Culture, Creativity, Innovation Ch 14 April 13 & 15

Org Culture Framework of attitudes, values, norms, expectations shared among org members Difference between espoused and enacted cultures Common dimensions: Customer service sensitivity Employee creativity Risk-taking Communication Possible to have several cultures, called subcultures

Functions of Org Culture Provides sense of identity Strong cultures increase org commitment Clarify norms, rules to newcomers

Deciphering Culture Use artifacts – observable symbols way visitors greeted, physical layout, how ees are rewarded, websites Survey employees but may get espoused culture, not enacted Observation Best approach is combination

Identifying Culture Goffee & Jones (98) – Double S Cube 2 dimensions of culture – Sociability (friendliness of members) Can promote creativity or can promote ingroup/outgroup distinctions Solidarity (share understanding of tasks) Can increase coordination or can promote ingroup/outgroup distinctions

Double S Cube Combination of 2 dimensions results in 4 types of cultures: Possibility of different subcultures; changes over time; no data on which is best Low Solidarity High Solidarity Low Sociability Fragmented Mercenary High Sociability Networked Communal

Formation of Culture Impact of org founder’s personality Adaptation to marketplace/environment How is culture learned? Symbols – buildings, slogans Stories about org history Use of org-specific acronyms Rituals/ceremonies Mission statements

Culture and Performance Impact on performance? Subtle.. Form of social control influencing ee decisions Helps coworkers bond together (cohesive teams) May improve communication if shared values

Changing Cultures What affects change in cultures? Shift in workplace demographics Mergers and Acquisitions (combine cultures) Strategies for merging cultures: Assimilation (acquired ees embrace culture of acquiring org) Deculturation (acquiring org imposes culture) Integration (combine 2 cultures into new one) Separation (leave 2 existing culture ‘as is’)

Strengthening Cultures Actions of leaders Introduce culturally consistent rewards Maintain stable workforce Selection process (screen for culture fit) Socialization process (mold new ees)

Creativity Production of novel, useful ideas Can be trained; can use group methods (Delphi) 3 components of creativity Must have basic relevant skills in area Creativity skills needed Tolerate ambiguity, withhold early judgment Productive forgetting (give up old ideas) Creativity heuristics (ways to approach tasks) Intrinsic motivation – must want to do task Multiplicative relationship betw 3 components (creativity = 0 if any one is 0)

Innovation Orgs have to innovate to survive, but innovation may be resisted & become political Implement creative ideas within org Org must have culture that values innovation Must have resources (financial, people) Management linked w/innovation Linked with goals, rewards, balances time pressures

Most Innovative Orgs (based on patents) 1 – General Electric = 50,837 patents 2 – IBM = 32,498 patents 3 – Westinghouse Electric = 28,005 4 – AT&T = 23,948 5 – General Motors = 23,559 6- Du Pont 7 – Hitachi 8 – Eastman Kodak 9 – Canon 10 – U.S. Navy = 17,805

Innovation Case studies of innovative orgs reveal presence of 1 or more ‘idea champions’ People who guide innovative idea through development & implementation process Howell & Higgens (90) study comparing champions v non-champions who worked on same project: Champions exhibited more risk-taking, transformational leadership, charisma Usually an informal role

Innovation Communication – w/external environment “Gatekeepers” – span boundary betw org and environment, translate info for local use, disseminate info to project members Ex) “Competitive Intelligence” unit at State Farm – scan market info, competitor’s ideas Or…get info from customers themselves (focus groups with policyholders at SF) Internal communication best with culture of decentralization, informality

Innovation Resources – not only money, but time Cultures that value freedom and autonomy most cited org factors leading to innovation 3M dictates scientists reserve 15% of time for personal projects IDEO – product design firm Not experts in any product area, but experts in process of innovation See website for shopping cart prototype

Best Practices in Innovation Set challenging goals Produce more innovative ideas than if only given modest goal (more brainstorming) Introducing diversity/new ideas Some orgs bring in execs from outside their industry to get new perspective Create opportunities for talented ees Allow ees to move around internally w/o having to give up job title (GE) Reward innovation – w/share of profits (GE)