Chapter 9
Organizational Culture
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
What’s Organizational Culture?
• Mintzberg says “Culture is the soul of the organization –
the beliefs, values and how they are manifested. I think the
structure is the skeleton. The culture gives the life force”.
• Carter McNamara says “Basically, organizational culture is
the personality of the organization. Culture is comprised of
the assumptions, values, norms and tangible signs
(artifacts) of organization members and their behaviors.”
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Culture Defined
• Organizational Culture – the pattern of shared values,
beliefs and assumptions considered to be the appropriate
way to think and act
– It is shared by the members of the organization
– It helps to solve and understand the things it encounters
– Culture is taught to new members as a time tested framework for
behaviour in the organization
• Artifacts – aspects of the culture you can se, hear, touch,
feel. How employees learn about the culture
• Beliefs – Understandings of how objects and ideas related
to each other
• Values – the stable, long lasting beliefs about what is
important
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Characteristics of an Org Culture
• Innovation and risk taking
– the degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative
• Attention to Detail
– The degree to which employees are expected to work with precision
• Outcome Oriented
– The degree to which management focuses on results rather than
techniques
• People Oriented
– The degree to which management decisions take into account outcomes
on people
• Team Oriented
– The degree to which activities are organized around teams vs
individuals
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Characteristics of an Org Culture
• Aggressiveness
– The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive vs easy
going or supportive
• Stability
– The degree to which organization activities emphasize the status
quo vs growth
• On a day-to-day basis, cultural can be characterized by
– Hours of operation, coffee breaks or not, flexible lunch times
• Corporate Culture Meets GAP Adventure Video
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Artifacts of Culture
• Artifacts are the aspects of the organization that you can
see, hear, touch and feel
– They are the tools used by newcomers to learn about the
organization
• Stories – are artifacts that tell tales about the founders,
previous employees, successes, failures
– They anchor the present in the past nd provide explanations and
legitimacy for current practices
• Rituals – repetitive sequences of activities that express and
reinforce the key values, such as identifying who the
important people and what the important goals are.
• What is an example of a organizational ritual?
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Artifacts of Culture
• Material symbols often act as an indicator to culture
– Size of offices, dress code, executive perks, convey to employees
who is important and the kind of behaviour that is appropriate
• Members learn to use the proper language to be
indoctrinated into the culture (language is evidence that a
Background of Relatedness is present)
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Cultures and Subcultures
• Large organizations not onl posses cultures but can also
exhibit subcultures
• Dominant Culture – expresses the core values that are
shared by a majority of the organization's members, giving
it a distinct personality
• Subcultures – tend to develop to reflect common problems,
situations or experiences by a subgroup
– Subcultures appear in geographically dispersed organizations, or
where departments are large enough to have theirn own life force
outside the organization’s
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Birth and Life of a Culture
• Cultures are born based on the personality and philosophy
of the founder and earliest employees
– Often, stories of the early company when it only had a few
employees are the foundation for the culture
– These early stories influence the thoughts and behaviours of the
employees
– Founders hire and keep those who think the way they do
– They socialize new employees to the way they think and founders’
actions act as a role model for new employees
– Everybody drinks the same coolaid
• Culture is maintained through selection processes,
performance evals, training, and promotional procedures
– Its kind of like the BORG (resistance is futile)
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Socializing Employees
• Organizations have several options when it comes to
“assimilating” an employee
– Formal vs informal – training vs “learn it yourself”
– Individual vs Collective – one on one vs group activities
– Fixed Time vs Variable – a fixed training period such as an
apprenticeship, articling, probation period
– Investitures vs Divestitures – are skills valued and built upon, or
torn down then rebuilt
• In your recent occupation (job or student), did your
organization do anything to “socialize” you?
• Is socialization truly brainwashing or assimilation?
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Culture as a liability
• Culture helps new employees orient themselves
– it helps the organization maintain an identity
– It increases organizational commitment and reduces ambiguity for
employees
• But it also can be a barrier to change
– By definition, culture is stable, resist change
– Culture can also reduce diversity since founders and hiring
managers will seek to hire people who have the same perspective
as they do
• Corporate Culture Meets GAP
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Matching People to Culture
• Hiring practices in many high-tech companies today call
for an organizational “fit”
• Job candidates also endeavour to find a good
organizational match
• Goffee and Jones identified for Cultural Types to help
employees select prospective employers
– Networked – family, friendly, sociable, group oriented
– Mercenary – fiercely goal oriented, less politicking, lone wolfs
– Fragmented – individualists, quality of work and productivity are
key success criteria
– Communal – values friendship and performance, feelings of
belonging with a strong focus on goals
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Changing an Organizational Culture
• Can this be done, if culture is a long lasting and stable
concept?
• Is a culture manageable?
• How would you go about changing a culture?
• In the end, changing culture is very very difficult and very
expensive (in terms of $, people, stress, confusion,…).
• You can create a culture by coaching people in what they
are already committed to
• Chapter 10
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP