Video Segment 9 Doner
9
W.B. Doner and Company: A Case Study
of Culture in the Organization
(Video available on VHS tape)
CHAPTER 15: ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Chapter15 Summary
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Organizational (corporate) culture is a pattern of basic assumptions that are considered valid and that are taught
to new members as the way to perceive, think, and feel in the organization.
The most visible and accessible level of culture is artifacts, which include personal enactment, ceremonies and
rites, stories, rituals, and symbols.
Organizational culture has four functions: giving members a sense of identity and increasing their commitment,
serving as a sense-making device for members, reinforcing organizational values, and serving as a control
mechanism for shaping behavior.
Three theories about the relationship between culture and performance are the strong culture perspective, the fit
perspective, and the adaptation perspective.
Leaders shape and reinforce culture by what they pay attention to, how they react to crises, how they behave,
how they allocate rewards, and how they hire and fire individuals.
Organizational socialization is the process by which newcomers become participating, effective members of the
organization. Its three stages are anticipatory socialization, encounter, and change and acquisition. Each stage
plays a unique role in communicating organizational culture.
The Organizational Culture Inventory and Kilmann-Saxton Culture-Gap Survey are two quantitative instruments
for assessing organizational culture. Triangulation, using multiple methods for assessing culture, is an effective
measurement strategy.
It is difficult but not impossible to change organizational culture. Managers can do so by helping current
members buy into a new set of values, by adding newcomers and socializing them into the organization, and by
removing current members as appropriate.
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Video Segment 9 Doner
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to do the following:
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Define organizational culture and explain its three levels.
Identify the four functions of culture within an organization.
Explain the relationship between organizational culture and performance.
Contrast the characteristics of adaptive and nonadaptive cultures.
Describe five ways leaders reinforce organizational culture.
Describe the three stages of organizational socialization and the ways culture is communicated in each step.
Identify ways of assessing organizational culture.
Explain actions managers can take to change organizational culture.
SEGMENT SUMMARY: W.B. DONER AND COMPANY—A CASE STUDY OF CULTURE
IN THE ORGANIZATION
W.B. Doner and Company is a medium-sized, international advertising agency with offices in Michigan, Maryland,
and abroad. The award-winning agency handles accounts for British Petroleum, Red Roof Inn, and Chiquita
International. Founded by Brod Doner sixty years ago, the company handles creative work, account servicing, media
planning, public relations, and administration. Doner’s organizational culture is considered an essential ingredient
for Doner to remain competitive in the highly competitive advertising industry. Executives at Doner explain that a
formal, highly structured culture would never work for an organization that needs the ability to respond quickly and
effectively.
How does Doner’s corporate culture contribute to its success? Doner hires people who have an entrepreneurial
spirit, who like freedom, and who enjoy a demanding work environment. Doner looks for people who can think
creatively. If a person needs structure and looks for problems that “fit into nice little slots,” then Doner is not the
right organization. “Nothing at Doner is black and white.” The culture is competitive, tough, and focused on problem
solving. Ideas are proposed and critiqued both positively and negatively. Ideas are challenged. There is
confrontation, for example, between media and creative, and the ultimate decision has to be in the best interest of the
clients. People disagree but shake hands at the end of the day.
The core value at Doner is that creative is first and everything else is second. The idea is king, and everyone is heard,
no matter what his or her position is. Another core value is that ideas are critiqued, people are not. In a chaotic,
crazy environment that revolves around decision making, mutual respect is a strong core value—respect for creative
people, for account supervisors, for research and development. It is important not to hold back thoughts for fear of
hurting someone’s feelings.
Is it important to define and communicate unacceptable behavior in an organizational culture? Doner clearly defines
unacceptable behavior: 1) Don’t act alone. Doner uses a team approach; 2) Don’t withhold information. Surprises
are not welcome because information is to be shared with the team; and 3) Don’t lie. Mistakes are acceptable, but it
is not acceptable to create falsehoods about anything. The company takes the concept of truth in advertising very
seriously.
Should people whose behaviors personify Doner’s cultural values receive special recognition? Doner awards people
who contribute to the culture the “Head, Heart, and Funnybone Award.” They win Mr. Doner’s parking space and a
crystal candy dish like the one the company founder had on his desk. This is a fun way to say, “You’re the kind of
employee we want.”
What role can a strong culture play in a time of crisis? In 1996, a fire destroyed Doner’s building. The
entrepreneurial culture contributed to the handling of the fire. Ideas were heard and the Doner agency of 325 people
made decisions and kept the work on schedule. The culture at Doner has helped the company succeed, evolve, and
grow in a competitive industry. “We’re all entrepreneurs.”
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PREVIEWING ACTIVITIES
I. Before Class Preparation for Students
A. Review Chapter 15.
B.
Define the following key terms: 1) corporate culture; 2) espoused values; 3) artifacts; and 4) adaptive culture.
C.
Students will give examples of companies with a visible organizational culture. What are the company
values?
 Point out that a corporate culture is a pattern of assumptions that is considered valid and that is taught to new
members as the way to perceive, think, and feel in the organization.
