Chapter 8

This slide is adapted from

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2017).
Organizational Behavior (17th ed.).
England: Pearson Education.

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Chapter Learning Objectives
 After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
 Define organizational culture and describe its common characteristics
 Compare the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational
culture on people and the organization
 Identify the factors that create and sustain an organization’s culture
 Show how culture is transmitted to employees
 Demonstrate how an ethical culture can be created
 Describe a positive organizational culture
 Identify characteristics of a spiritual culture
 Show how national culture may affect the way organizational culture is
transported to a different country

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Organizational Culture
 Organizational culture
 A common perception held by the organization’s
members; a system of sharing meaning
 Seven primary characteristics
1. Innovation and risk taking
2. Attention to detail
3. Outcome orientation
4. People orientation
5. Team orientation
6. Aggressiveness
7. Stability
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 Do Organizations have uniform
cultures
 Cultures is a descriptive term: it may act as a substitute for formalization
 Dominant culture
 Expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the
organization’s members
 Subcultures
 Mini-cultures within an organization, typically defined by department
designations and geographical separation
 Core values
 The primary or dominant values that are accepted throughout the
organization
 Strong Culture
 A culture in which the core values are intensely held and widely shared
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What do cultures do?
Culture’s Functions
1. Defines the boundary between one organization
and others
2. Conveys a sense of identity for its members
3. Facilitates the generation of commitment to
something larger than self-interest
4. Enhances the stability of the social system
5. Serves as a sense-making and control
mechanism for fitting employees in the
organization

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Culture as a liability
 Institutionalization
 A company can become institutionalized where it is valued
for itself and not for the goods and services it provides.
 Barriers to change
 Occurs when culture’s values are not aligned with the
values necessary for rapid change
 Barrier to diversity
 Strong cultures put considerable pressure on employees to
conform, which may lead to institutionalized bias
 Barrier to acquisitions and mergers
 Incompatible cultures can destroy an otherwise successful
merger

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How culture begins
Stems from the actions of the founders:
 Founders hire and keep only employees who
think and feel the same way they do
 Founders indoctrinate and socialize these
employees to their way of thinking and feeling
 The founders 'own behavior acts as a role
model that encourages employees to identify
with them and thereby internalize their
beliefs, values and assumptions
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 Stages in the Socialization Process
 Prearrival
 The period of learning prior to a new employee joining the organization
 Encounter
 When the new employees sees what the organization is really like and
confronts the possibility that expectations and reality may diverge
 Metamorphosis
 When the new employee changes and adjusts to the work, work group,
and organization

SOCIALIZATION PROCESS Outcomes

Productivity

Prearrival Encounter Metamorphosis Commitment

Turnover

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Socialization Program Options
 Choose the appropriate alternatives
 Formal versus informal
 Individual versus collective
 Fixed versus variable
 Serial versus random
 Investiture versus divestiture
 Socialization outcomes:
 Higher productivity
 Greater commitment
 Lower turnover

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Summary: How organizational
cultures form
Organizational cultures are derived from the
founder
They are sustained through managerial action
Top
Management

Philosophy of
Selection Organization
organization’s
criteria Culture
founders

Socialization

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How employees learn Culture
 Stories
 Anchor the present into the past and provide explanations and
legitimacy for current practices
 Rituals
 Repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the key
values of the organization
 Material symbols
 Acceptable attire, office size, opulence of the office furnishings, and
executive perks that convey to employees who is important in the
organization
 Language
 Jargon and special ways of expressing one’s self to indicate
membership in the organization
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Creating an ethical organizational
culture
 Characteristics of Organizations that Develop high
ethical standards
 High tolerance for risk
 Low to moderate in aggressiveness
 Focus on means as well as outcomes
 Managerial practices promoting an ethical culture
 Being a visible role model
 Communicating ethical expectations
 Providing ethical training
 Rewarding ethical acts and punishing unethical ones
 Providing protective mechanisms
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Creating a Positive Organizational
Culture
 Positive Organizational Culture
 A culture that:
 Builds on employees strengths
• Focus is on discovering, sharing, and building on the strengths of
individual employees
 Rewards more than it punishes
• Articulating praise and “catching employees doing something
right”
 Emphasizes individual vitality and growth
• Helping employees learn and grow in their jobs and careers
 Limits of Positive Culture
 May not work for all organizations or everyone within
them
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Spirituality and Organizational
Culture
Workplace Spirituality
 The recognition that people have an inner life that
nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work
that takes place in the context of the community
 NOT about organized religious practices
People seek to find meaning and purpose in
their work

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Why Spirituality Now?
 As a counterbalance to the pressures and stress of a
turbulent pace of life and the lack of community many
people feel and their increased need for involvement
and connection
 Job demands have made the workplace dominant in
many people’s lives, yet they continue to question the
meaning of work
 The desire to integrate personal life values with one’s
professional life
 An increasing number of people are finding that the
pursuit of more material acquisitions leaves them
unfulfilled

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Characteristics of a Spiritual
Organization
Concerned with helping people develop and
reach their full potential
Directly addresses problems created by
work/life conflicts
Four characteristics of spiritual organization”
 Strong sense of purpose
 Trust and respect
 Humanistic work practices
 Toleration of employee expression

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Criticisms of Spirituality
What is the scientific foundation?
 It is still pending: needs more research
Are spiritual organizations legitimate- do they
have the right to impose values on employees?
 Spirituality is not about God or any religious values
 It is an attempt to help employees find meaning and
value in their work
Are spirituality and profits compatible?
 Initial evidence suggest that they are
 Spirituality may result in greater productivity and
dramatically lower turnover

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Global Implications
Organization cultures, while strong, can’t
ignore local culture
Managers should be more culturally sensivive
by:
 Adjusting speech to cultural norms
 Listening more
 Avoiding discussions of controversial topics
All global firms need to be more culturally
sensitive

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Culture as an intervening variable
 Employees form an overall subjective perception of the
organization based on these objective factors:
High
Objective factors:
 Innovation and risk
taking
 Attention to detail Performance
Perceived as
 Outcome Organizational
orientation culture
 People orientation Satisfaction
 Team orientation
 Aggressiveness
 stability
Low

 The opinions formed affect employee performance and

satisfaction
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Summary and managerial
implications
 Strong cultures are difficult for managers to change
 In the short run, strong cultures should be considered fixed
 Selecting new hires that fit well in the organization
culture is critical for motivation, job satisfaction,
commitment, and turnover
 Socialization into the corporate culture is important
 As a manager, your actions as a role model help create
the cultural values of ethics, spirituality, and a positive
culture

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