Organizational Culture

Organizational Culture UpulAbeyrathne, Dept. of Economics, University of Ruhuna Mataraa

Think of the Following • Where did you work? • What make different one organization from the other • Are they unique? • If unique, what are the reasons?

Why is different? • Every organization has a set of shared beliefs, expectations and core values of people in the organization. • It is the organizational culture ; • One it is established, they become relatively stable and insert influence on organizations and people working in them.

Kind of Influences • They tend to promote creativity and innovation • Promote lethargy and sluggishness. • To be creative organization means doing routinely no routine.

Basic Nature • To understand the culture, we have to concentrate on three basic aspect • Basic Characteristics of Culture • Whether there is one general culture or cultures with organization • Role of the culture in organizational Functioning

Defining Organizational Culture • “A cognitive framework consisting of attitudes, values, behavioural norms and expectations shared by organization members” • Every Organization has got a set of core characteristics shared by members of organization

Core Organizational Values • Sensitivity to the needs of customers and employees • Interest in having employees generate new ideas • Willingness to take risk • The value placed on people • Openness of available communication options • Friendliness and Congeniality of employees toward one another. Organizations may be distinguished by their basic values.

Subculture • WE shall not be mislead that there is only one culture in an organization • In large organizations, there are many culture in various subsections and units etc. • Subculture is the one that exists in one part of organization rather than entirely throughout the organization

Dominant Culture • Note there is a overarching dominant culture in every organization • The dominant culture reflects its core values, the dominant perceptions that are shared throughout the organization

Role of Culture • Culture plays important roles in organization • It provides a sense of identity: If shared perspectives and values are defined clearly, people can strongly associates with mission of organization and feel a vital part of it. • Consequently, people resign infrequently.

Role of Culture 3. Culture generates commitment to organization mission : Sometimes people find it difficult to go beyond thinking of their own interests. However, when there is a overarching culture people begin to feel part of the whole. Culture reminds people what their organization is all about. 4. Culture clarifies and reinforces standards of behaviour: Culture guides emplyees’ words and deeds, making it clear what they should do or say in a given situation

Identifying Organizational Cultures • Goffee R and Jones G. (1998), The Character of a Corporation, have developed Double S. Cube system for categorizing varieties of Organizational Culture • The name comes because the approach characterizes organizations along two dimensions, both of which start letter “S” • The two dimensions are sociability and solidarity.

Double S cube • It is a system of categorizing four types of organizational culture by combining two dimensions- Sociability and Solidarity. • Sociability : A dimension of the double s cube characterized by the degree of friendliness typically found among members of an organization

Double S cube • Solidarity : A dimension of the double s cube characterized by the degree to which people in an organization share a common understanding of the task and goals about which they are working. • Four basic types of organizational culture are being identified by combination of high and low amount of these two dimensions

Double S Cube:Four types of Culture • Network Culture • Mercenary Culture • Fragmented Culture • Communal Culture

Some people in certain organizations are very friendly. Some people socialize others • Some others refrain from socializing others • Sociability has both positive as well as negative side. • Sociability promotes creativity, encourages people to share information and work in team. • Sociability also may lead to informal cliques etc.

The solidarity dimension concerned with to what extend coworkers share a common understanding of their organization’s task and goals. • Some people has to stick together to accomplish a given objective. E.g. Police officers and Surgeons. • High solidarity is important in things getting done. • High solidarity also may make people alienated from the team. E.g. New comers.

Four Organizational Cultures • Networked culture: It is characterized by high level of sociability and low level of solidarity. This type of culture is extremely friendly and lighthearted in style. People keep their doors open. Its members spend a great time in socializing while less in achieving goals. They know each other and feel part of the group

Four Organizational Cultures 2. Mercenary Culture: characterized by a low degree of sociability and high degree of solidarity It is characterized by people who concern much on pulling together to get the job done. Communication is swift, direct and handled in a no-nonsense way. Businesslike manner predominate and idle chatter is not tolerated. Winning is considered everything.

Four Organizational Cultures 3. Fragmented Culture: It is characterized by low solidarity and low sociability People who work in fragmented culture have little contact with their associates. Even they may not know each other. People leave each other alone. People do not identify with the organization in which they work instead they tend to identify with their profession of which they are a part.

Four Organizational Cultures 4. Communal Culture: It is characterized by high sociability and high solidarity Members are very friendly to each other and get alone well both personally and professionally. Individuals share many things. Communication flows very easily. Strongly support the organization when talking about it to outsiders.

