize that this process will change both of you

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Mentoring is a set of skills for a special relationship, sometimes more honest and more intense than a marriage.

Spirituality and Culture

Employees have a personal or inner life

It nourishes and is nourished by performing relevant, meaningful, challenging work

Spirituality is not the same as religion

Spirituality… a personal, private path that contains religious elements and points to a person’s self-inquiry

Religion… a system of thought, set of doctrines and beliefs, prescribed code of conduct, product of a time/place

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Over the past decade, theory and research in organizational behavior and ethics have begun to pay more attention to workplace spirituality. Although spirituality has been described as “soft” or “nonstrategic” by many academics, there is growing interest among many researchers and practitioners to explain, study, and analyze the role of spirituality in organizations. There is a long tradition in the United States of keeping religion and government separate. From this traditional separation, it is a logical step to keeping religion and nongovernment organizations separate too. Although workplace spirituality is certainly not a religion, many observers use the terms synonymously and loosely.

The Person and Spirituality

Spirituality has not been given much research attention

Considered “soft” or “non-strategic”

There is a long tradition in the U.S. of separating religion and government

It is logical to keep religion separate from non-government organizations as well

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Research has found that: Employees who are more spiritually involved achieve better results.  There was near-unanimous agreement about the meaning of spirituality: “the desire to find ultimate meaning and purpose in one’s life and to live an integrated life.”  Few respondents feel they can act on their spirituality in the workplace.  Employees do not want to fragment their lives. They want to be acknowledged as whole persons in the workplace.  People differentiate strongly between religion and spirituality.

Spirituality and Work Dimensions Research

Spirituality encourages…

Trust

Work/life balance

Empathy and compassion for others

The value of human assets

Development and self-actualization of people

Ethical behavior

Better results

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Spirituality is believed to have a number of benefits

Assignment 1 5105

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