What is Org Culture?A Definition on Org CultureOrg culture: a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the org from the other org. There are 7 primary characteristics-Innovation and risk taking: the degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks.1.Attention to detail: the degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail.2.Outcome orientation: the degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve them.3.People orientation: the degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the org.4.Team orientation: the degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals.5.Aggressiveness: the degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing.6.Stability: the degree to which org activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth.7.There are 4 types of conceptualized culture based on competing values.-Clan: the innovative and adaptable1.Adhocracy: the controlled and cosistent2.Hierarchy3.Market4.Culture Is a Descriptive TermOrganizational culture shows how employees perceive the characteristics of an org's culture NOT whether they like them-Org culture is DESCRIPTIVE whereas job satisfaction is EVALUATIVE-Do Orgs Have Uniform Culture?Expect individs w/ different backgrounds or at different levels in the orgs to describe its culture in similar terms-Dominant culture: expresses the core values a majority of emmbers share and that give the org's distinct personality-Subculture: develop in large orgs to reflect common problems or experiences members face in the same department or location.-If orgs were composed only of numerous subcultures, ord culture as an independent variable would be less powerful.-Strong vs. Weak CulturesStrong culture: the org's core values are both intensely held and widely shared. The more members who accept the core values and the greater their commitment, the stronger the culture and the greater its influence on member behavior.-Weak culture: when opinions vary widely about the org's mission and values.-A strong culture should reduce employee turnover because it demonstrates high agreement about what the org represents.-Culture vs FormalizationHigh formalization and high culture creates predictability, orderliness, and consistency-The stronger an org's culture, the less management need to be concerned with developing formal rules and regulations to guide employee behavior.-Chapter 16: Org CultureSunday, May 3, 20151:15 PM Org Behavioral Page 1What Do Cultures Do?Culture's FunctionsCulture has a boundary-defining role: it creates distinctions b/w one org and others.-It conveys a sense of identity for org members-Culture facilitates commitment to something larger than individ self-interests-It enhances the stability of the social system.-Culture is the social glue that helps hold the org's together by providing standards for what employees should say and do.-It is sense-making and control mechanism that guides and shaped employees' attitude and behavior.-Culture Creates ClimateOrganizational climate: the shared perceptions org members have about their org and work environment. Climate = team spirit at org level.-A positive overall workplace climate has been linked to higher customer satisfaction and financial performance as well.-Dimensions of climate: safety, justice, diversity, and customer service.-Culture as a LiabilityInstitutionalization: a condition that occurs when an org takes on a life of its own, apart from any of its members, and acquires immortality.-Barriers to Change - culture is a liability when the shared values don't agree those that further the org's effectiveness.-Barriers to diversity - strong cultures can become liabilities when they effectively eliminate diverse behaviors and unique strengths of new employees. A strong culture that condones prejudice, supports bias, or becomes insensitive to people who are different can undermine formal corporate diversity policies.-Barriers to acquisition and mergers: -Creating and Sustaining CultureHow a Culture BeginsFounders have a vision of what the org should be.-There are 3 ways to create culture-Founders hire and keep only employees who think and feel the same way they do.1.They indoctrinate and socialize the employees to their way of thinking and feeling2.The founder's own behavior encourages employees to identify with them and internalize their beliefs, values, and assumptions.3.Keeping a Culture AliveSelection process, performance eval criteria, training and development activities, and promotion procedures ensure those hired fit with the culture. There are 3 forces that play in sustaining a culture:-Selection1.The goal: to identify and hire individuals with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successful.-Top Management2.Has a major impact on the org's culture-Senior execs establish norms that filter through the org about whether risk-taking is desirable, how much freedom managers give employees, what is appropriate dress, and what actions earn pay raises, promotions, and other rewards.-Socialization: a process that adapts employees to the org's culture.3.Prearrival stage: the period of learning in the socialization process that occurs before a new employee joins the org. An indivi arrives with a set of values, attitudes, and a. Org Behavioral Page 2new employee joins the org. An indivi arrives with a set of values, attitudes, and expectations about both work and org. What people know before they join the org and how proactive their personality is, are critical predictors of how well they adjust to a new culture.-Use the selection process to inform prospective employees about the org as a whole.-Success depends on the degree to which the aspiring member has correctly anticipated the expectations and desires of those in the org in charge of the selection.-Encounter stage: the stage in the socialization process in which a new employee sees what the org is really like and confronts the possibility that expectations and reality may diverge. b.Metamorphosis stage: The stage in the socialization process in which a new employee changes and adjusts to the job, work group, and organization.c.Institutional practices: orgs that value rule following and order; programs are informal, individual,