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Chapter 16
Organizational Culture
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-1 What Is Organizational Culture?
•
Organizational culture: The set of values, guiding
beliefs, norms, and ways of thinking that are shared
by members of an organization and are taught to
new members
•
Organizational culture exist at two levels:
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Surface level—Observable, visible characteristics
Underlying level—Values, assumptions, beliefs, and
thought processes that are the true culture
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-1a Interpreting Culture—Rites,
Ceremonies, Stories, Language
•
To identify and interpret culture, inferences based on
artifacts are observed, but they are difficult to
accurately decipher.
•
Typical and important observable aspects of culture
are:
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Rites and ceremonies
Stories
Language
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-1a Interpreting Culture—Rites,
Ceremonies, Stories, Language (cont.)

Rites and ceremonies: Planned activities that make up
a special event and are often conducted for the benefit
of an audience
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Professors Harrison Trice and Janice Beyer identify four
types of rites:
• Rites of passage
• Rites of enhancement
• Rites of renewal
• Rites of integration
Stories: Narratives based on true events
Language: Slogan, metaphor, or specific saying used
to convey special meaning to employees
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-1b Types of Cultures
•
Researcher Jeffrey Sonnenfeld concluded that four
types of culture exist in organizations:
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Academy
Fortress
Clubs
Baseball team
Sonnenfeld's research showed that each of these
cultures tends to attract different people; where some
may fail under one, others may succeed.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
Figure 16-1 Four Types of Organizational
Cultures
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-1c Subcultures and Cultural Strength
•
Subculture: Groups of individuals with a unique set
of values, beliefs, and principles that operate within a
larger organization
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Need to recognize the existence and motivation of
subcultures to affect the overall organizational culture
Subcultures provide an identity to their members
Most important question is whether or not its values
and norms are consistent with the mission of the
organization
Certain types of institutions can be particularly
susceptible to breeding subcultures that sub-optimize
an organization's effectiveness
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-1c Subcultures and Cultural Strength
(cont.)
•
Cultural strength: Denotes the agreement among
members of an organization about the importance of
specific values
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A strong culture is associated with frequent use of
ceremonies, symbols, stories, heroes, and slogans.
It signals the value people should adopt to behave in a
way consistent with company and employee needs.
Subcultures develop that reflect the experiences and
objectives that are shared by members of particular
team or department.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-1d Altering Culture
•
Managers follow several actions to alter the culture of
their organization:

Shaping culture
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Symbolic manager defines and uses symbols to
influence organizational values
Creating culture
Embodying a culture
Integrating a culture
Changing culture
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Emulate an "ideal company"
Align existing culture with its external environment
Following seven important keys
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
Figure 16-2 Creating a Culture
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-1d Altering Culture (cont.)
•
Cultural change: Changes in the values, attitudes,
expectations, beliefs, abilities, and behavior of
employees within an organization
•
Obstacles to culture change are many, but most
threatening is subversion that can completely thwart
a culture change program.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-1e Ethical Values and Culture
•
Ethical values are considered most important value
in an organization’s culture.
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They are becoming part of the formal policies and
informal cultures.
Ethical, socially responsible behavior is shaped by
individual’s personal ethics, culture of the organization,
and organizational systems in place.
Actions of peer managers and top managers, as well
as the organization’s culture, all contribute to the
ethical context of the organization.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
Figure 16-3 Forces that Shape Managerial
Ethics
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-2 Strategic Vision and Mission
Statements
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Strategic vision: A road map showing the route and
rational an organization intends to take in developing
its business

Well-conceived visions are distinctive and specific to
the organization and avoid generic, feel-good
statements.
•
Mission statement: Deals with an organization’s
present business and purpose
•
Company value statements tend to contain from four
to eight values that are strongly connected to the
organization’s strategy, vision, and operating
practices.

At times, wide gaps exist between organization’s
stated values and its actual conduct.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-3a Physical, Mental and Emotional
Tensions
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Employees face high tensions as organizations face
a host of situations in their external environments.

