15000 words for bussiness managements assignments
daxiongdi
leadership7.pptxWeek Seven
Organisational Culture
Leadership for SMEs
LD9616
Think about a place you have worked, what do you like about the organisation and what do you dislike.
For example
Do you think there are too many rules ?
Do you like the environment because it is relaxed ?
Do you hate wearing a uniform ?
Do you like the fact they always offer promotion to existing members of staff.
Do you like the way everyone works as a team ?
Do you like the fact they celebrate with cakes on your birthday ?
Do these facts make you work less or harder ?
All of these activities make up an organisations culture
A leader must identify which type of culture will develop a more productive, motivated and stable workforce.
Elements of the existing organisation which are leading to dissatisfied staff, high levels of absence and turnover are parts of the culture which must be changed.
What is culture in organisations?
Shared perceptions of organisational work practice within organisational units
Glue that holds the organisation together and stimulate employees to commit to the organisation and to perform (Van den Berg and Wilderson, 2004)
The pattern of development (Morgan, 1998)
“The way we do things around here”(Deal and Kennedy, 1982)
“ … it shapes everything” (Hickson and Pugh, 1995)
“… the ways of thinking, behaving and believing that members of a social unit have in common” (Cooke and Rosseau, 1988)
Organisational Culture
So lets consider what we mean by culture:
The Culture of an organisation is one of the intangible aspects of a company which affect how employees behave and carry out their daily activities.
A leader must design an appropriate culture.
Key Issues and Importance of Organisational Culture
Organisations are viewed as independent entities
Culture is shared amongst the members of the organisation
Culture acts as a constraint on the actions of managers and workers
Sources of Organisational Culture
The founder or managers (Schein, 1985)
The vision
Management style and personality
Nature of the business
Product type and environment (Gordon, 1991)
The national culture (Hofstede, 1991)
Organisational Culture - Defined
The word ‘Culture’ has been used by many different people to explain a variety of phenomena. In business terms, key definitions include:
“the customary and traditional way of doing things, which is shared to a greater or lesser degree by all members, and which the new members must learn and at least partially accept, in order to be accepted into the services of the firm (Jacques, 1952)
“the ideologies, beliefs and deep set values which occur in all firms…and are prescriptions for the ways in which people should work in these organisations (Harrison, 1972)
Organisational Culture - Defined
“a dominant and coherent set of shared values conveyed by such symbolic means as stories, myths, legends, slogans, anecdotes and fairy tales” (Peters and Waterman, 1982)
“the way we do things around here” (Deal and Kennedy, 1982)
Organisational Culture - Defined
One of the most widely accepted definition of organisational culture is that given by Edgar Schein.
“a pattern of basic assumptions – invented, discovered or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaption and internal integration – that has worked well enough to be considered valuable and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to percieve, think and feel in relation to these problems” (Schein, 1985)
A leader will shape each element of the culture
Organisational Culture - Definition
Lundberg (1990) has developed these definitions further and provides a practical overview of the term.
Culture refers to a common frame of reference, largely taken for granted and widely shared by a high proportion of the members of the group or organisation
Culture is something acquired by these people that governs their behaviour; is taught to newcomers and, when learned, consists of a code or set of rules that regulate certain aspects of behaviour.
Organisational Culture - Definition
Culture gives people something in common and serves to emphasise what is unique about a particular group or organisation.
Culture has an enduring quality and is not easily changed.
Culture has symbolic significances and is observable in traits such as language that everyone understands.
Culture is invisible and deeply engrained in people conscious.
Culture is modifiable, but only with some difficulty
Schein’s layers of culture
In Schein’s view, basic assumptions lie at the very core of an organisations culture.
They are often so fundamental they are taken for granted.
Typical basic assumptions include:
The basis on which individuals are respected
The management philosophy of the owner or senior team
How and whom makes decisions
Basic Assumptions
Values and Beliefs
At the next level of visibility, Schein discusses the importance of Values and Beliefs as a characteristic of culture.
These are the moral and ethical codes which shape an organisation.
For example: Equality in Promotion, Environmental Policy.
Such values and beliefs must be followed through to create a culture.
Artefacts and Creations
As the most visible indicators of culture, these include elements such as:
Physical layout of the building
Communication methods
Dress code
Social interplay and informal structure
Norms: these are the assumptions made by employees following historical evidence as to the normal ways of achieving things in the organisation. For example, it may be a norm to work 60 hours per week to gain promotion.
Language: the way managers speak to subordinates and vice versa is a clear indicator of culture
Symbols: used as a way of communicating, these is include the way an office is set out.
Rites: these are both formal and informal identifiers of culture. For example, the importance placed on staff birthdays, retirements, induction – all indicators of the caring nature of the organisation
Myths: used as a method of communicating core values, they are used to convey the history/feel of the organisation
Taboos: these are the indicators of what should not be done in an organisation, e.g. through formal and informal rules. For example, how do you address senior management
Artefacts and Creations can be split into six elements
Applying Schein
Three levels of culture – e.g. in the university:
Artefacts and Behaviours – layout of the classroom furniture (for group work or for lectures), class has fixed beginning and end times
Espoused Values – education is good in itself, people who have knowledge have more power than those who don’t
Basic Assumptions and Beliefs – education is the same as knowledge transfer, knowledge transfer occurs during class, lecturers know more than students
Key Elements which make up an organisations culture
So what contributes to an organisations culture ?
Structure and Hierarchy
Layout
Rules and Regulations
Uniform
Power and Status
Symbols
Language
Norms
History
Communication
Introduction to Management
Harrisons Model of Culture
A simple way to identify different cultures within an organisation is by adopting Harrisons (1972) model.
Harrison splits culture into four classifications:
Role Culture
Task Culture
Power Culture
Person Culture
Much of these aspects are based on the leaders style.
Harrisons Model of Culture
The Role Culture typifies a bureaucratic or functional structure with everyone having tightly controlled, interconnected roles with clear levels of authority and specific activities attached to them.
There are many rules and procedures in place.
What characteristics would a typical role culture have ?
Harrisons Model of Culture
The Task Culture is a complete opposite to the role culture, and the emphasis is solely on getting a specific task completed, whatever methods are used.
There are typically few rules and procedures and status comes from experience and past results.
What characteristics would a typical task culture have ?
Harrisons Model of Culture
The Power Culture also lacks formal rules but tends to be an organisation where one powerful individual or a small group of individuals have complete control. This elite co-ordinate everything and often change the rules as they go along.
What characteristics would a typical power culture have ?
Harrisons Model of Culture
The Person Culture is often associated with the voluntary sector and exists to serve its members. Individuals within the organisation are allowed to pursue there own destiny and get on with their roles within considerable interference.
Can you think of any private sector roles which may adopt this culture ?
What characteristics would a typical person culture have ?
Introduction to Management
Common Characteristics of a Forward Thinking Culture
Staying close to the customer – to guide a companies actions, eg environmentalism
Autonomy – dividing the company into management units, eg empowerment.
Productivity through people – treat employees with dignity and consider the ‘whole employee’ via work life balance
Hands on Management – senior managers should ‘walk the floor’ and implement effective communication eg open plan offices, open door policy and involvement/participation.
Introduction to Management
Characteristics of a Forward Thinknig Culture
Lean Staff – flat structures with few levels of management.
Career Structure – offer clear opportunities for progression
Unity – ensure everyone is aware of the common purpose, via mission statement, corporate goals, functional goals and individual goals.
Evaluation of employees – adopt performance appraisal and feedback systems
Training and Development – ensure everyone in the organisation is trained and understands the philosophy of the company
Introduction to Management
Backward Looking Cultures
A company with a backward looking culture is likely to be:
Product or Procedure led
Controlled by traditional managers who have worked their way up the organisation
Conservative in attitude
Resistant to change
Inward looking
A risk avoider
Introduction to Management
Forward Looking Cultures
A company with a forward looking culture is likely to be:
Market led
Inclined to trust employees to make decisions
Keen to introduce new talent to bring in bright new ideas
Seek change
Monitor the external environment and be proactive
Be prepared to take risks.
Competing Values Framework (CVF)
Cameron and Quinn (2011)
First Developed in Quinn & Rohrbaugh (1988)
Four organisational culture types:
Clan
Adhocracy
Market
Hierarchy
Competing Value Framework (Cameron and Quinn, 2011)
Clan
Adhocracy
Hierarchy
Market
31
CVF and Leadership Style
Stability and Control
Flexibility and Responsiveness
Internal Focus
External Focus
CLAN
Collaboration
Leader: facilitator, mentor, team builder
Values: commitment, communication, development
ADHOCRACY
Creative
Leader: innovator, entrepreneur, visionary
Values: innovative outputs, transformation, agility
MARKET
Competition
Leader: hard driver, competitor, producer
Values: market share, goal achievement, profitability
HIERARCHY
Control
Leader: coordinator, monitor, organiser
Values: efficiency, timeliness, consistency/ uniformity
(Cameron & Quinn, 2011)
OCAI
What is a construct?
How can we measure organisational culture?
Why is it useful to measure OC?
Complete the OCAI questionnaire – follow the instructions carefully!
How do organisations evolve?
CLAN
ADHOCRACY
HIERARCHY
MARKET
Cameron & Quinn, 2011, p.66
Balancing the OC
Small group discussion:
All 4 culture types are always present to some extent in all organisations
So, what balance between the types is appropriate for these types of organisation?
High tech manufacturer
Government department
Cameron & Quinn Fig. 4.3
CLAN
ADHOCRACY
HIERARCHY
MARKET
Cameron & Quinn, 2011, p.79
Cameron, K.S. & Quinn, R.E. (2011). Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture, third edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Schein, E. H. (2010). Organisational culture and leadership, (4thEd). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
References
