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Organizational Culture by Mostafa

Organizational culture refers to the shared values, beliefs and practices that influence how organizational members act. It develops over time as the important ways of doing things within an organization. There are seven key characteristics of organizational culture, including the degree of innovation, attention to detail, orientation to outcomes or people, and whether an organization emphasizes teamwork, aggression or stability. Schein proposes that culture exists on three levels - visible artifacts, espoused values that justify behaviors, and underlying unconscious assumptions that are taken for granted. Understanding a company's culture provides insight into how employees view and solve problems.

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41 views

Organizational Culture by Mostafa

Organizational culture refers to the shared values, beliefs and practices that influence how organizational members act. It develops over time as the important ways of doing things within an organization. There are seven key characteristics of organizational culture, including the degree of innovation, attention to detail, orientation to outcomes or people, and whether an organization emphasizes teamwork, aggression or stability. Schein proposes that culture exists on three levels - visible artifacts, espoused values that justify behaviors, and underlying unconscious assumptions that are taken for granted. Understanding a company's culture provides insight into how employees view and solve problems.

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mostafaali123
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Organizational Culture and Environment

Define Culture
Culture has been an important concept in understanding the human societies and groups for a
long time. Many people remember poring over photos of exotic “cultures” pictured in National
Geographic, reading about anthropologist Margaret Mead’s study of native culture on the island
of Samoa. Culture, in this anthropological and historical sense, is the heart of a particular group
or society – what is distinctive about the way members interact with one another and with
outsiders – and how they achieve what they do.
The complex mixture of assumptions, behaviors, stories, myths, metaphors and other ideas that
fits together to define what it means to be a member of a particular society.
Organizational culture
The set of important understandings, such as norms, values, attitudes and beliefs shared by
organizational members.
Organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes
the organization from other organization.
Organizational culture is the shared values, principles, traditions and ways of doing things that
influence the way organizational members act. In most organizations, these important shared
values and practice have evolved over time and determine, in large degree, what employee
perceive about their organizational experience and how they behave in the organization. The
Organizational culture – the “way we do things around here” – influence what employees can do
and how they view, define, analyze and resolve problems and issues.
A number of organizations cultivate a particular culture. At Mary Kay Cosmetics, the
ceremonies, rewards, decor and other symbolic forms of communication are features of a
corporate culture that guides the actions of organization members.
At Apple Computer, as the company quickly advanced to the leading position in its industry,
managers worked hard to maintain the informality and personal relationships characteristic of a
small company.
3M gears its corporate culture toward innovation.
Some other example of corporate culture:
 Work, live, love, learn- rather than work, work, work.
 Seek meaning and money- rather than money alone
 Build networks of relationship- rather than hierarchies of relationship
 “Do no harm”- rather than “let the buyer beware”
 Sustain resources- rather than “use it or lose it”.
 Grow naturally rather than grow fast
 Embrace work and family- rather than work or family.
Characteristics/Dimensions of Organizational culture
There are seven primary characteristics that, in aggregate, capture the essence of an
organization’s culture:
1. Innovation and risk taking: the degree to which the employees are encouraged to be
innovative and take risks.
2. Attention to detail: the degree to which the 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 those outcomes.
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 organized around teams rather
than individuals.
6. Aggressiveness: the degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than
easygoing.
7. Stability: the degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status
quo in contrast to growth.
Each of these characteristics exists on a continuum from low to high. Appraising the
organization on these seven characteristics, then, gives a composite picture of the organization’s
culture.
Basic Elements/level of culture
Schein suggest that culture exists on three levels: artifacts, espoused values and underlying
assumptions. The following figure exhibit the Schein’s level of culture:

ARTIFACTS Visible organizational structure and process


(hard to decipher)

ESPOUSED VALUES Strategies, goals, philosophies (espoused justification)

UNDERLYING Unconscious, taken-for-granted belief, perception, thoughts


ASSUMPTIONS and feelings (ultimate source of values and action)
Artifacts
Artifacts are things that “one sees, hears and feels when one encounters a new group with an
unfamiliar culture”. Artifacts include products, services and even behavior of group members.
For example, if you walk into the head quarter of one large multibillion-dollar computer
company, you will notice that the CEO is dressed casually, while at a competitor the CEO is
wearing an expensive, dark blue suit.
Artifacts are everywhere and we can learn about a culture by paying attention to them. Think
about some about the artifacts at your college or university. Is there a certain way that people
dressed? Are there certain courses or methods of study that are deemed to be important? Do most
students live on or near campus? Do most students have job? Is your school a “football” school?
A “cricket” school?
Espoused values
The reason given by an organization for the way things are done; according to Schein, the second
level of organizational culture. Espoused values are the reasons that we give for doing what we
do. At DuPont, for example, many procedures and products are a result of the espoused value of
safety.
Basic assumption
The beliefs that are taken for granted by the members of an organization; according to Schein,
the third level of organizational culture. Culture prescribes “the right way to do things” at an
organization, often through unspoken assumption.
Before 1980, managers at AT&T took as a basic assumption that any service they offered had to
be available (or at least planned) for all customers.
Many cosmetic companies have assumed that the appropriate marketing strategy focuses on
advertising and promotions about their products enhance beauty.

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