Physical, mental, and emotional tensions of stress,
fear, anxiety, and depression are typical.
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High levels of tension result in:
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Anxiety disorders: Anxiety that persists to the point that
it interferes with one’s life.
• Most common mental illness in the U.S.
Low productivity
Increased absenteeism and turnover
Other physical and mental illnesses
Carefully implemented cultural change programs can
lower employee tension levels.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-3b The Plateaued Employee
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Employees perceive they have plateaued when they
have reached their highest level within the
organization or their career.
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Symptoms of plateauing are seen in work habits, with
incomplete assignments or missed deadlines, and
changes in personality, such as irritability.
Types of plateauing:
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Structural plateauing
Content plateauing
Life plateauing
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-3b The Plateaued Employee (cont.)

If plateauing is not addressed, it can become a
dominant factor in the culture of the organization.
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Can impact employees’ morale and productivity
Managers must recognize the symptoms of plateauing
and provide solutions.
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Supervisors reassure employee about performances and
growth prospects.
Employees can be offered job changes or be put into a
self-managed team to expand new tasks and new
people to work with.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-3c Employee Layoffs
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Organizational policies and programs that address
employee layoff concerns fall into two areas:

Layoff avoidance strategies:
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No-layoff policy
“Share-the-pain” plan
Early retirement plans
Assistance to employees in the event of layoff:
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Providing of out-placement assistance services to
employees when layoffs do occur
• Can substantially lessen their emotional and
financial problems
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-3d Chemical Dependency
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A growing number of employers use drug tests to
screen applicants and employees for drug use.
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Two general categories of drug testing:
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Screening new applicants (pre-employment testing)
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May be a requirement, unless limited by law
Testing current employees (post-employment drug
testing)
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Current employees are usually tested through:
1. Random testing
2. Probable cause
3. After accidents
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-4a Employee Empowerment
•
Employee empowerment: Provides a way to
integrate tasks and to allow employees to buy into
the goals of the organization.
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Results in strengthening employee involvement
Frederick Smith states that creating a successful
culture begins with empowering employees.
Empowerment is decentralized decision making as
well as a corporate philosophy.
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Flexible empowerment: Empowerment that provides
employees with a great deal of latitude in decision
making within broad guidelines.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-4b Family-Work Issues
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Flexible hours, family leave, limited travel, and
relocation are prime issues for many employees.
•
The need for a family-friendly workplace is a major
challenge.
•
Major programs in this area include:
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Flextime
Parental leave
Elder-care programs
Child-care assistance
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-4c Child-Care Programs
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The number of day-care centers is now growing as
more women move into executive and managerial
roles.
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Employers offer different levels of child-care
assistance at varying costs:
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On-site programs
Flexible benefits
Resource and referral centers
Consortium of employers
Public private partnership
Pretax assistance
Not all employers offer at least one of the above
programs because of cost—although the benefits
outweigh the cost.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-4d Elder-Care Programs
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Elder Americans represent the fastest growing
segment of the population.
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Employees who provide elder-care and remain at work
experience work-related problems.
Most elder-care programs are very similar to child-care
programs:
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Resource and referral services
Dependent-care pretax spending accounts
Financial support for off-site facilities
Major differences are that virtually no on-site elderly
care facilities provide the necessary counseling
needed by the elderly caregivers.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-4e Wellness Programs
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Wellness program: An health-care effort to help
employees stay healthy, reduce stress, and provide
the early detection of serious health problems
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From management's perspective, employees are the
greatest asset, and their state of health affects their
contribution to the company.
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Employees indicate a great interest in wellness
programs by their high degree of participation.
Employees who participate are more likely to have
lower health-care costs and generally are healthier.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-4e Wellness Programs (cont.)
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Most common wellness activities include:
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Smoking cessation
Health-risk appraisals
Back care
Stress management
Exercise/physical fitness
Off-the-job accident prevention
Small employer programs
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A number of effective wellness program activities can
be established at a minimum cost, such as awareness
brochures and pamphlets.
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-4f Fun at Work
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Employees who are allowed or encouraged to have a
little fun at work generally report higher job
satisfaction, creativity, and productivity.
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Some of the direct benefits include:
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Increased camaraderie and teamwork
Employees will more readily accept new ideas
Reduction in sick days
Reduced boredom
Higher morale
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006
16-4f Fun at Work (cont.)
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Developing an environment that allows and
encourages fun at work may depend on three
elements:
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People's personal intentions
Relaxed organizational culture
Behavior of top management
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Most critical
Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006