Organizational Culture Chapter 14: pp. 423-437 Organizational Behavior 261 Gabrielle Durepos

Reminders for Today Attendance Individual Assignment Read the Globe and Mail! Send me an email or come see if you need help identifying a suitable article Example of Individual Assignment has been posted on Moodle Group Sign up – Via Moodle Wed Sept 28th 2011 Business Cards on sale Lobby of SCHW 11AM – 2PM $15 for 50 cards Hosted by Women in Business Society Wearing it Well workshop Friday, Sept 23rd 11.15AM – 12.30PM SCHW 152

Outline A story about culture change… Toward an understanding of culture Factors that constitute the culture of an organization Historical view of culture The value of looking at organizational culture 3 Ways of viewing organizational culture Integration Differentiation Fragmentary Conclusions

A story about Culture Change… In 1988, Nova Scotia Power has a problem: Low morale of employees, bad press and fragmentation CEO Comeau decides culture change is the answer Hires consultants who have a ready “culture change package”: Been implemented at NSLC Focus will now be on valuing: The province – be responsive and respective of community needs The employee – committed to value & recognize employee contributions The customer – dedicated to ensuring customer satisfaction The environment – employees should be responsible for the quality of environment Implementation: Mangers get 4 days of training; 2,400 employees get 1 day Slogans are developed that reflect the new values – posted on mugs, posters, pens… All managers and employees adopt yellow hats – instead of… Employees are allowed to take last 15 minutes of day to shower before going home… The outcome Overcoming existing distrust between managers and employees… Long-term unemployment, class divides, death of primary industries Consultant led change = layoffs? Friction – employees go home early, can not identify managers due to color of hard hat, training session is shorter for employees Eventually the change is adopted…. In 1992 – NSPower undertakes a process of re-engineering

Toward an understanding of Culture 1/2 Refers to the dominant ways of doing things in an organization that are reflected in the activities of individuals Factors that constitute the culture of an organization: Leadership styles, values, beliefs, symbols, artifacts, language, dress, rites, ceremonies, stories, structure, slogans

Toward an understanding of Culture 2/2 Behavior at work is influenced by a number of factors How do these factor influence the way individuals: feel, make sense of work, extract meaning, act? Looking at culture means: Looking at tangible & intangible factors at work To see how these affect individual thoughts, feelings and behaviors Tangible factors include - leadership, artifacts, dress, symbols… Intangible factors include - values, beliefs, stories, slogans…

Factors that constitute the culture of an organization 1/4 Leadership People who play a key role in either formally or informally managing others Values Standards or expectations that people desire at a certain point in time Beliefs What is accepted as being true, what we trust in

Factors that constitute the culture of an organization 2/4 Symbols Objects that are seen as representative of a particular organization Artifacts Physical objects (chairs, machines, buildings…) that form the life of an organization but do not necessarily symbolize it Language The jargon that a company develops double double big mac Google 15

Factors that constitute the culture of an organization 3/4 Dress Items of clothing and ways of dressing that characterize a particular organization Ceremonies Celebrations that accompany an act (or rite of passage) that give it meaning Stories Tales that are told and retold that give clues to the organizations values, beliefs and ways of doing things

Factors that constitute the culture of an organization 4/4 Slogans Phrases that are developed to give employees and customers a view of that organization Structure Stable pattern of relationships; The organizational arrangement of employees that enable them to work together

Historical View of Culture Becomes prominent in the 1980’s American companies look to their successful Japanese counterparts Japanese companies had a “strong culture” Strong Cultures – organizations in which many employees “buy into” a specific “way of doing things”, thus buy into its culture Many articles/books written on culture because: Organizational culture is seen as valuable Defining an organizations culture means developing & defining clear goals & values: Individuals at work can then be trained to “buy into” the organization Develops a cohesive collective Introduces the potential for: Increased efficiency Increased profitability increased competitiveness

The value of looking at Organizational Culture 1/2 Helping companies grow and develop Defining a vision, mission, goals and values for the organization Making sure that individuals align their personal beliefs, attitudes and behaviors with the organization Through new hires Through training Enabling employees to “collectively buy into” what the organization “stands for” These attitudes/behaviors of employees could be managed which leads to increased profits

The value of looking at Organizational Culture 2/2 Identifying organizational problems Every organization has “mini-cultures” These refer to: the way things are done regardless of a manager’s vision of how they “should be done” By examining these, we can identify problems such as: Very subtle forms of inequity Discrimination Racism

3 Ways of viewing organizational Culture: Integration Perspective Assumptions of this approach: Culture is imposed by managers Individuals values and beliefs CAN change to match the organization Individuals values and beliefs DO change to match the organization Focus is on: Achieving an organizational culture where everyone subscribes to the same overall values and beliefs Everyone is trained to value the same aspects What this perspective ignores: Individuals come to the organization with deeply embedded assumptions These do not simply and easily change What are the ethical concerns of thinking managers can alter the values & beliefs of employees A managerialist / mainstream approach to culture

3 Ways of viewing organizational Culture: Differentiated Perspective Assumptions of this approach: Culture is imposed by managers But not all individuals “buy into” the organization's values, beliefs and goals Some resist and form “mini cultures” Individuals have agency, are free willed They can act on processes that are perceived as inequitable Focus is on: Understanding the organization as made of “mini cultures” Groups that espouse different views, beliefs and values How different view points, values and beliefs are constrained or ignored by senior management A Radical, Feminist and Racioethnicity approach to culture

3 Ways of viewing organizational Culture: Fragmentary Perspective Assumptions of this approach: Culture is not imposed by managers Culture is something that “happens” as a result of people interacting, experiencing each other and organizational events Culture is “the way things are done around here” Individuals have complete agency Focus is on: Understanding the organization as made of various, contradictory viewpoints These are always in flux… A postmodern approach

Conclusions Ethical Concerns: Does culture ignore issues of diversity? Can we impose a set of values on individuals to achieve profit oriented ends What about the individual and their personal values, beliefs and attitudes? Does culture ignore issues of diversity? A strong culture is a cohesive culture Does imposing a culture act as a melting pot? Where we all become the same? If so, does this reduce diversity? Does it make us frown upon diversity or differences? Or is it a powerful heuristic to inspect these issues closely?