Organizational Culture & Environment

Management Perspectives Omnipotent View of Management Managers are directly responsible for an organization’s success or failure. Symbolic View of Management The view that much of the organization’s success or failure is due to external forces outside the managers’ control.

Constraints on Managerial Discretion Managerial Discretion Organizational Culture Organizational Environment

Organizational Culture The shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of doing things that influence the way organizational members act. It is a perception. It is descriptive. Employee share The same view of The culture.

Dimensions of Organizational Culture Precision, analyses, attention to details Results vs how outcomes are achieved Attention to Detail Innovation & Risk Taking Outcome Orientation Organizational Culture People Orientation Stability Emphasis on maintaining status quo. Mgmt considers how decisions affect people. Aggressiveness Team Orientation Competitiveness vs cooperative Work as a team vs individuals Dimensions of Organizational Culture

Strong Cultures Weak Cultures Values widely shared Culture conveys consistent messages about what’s important Most employees can tell stories about company history/heroes Employees strongly identify with culture Strong connection between shared values and behavior Values limited to few people-usually top management Culture sends contradictory messages about what’s important Employees have little knowledge of company’s history/heroes Employees have little identification with culture Little connection between shared values and behaviors

How Employees Learn Culture Stories Rituals Material symbols Language

Managerial Decisions Affected by Culture Planning The degree of risk a plan should contain Whether plans should be developed by individuals or teams The degree of environmental scanning in which management will engage Organizing How much autonomy should be designed into employees jobs Whether tasks should be done by individuals or teams Degree to which departmental managers should interact with one another

Managerial Decisions Affected by Culture Leading The degree to which managers are concerned with increasing employees job satisfaction What leadership styles are appropriate Whether all disagreements – even constructive ones- should be eliminated Controlling Whether to impose external controls or to allow employees to control their own actions What criteria should be emphasized in employee performance evaluation What repercussions will occur from exceeding one’s budget

Organizational Culture Issues

Creating an Ethical Culture Be a visible role model Communicate ethical expectations Provide ethics training Visibly reward ethical acts and punish unethical ones Provide protective mechanisms so employees can discuss ethical dilemmas and report unethical behavior without fear

Creating an Innovative Culture According to Goran Ekvall Challenge and involvement – are employees involved in, motivated by, and committed to the long-term goals and success of the organization? Freedom – can employees independently define their work, exercise discretion, and take initiative in their day to day activities? Trust and openness – are employees supportive and respectful to each other? Idea time – Do individuals have time to elaborate on new ideas before taking actions? Playfulness/humor – is the workplace spontaneous and fun? Conflict resolution – do individuals make decisions and resolves issues based on the good of the organization versus personal interest? Debates – are employees allowed to express opinions and put forth ideas for consideration and review? Risk- taking – do managers tolerate uncertainty and ambiguity and are employees rewarded for taking risks?

Creating a Customer-Responsive Culture Characteristics of Customer-Responsive Culture Suggestions for Managers Type of employee Type of job environment Empowerment Hire people with personalities and attitudes consistent with customer service: friendly, attentive, enthusiastic, patient, good listening skills Design jobs so employees have as much control as possible to satisfy customers, without rigid rules and procedures Give employees the discretion to make day-to-day decisions on job related activities

Characteristics of Customer-Responsive Culture Suggestions for Managers Role Clarity Consistent desire to satisfy and delight customers Reduce uncertainty about what employees can and cannot do by continual training on product knowledge, listening, and other behavioral skills. Clarify organization’s commitment to doing whatever it takes even if it’s outside and employees normal job requirements

Creating a Culture that Supports Diversity What Managers Can Do… Managers must show that they value diversity through their decisions and actions. (focus on performance not defining problems in terms of gender, culture, race, or disability) Look for ways to reinforce employee behaviors that exemplifies inclusiveness. Encouraging individuals to value and defend diverse views Creating traditions and ceremonies that celebrate diversity Rewarding “heroes” and “heroine” who accept and promote inclusiveness

Spirituality and Organizational Culture It's a feature of a culture where organizational values promote a sense of purpose through meaningful work taking place in a context of community. It recognizes that people have a mind and spirit Seek to find meaning and purpose in their work Have desire to connect with other human beings and be part of a community

Characteristics of and Organization with strong workplace spirituality Strong sense of purpose Focus on individual development Trust and opennes Employee empowerment Toleration of employee expression