1 Institutionalizing Organizational Culture Dr. Fred Mugambi Mwirigi JKUAT

2 What Is Organisational Culture?  A system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organisation from other organisations.  a core set of assumptions, understandings, and implicit rules that govern day-to-day behaviour in the workplace.  This system of shared meaning is a set of key characteristics that the organisation values.

Characteristics of Positive Culture  Innovation and risk taking  Attention to detail  Outcome orientation  People orientation  Team orientation  Aggressiveness  Stability

4 Definition contd.  Organisational culture is concerned with how employees perceive its characteristics, not if they like them.  Culture by definition is elusive, intangible, implicit, and often taken for granted.  Every organisation develops a core set of assumptions, understandings, and implicit rules that govern day-to-day behaviour in the workplace.

5 What Differentiates Organizational Cultures?  Individuals with different backgrounds or at different levels in the organisation will tend to describe the organisation’s culture in different terms.  There can be subcultures. Most large organisations have a dominant culture and numerous sets of subcultures

6 Dominant vs. sub cultures  A dominant culture expresses the core values that are shared by a majority: An organisation’s culture is its dominant culture. An organisation’s culture is its dominant culture. This is the macro view of culture that gives an organisation its distinct personality. This is the macro view of culture that gives an organisation its distinct personality.  Subcultures tend to develop in large organisations to reflect common problems, situations, or experiences that members face.  They are defined by department designations and geographical separation  They include the core values plus additional values unique to members of the subculture.  The core values are essentially retained but modified to reflect the subculture.

7 The value of org. cultures  The “shared meaning” aspect of culture makes culture a very potent device for guiding and shaping behaviour.  We cannot ignore the reality that many organisations also have subcultures that can influence the behaviour of members.  Ultimately decisions made within the organization are significantly influenced by the values and principles at play in the organization

8 Strong vs. Weak Cultures  Strong cultures have a greater impact on employee behaviour and are more directly related to reduced turnover  This is because the high degree of shared-ness and intensity creates an internal climate of high behavioural control  Some benefits of a strong culture include 1. lower employee turnover 2. behavioural consistency 3. predictability 4. orderliness of performance

9 Organisational Culture vs. Societal Culture  Societal cultures must be taken into account if accurate predictions are to be made about organisational behaviour in different countries  Research indicates that societal culture has a greater impact on employees than does their organisation’s culture  Societal culture has a strong bearing on the development of the organization’s culture

10 The Functions of Culture 1. It has a boundary-defining role. It creates distinctions between one organisation and others- creates identity 2. It conveys a sense of identity for organisation members. 3. Culture facilitates commitment to something larger than one’s individual self-interest. 4. Culture is the social glue that helps hold the organisation together. It enhances social system stability. 5. Culture serves as a sense-making and control mechanism that guides and shapes the attitudes and behaviour of employees.

11 Can Culture be a Liability?  There are potentially dysfunctional aspects of culture. Culture can create: 1. Barriers to change- Culture is a liability when the shared values are not in agreement with those that will further the organisation’s effectiveness. This is most likely to occur when an organisation’s environment is dynamic 2. Barrier to diversity- Strong cultures put considerable pressure on employees to conform. They limit the range of values and styles that are acceptable.

12 How a Culture Begins and develops  The ultimate source of an organisation’s culture is its founders  The founders of an organisation traditionally have a major impact on that organisation’s early culture (They had the vision; they are unconstrained by previous customs or ideologies)  The small size of new organisations facilitates the founders’ imposition of the vision on all organisational members

13 Contd.  Culture creation occurs in three ways: 1. First, founders hire and keep only employees who think and feel the way the way they do. 2. Second, they indoctrinate and socialise these employees to their way of thinking and feeling. 3. Third, they reinforce it. The founders’ own behaviour acts as a role model that encourages employees to identify with them and thereby internalise their beliefs, values, and assumptions.  When the organisation succeeds, the founders’ entire personality becomes embedded in the culture of the organisation.

14 Keeping a Culture Alive  Three forces play a particularly important part in sustaining a culture: 1. selection practices 2. the actions of top management 3. socialisation methods- Socialisation is process by which the organisation helps new employees adapt to its culture

15 How Employees Learn Culture  Stories- stories anchor the present in the past and provide explanations and legitimacy for current practices.  Rituals- these are repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the key values of the organisation, what goals are most important, which people are important, and which are expendable.  Material Symbols- e.g unique layouts of offices and other office equipment  Language- Organisations, over time, often develop unique terms to describe equipment, offices, key personnel, suppliers, customers, or products that relate to its business.

16 What can management do to create an ethical culture? Be a visible role model Be a visible role model Develop as many role models within the organization as possible Develop as many role models within the organization as possible Constantly communicate ethical expectations Constantly communicate ethical expectations Provide ethical training Provide ethical training Visibly reward ethical acts and punish unethical ones Visibly reward ethical acts and punish unethical ones Provide protective mechanisms Provide protective mechanisms

17 Managerial Actions that Improve Org. Culture  Selection processes  Training and Socialisation  Structural Design- Organisation structures need to give employees more control.  General empowerment  Leadership  Performance Evaluation  Reward Systems

18 Spirituality and Organisational Culture  Workplace spirituality is not about organised religious practices. It is not about God or theology.  Workplace spirituality recognises that people have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the organization.  Historical models of management and organisational behaviour had no room for spirituality.  The myth of rationality assumed that the well-run organisation eliminated feelings.  An awareness of spirituality can help you to better understand employee behaviour.

19 What differentiates spiritual organisations from their non-spiritual counterparts 1. Strong Sense of Purpose- Spiritual organisations build their cultures around a meaningful purpose. 2. Focus on Individual Development - Spiritual organisations recognise the worth and value of people. They are not just providing jobs. They seek to create cultures in which employees can continually learn and grow. 3. Trust and Openness - Spiritual organisations are characterised by mutual trust, honesty, and openness. Managers aren’t afraid to admit mistakes. They tend to be extremely upfront with their employees, customers, and suppliers.

Contd. 4. Humanistic work practices- Managers in spiritually based organisations include flexible work schedules, group and organisation-based rewards, narrowing of pay and status differentials, guarantees of individual worker rights, employee empowerment and job security. 5. Toleration of Employee Expression - They allow people to be themselves—to express their moods and feelings without guilt or fear of reprimand.

21 Thank you