Creation and Sustenance of Organization Culture • Members of Organization share certain basic values, attitudes and expectation. • Several factors contribute to this development • Company Founders e.g. Ray Kroc founded the McDonald Restaurant Chain on the value of “Good Food at good value served in clean, family oriented surroundings”

Creation and Sustenance of Organization Culture 2. Experience with environment: In most of the cases organizational culture develops with the experience of individuals outside environment 3. Contact with others: It develops with the contact an individual maintain with others within organization.

Transmitting Culture: Tools • There are certain ways through which individuals learn about organization. • Symbols: Material objects that connote meanings that extend beyond intrinsic content. It is said that the way an organization is furnished provide useful insights into its culture. • Slogans: They communicate important aspects of organization culture both to the public and employees

Transmitting Culture: Tools • Stories: Stories illustrate key aspects of organizational culture and telling them is a means of introducing or reaffirming those values to employees. • Jargons: The special language that define the culture • Ceremonies: Special events that commemorate corporate values. • Statements of Principle: It is defining culture in writing • Codes of ethics:

Organizational Culture: Consequences and Capacity • Discussion so far made it clear that it plays an important role in the functioning of organization. • Organizational culture exerts many influences on individual and organizational process. • It generates strong pressures on people to go alone, to think and act in consistence with the existing culture.

Organizational Culture: Consequences and Capacity • Researchers have established link between culture and performance. • Sometimes it needs changes

Changing Organizational Culture • Composition of the workforce: Generation Gap. It may impinge on the existing practices in organization. • Mergers and acquisition: Sometimes organization purchase others and mergers with others: e.g. merging of urban development authority with the defense ministry. • Planned Organizational Change • Responding to the internet

Creativity • We have no difficulty in defining creativity. • However, defining it is difficult. • Scientists have define it as the process by which individuals or teams produce novel ideas (Amabile, T.M. (1998), A Model of Creativity in Organizations in B.M. Straw & L.L. Commings (eds.), Research in Organization Behaviour, Vol. 10, pp. 123-167, CT:, JAI Press.

Components of Individual and Team Creativity • Domain Relevant Skills • Creativity Relevant Skills • Intrinsic Task Motivation

Domain relevant skills • Every activity requires specific talents, knowledge or skills. • These are the raw material needed for creativity to occur. Without basic skills one cannot think of becoming creative. (E.g. A driver needs eye-hand coordination to drive a car).

Creativity Relevant Skills • Being Creative requires additional skills, special abilities to do things in novel ways. • Doing following is useful to foster creativity. • Break Mental Set and take new perspectives. Creativity enhances when people do not limit themselves to old ways of doing things. It is divergent thinking. It is the process of reframing familiar problems unique ways.

Creativity Relevant Skills 2. Understand complexities: Do not things overly simplistic, don’t be afraid to consider complex ways in which ideas may be interrelated. 3. Keep options open and avoid premature judgments 4. Follow creative heuristics: People sometimes follow certain strategies known as creative heuristics to help them come up with creative new ideas

Creativity Relevant Skills • Use productive forgetting: Our creativity is inhibited by becoming fixated on certain ideas that we just cannot seems to get out of our heads. So, one need to abandon unproductive ideas.

Intrinsic Task Motivation • First two components focus on what people are capable of doing. • The third component refers to what people are willing to do • Intrinsic task motivation implies the making of work to be done more interesting, engaging or challenging in positive way. Scientists say that people will be at their most creative when they exhibit high levels of three factors together.

Promoting Creativity • Highly creative people are an asset to organizations. • Training people to be creative • Encourage openness to new ideas (people need to push out of their ‘stupid zone’. It is an accelerated unlearning process. • Take the time to understand the problem • Develop divergent thinking

Promoting Creativity 2. Develop creative environment It is useful for organization to change work environment in ways that brings out people creativity i). Provide autonomy: Give freedom for employees to control their own behaviour. ii). Allow ideas to cross pollinate: Allow people to play different roles and jobs

Promoting Creativity 3. Make jobs intrinsically interesting: i). Set your own goals. ii). Support Creativity at high organizational Level. Creativity is something that have to be welcome by the superior command of the organization. Think failure is not fatal. iii) Have fun: Incentive be creative is essential. Fun is one of such things. iv. Promote diversity: When workforce is composed of diverse people, it promote to think differently.

Thank You

Organizational Culture