Module Four

Organizational Culture

Concept of Organizational Culture- Role, Creating and Sustaining Culture, Creating a

Positive Organizational Culture.

CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE.

Organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held by members that

distinguishes the organization from other organizations.

Seven primary characteristics seem to capture the essence of an organization’s culture:

1. Innovation and risk -taking: The degree to which employees are encouraged to be
innovative and take risks.

2. Attention to detail: The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision,
analysis, and attention to detail.

3. Outcome orientation: The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes

rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve them.

4. People orientation: The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the
effect of outcomes on people within the organization.

5. Team orientation: The degree to which work activities are organised around teams rather
than individuals.

6. Aggressiveness: The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than
easy-going.

7. Stability: The degree to which organisational activities emphasise maintaining the status
quo in contrast to growth.

Dominant and subcultures.

Organizational culture represents a common perception the organization’s members hold.

Most large organizations have a dominant culture and numerous subcultures.

A dominant culture expresses the core values most of the members share and that give the
organization its distinct personality.

Subcultures tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common problems or

experiences members face in the same department or location.
Example: In a university,
Dominant Culture: Values academic excellence, research, and intellectual freedom.
Subculture: Engineering students and faculty may emphasise technical problem-solving and
innovation, while arts students and faculty may focus more on creativity and self-expression.

Strong versus Weak Cultures.

In a strong organizational culture, core values are deeply held and widely shared, shaping
employee behavior through high commitment and agreement. This unity fosters loyalty,
reduces turnover, and strengthens organizational commitment. However, while stability is a
benefit, it may also discourage change and diverse perspectives.

In a weak organizational culture, core values are not strongly held or widely shared, leading
to inconsistent employee behavior and lower commitment. Without a clear sense of unity,
employees may feel less loyal, resulting in higher turnover.

In conclusion, if most employees have the same opinions about the organization’s mission
and values, the culture is strong; if opinions vary widely, the culture is weak.

ROLE OF ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE.

1) Culture has a boundary-defining role: it creates distinctions between one organization

and others.
2) It conveys a sense of identity for organization members.
3) Culture facilitates commitment to something larger than individual self-interest.
4) It enhances the stability of the social system. Culture is the social glue that helps hold
the organization together by providing standards for what employees should say and
do.
5) It is a sense-making and control mechanism that guides and shapes employees’
attitudes and behavior.

**Organizational climate refers to the shared perceptions organizational members have

about their organization and work environment.

CREATING CULTURE.

Culture creation occurs in three ways:

• First, founders hire and keep only employees who think and feel the same way they
do.
• Second, they indoctrinate and socialize these employees to their way of thinking and
feeling.
 • And finally, the founders’ own behavior encourages employees to identify with them
and internalize their beliefs, values, and assumptions. When the organisation
succeeds, the founders’ personality become personality embedded in the culture.

SUSTAINING CULTURE.

Once a culture is in place, practices within the organization maintain it by giving employees a
set of similar experiences. Three forces play a particularly important part in sustaining a
culture: selection practices, the actions of top management, and socialization methods.

1) Selection: The explicit goal of the selection process is to identify and hire individuals
with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully.

The final decision, because it’s significantly influenced by the decision maker’s judgment of
how well the candidates will fit into the organization, identifies people whose values are
essentially consistent with the organisation's values.
Selection also provides information to applicants. Those who perceive a conflict between
their values and those of the organization can remove themselves from the applicant pool.

Selection thus becomes a two-way street, allowing employer or applicant to avoid a mismatch
and sustaining an organization’s culture by selecting out those who might attack or
undermine its core values.

2) Top Management: The actions of top management also have a major impact on the
organization’s culture.

Through words and behavior, senior executives establish norms that filter through the
organization about, for instance, 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.

3) Socialization: It is the process through which new employees are guided and
integrated into an organization's culture, values, norms, and expectations. It helps
them adapt to the work environment, understand their roles, and develop a sense of
belonging.
Socialization can be understood as a process with three stages: prearrival, encounter, and
metamorphosis.

1) The prearrival stage recognizes that each individual arrives with a set of values,
attitudes, and expectations about both the work and the organization.
2) On entry into the organization, the new member enters the encounter stage and
confronts the possibility that expectations—about the job, co-workers, the boss, and
the organization in general—may differ from reality. If expectations were fairly
accurate, the encounter stage merely cements earlier perceptions. At the extreme, a
new member may become disillusioned enough to resign.
3) Finally, to work out any problems discovered during the encounter stage, the new
member changes or goes through the metamorphosis stage. Here, the new employee
changes and adjusts to the work, work group, and organization.

Conclusion: The original culture derives from the founder’s philosophy and strongly
influences hiring criteria as the firm grows. Top managers’ actions set the general climate,
including what is acceptable behavior and what is not. The way employees are socialized will
depend both on the degree of success achieved in matching new employees’ values to those
of the organization in the selection process, and on top management’s preference for
socialization methods.

How employees learn culture.

Culture is transmitted to employees in several forms, the most potent being stories, rituals,
material symbols, and language.

❖ Stories: Organizations often share stories that connect the present to the past,
reinforcing current practices. These include tales of founders, rule-breaking,
successes, workforce changes, relocations, past mistakes, and resilience. Employees
also craft their own narratives about fitting in, shaped by their early experiences and
first impressions.
❖ Rituals: Rituals are repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the
key values of the organization—what goals are most important and which people are
important, and which are expendable.
❖ Material Symbols: Material symbols are physical objects or artifacts within an
organization that convey its culture, values, and norms to employees. The layout of
corporate headquarters, dress code, logos and branding etc... Are example of material
symbols.
❖ Language: Language in an organization refers to the unique vocabulary, jargon,
phrases, and communication styles that convey and reinforce its culture. It helps
employees understand shared values, norms, and expectations while fostering a sense
of belonging.
CREATING A POSITIVE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE.

A positive organizational culture emphasizes building on employee strengths, rewards more

than it punishes, and emphasizes individual vitality and growth. It enhances employee
engagement, productivity, and overall job satisfaction.

A positive organizational culture fosters a supportive environment where individuals feel

valued, motivated, and aligned with the organization’s goals.

1) Building on Employee Strengths: Although a positive organizational culture does

not ignore problems, it does emphasize showing workers how they can capitalize on
their strengths. By doing so, organizations create a motivated, engaged, and high-
performing workforce that feels valued and empowered.

2) Rewarding More Than Punishing: While many organizations emphasize extrinsic

rewards like salary increases and promotions, they often overlook the power of
smaller, intrinsic rewards such as praise, recognition, and appreciation. A culture that
prioritizes rewarding positive behavior over punishing mistakes fosters motivation,
engagement, and a supportive work environment.

3) Emphasizing Vitality and Growth: A positive organizational culture recognizes the

difference between a job and a career by fostering personal and professional growth.
It not only values what employees contribute to the organization but also focuses on
how the organization can help employees grow and thrive.