 Company values reflect a deeper level of culture. They reflect a person’s underlying beliefs of what should or
should not be. There may be a difference between the company’s espoused values (what members say they
value) and its enacted values (values reflected in the way members actually behave).
II.
In-Class Previewing
A. Using Table 15.1, review the levels of organizational culture.
 The levels of organizational culture range from visible artifacts and creations to testable values to invisible and
even preconscious basic assumptions. To achieve a complete understanding of an organization’s culture, all
three levels must be studied.
B. Describe the role of artifacts in the culture of an organization. Students will give examples.
 Artifacts are symbols of culture in the physical and social work environment. They are the most visible and
accessible level of culture. The key to understanding culture through artifacts lies in figuring out what they
mean.
 The artifacts of culture include:
. Personal enactment—behavior that reflects the company’s values.
. Ceremonies and rites—activities that are repeated on important occasions that become ceremonies and rites.
. Stories—stories that give meaning and identity to an organization as they are retold, especially in training
new employees.
. Rituals—practices that are repeated over and over.
. Symbols—symbols which communicate organizational culture by unspoken messages.
C. What are assumptions? Give examples.
 Assumptions are deeply held beliefs that guide behavior and tell members of an organization how to perceive
and think about things. Assumptions are the essence of culture. They are so strongly held that it would be
unthinkable to violate them. They are often unconscious. For example, Wal-Mart believes in free enterprise and
patriotism.
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VIEWING ACTIVITIES
I. How does Doner’s corporate culture contribute to its success?
 Doner hires people who have an entrepreneurial spirit, who like freedom, and who enjoy a demanding work
environment. Doner looks for people who can think creatively. If a person needs structure and looks for
problems that “fit into nice little slots,” then Doner is not the right organization. “Nothing at Doner is black and
white.” The culture is competitive, tough, and focused on problem solving. Ideas are proposed and critiqued both
positively and negatively. Ideas are challenged. There is confrontation, for example, between media and creative,
and the ultimate decision has to be in the best interest of the clients. People disagree but shake hands at the end of
the day.
 The core value at Doner is that creative is first and everything else is second. The idea is king, and everyone is
heard, no matter what his or her position is. Another core value is that ideas are critiqued, people are not. In a
chaotic, crazy environment that revolves around decision making, mutual respect is a strong core value—respect
for creative people, for account supervisors, for research and development. It is important not to hold back
thoughts for fear of hurting someone’s feelings.
II. Is it important to define and communicate unacceptable behavior in an organizational culture?
 Doner clearly defines unacceptable behavior: 1) Don’t act alone. Doner uses a team approach and doesn’t want
an employee to be a hero and act alone; 2) Don’t withhold information. Surprises are not welcome because
information is to be shared with the team; and 3) Don’t lie. Mistakes are acceptable, but it is not acceptable to
create falsehoods about anything. The company takes the concept of truth in advertising very seriously.
III. Should people whose behaviors personify Doner’s cultural values receive special recognition?
 Doner awards people who contribute to the culture the “Head, Heart, and Funnybone Award.” They win Mr.
Doner’s parking space and a crystal candy dish like the one the company founder had on his desk. This is a fun
way to say, “You’re the kind of employee we want.”
 The crystal candy dish is a symbol of the founder and his core value—“Creative first, everything else second.”
Brod Doner, who led the company for 37 years, believed that advertising should appeal to the head, touch the
heart, and tickle the funnybone. The Head, Heart, and Funnybone Award is part of the company artifacts which
underscore the corporate culture and teach it to new employees.
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FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES – STUDENTS APPLY & EXTEND
I. What role can a strong culture play in a time of crisis? This question can be answered in small groups using
Doner and other companies.
 In 1996, a fire destroyed the Doner building. The entrepreneurial culture contributed to the handling of the fire.
Ideas were heard and the Doner agency of 325 people made decisions and kept the work on schedule. The
culture at Doner has helped the company succeed, evolve, and grow in a competitive industry. “We’re all
entrepreneurs.”
 Other companies to be considered might be Disney, Wal-Mart, and Southwest Airlines.
II. Does Doner use its organizational culture as a vehicle for encouraging ethical behavior? Explain.
 Yes, one of the core values at Doner is to attack ideas. Everyone is encouraged to speak up frankly and
challenge other employees’ creative ideas. It is not acceptable or considered right to attack other people based
on who they are. That type of behavior can result in firing.
 Also, it is unacceptable to lie at the Doner agency. Mistakes are tolerated, but falsehoods are not. Truth in
advertising is a critical part of the agency’s credibility. Doner wants its employees to tell the truth.
III. As an out-of-class assignment, students will select an organization, learn about the company’s culture, and
prepare a brief presentation to the class summarizing the culture.
 Students should consider the strength of the culture, the fit of the culture with the industry’s environment, and
the adaptiveness of the culture.
 A strong culture is an organizational culture with a consensus on the values that drive the company and with an
intensity that is recognizable even to outsiders.
 The “fit” perspective argues that a culture is good only if it fits the industry’s or the firm’s strategy.
 An adaptive culture is an organizational culture that encourages confidence and risk taking among employees,
has leadership that produces change, and focuses on the changing needs of customers. See Table 15.1.
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