©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Newstrom 12/e PPT ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Social Systems and Organizational Culture Chapter Four Social Systems and Organizational Culture ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Chapter Objectives To understand: The operation of a social system The psychological contract Social cultures and their impact The value of cultural diversity Role and role conflict in organizations Status and status symbols Organizational culture and its effects Fun workplaces ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Cultural Cues Direct Cues Orientation training Policy statements Advice from supervisors and peers Indirect Cues Inferences made from promotions Patterns of acceptable dress ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Understanding a Social System Complex set of interacting human relationships All parts are mutually interdependent Engages in exchanges with its environment (open system) ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Social Equilibrium When all interdependent parts are in dynamic working balance A single event can throw a system out of balance When in disequilibrium, the parts work against each other Over time, the basic character changes little ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Functional and Dysfunctional Effects Creativity Productive employees Quality improvements Dysfunctional effects include… Lower productivity (hard) Lower satisfaction (soft) Lower commitment (soft) To elicit functional behaviors, provide clear expectations and promises of reward ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Psychological and Economic Contracts ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Psychological and Economic Contracts The psychological contract builds upon the concept of exchange theory To remain attracted to the relationship, both parties must have a net positive ratio The contract is continually examined and revised ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Social Culture Acting in accordance with the expectations of others Human-created beliefs, customs, knowledge, and practices Distinctive social cultures can exist within a single nation Managers must understand and appreciate the backgrounds and beliefs of work unit members One-culture dependency may create intellectual blinders ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Cultural Diversity Job-Related Diversity Type of work Rank Physical proximity Group affiliation Non-Job-Related Diversity Culture Ethnicity Socio-economics Sex ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Cultural Diversity Discrimination and Prejudice Discrimination is generally an action Prejudice is an attitude Either may exist without the other The law prohibits… Actions, not feelings Any action that has discriminatory results, regardless of intentions ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Cultural Diversity Valuing Diversity Prejudicial stereotypes Differences must be recognized, acknowledged, appreciated, and used to collective advantage Organizations are under political, economic, social, and technical pressures to change Actively managing diversity provides a competitive advantage ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Social Culture Values The Work Ethic Group differences Gradual decline Social Responsibility Costs and benefits Strive for balance Social, economic, and technical values ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Role A pattern of expected actions Facilitates interaction Multiple roles ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Role Perceptions ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Mentors A role model who guides another employee Stronger employee loyalty Faster movement up learning curve Better succession planning Increased level of goal accomplishments Assigning mentors can result in… Resentment Abuse of power Unwillingness to serve ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Role Conflict Others have different perceptions or expectations of a person’s role Boundary roles Role ambiguity ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Status Social rank of a person in a group Status systems Status anxiety Status deprivation Status relationships Status symbols ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Sources of Job Status ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Status Significance of Status Influences transfers and jobs employees take Helps determine informal leaders Motivates those seeking to advance Some societal backlash ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Organizational Culture Complex social system of laws, values, customs Behavior = Interaction between personal characteristics and the environment Shared norms Benefits of Organizational Culture Provides organizational identity Source of stability, continuity, security Provides context Typically identifies and rewards high-producing and creative individuals (role models) ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Characteristics of Organizational Culture Distinctive Stable Implicit Symbolic Integrated Accepted Reflection of top management Subcultures Varying strength No single type of culture is best ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Measuring Organizational Culture Difficult at best… Examination of stories, symbols, rituals, and ceremonies Interviews and open-ended questionnaires Examination of corporate philosophy statements Become a member of the organization and observe ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Communicating and Changing Culture Culture is communicated through… Formal communication channels Informal means Unintentional ways Storytelling People are more willing to adapt and learn when they want to… Please others Gain approval Learn about their work environment ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Communicating and Changing Culture Organizational Socialization Continuous process of transmitting key elements of an organization’s culture to its employees Formal and informal means Storytelling Individualization Employees exert influence on the social system around them by challenging the culture or deviating from it ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Socialization and Individualization ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Methods for Changing Organizational Culture ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Fun Workplaces Key Features Easily recognized Means different things to various people Is relatively easy to create Elicits a broad range of personal and organizational payoffs ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Fun Workplaces Benefits… Decreases stress Reduces boredom Stimulates friendships Increases satisfaction Produces beneficial physiological results ©2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved