Organizational Culture and Organizational
Change
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 1

 One can act through two theoretical approaches :
 Classical Organizational or Traditional
Bureaucratic
 Helps organize and manage the organization, but will not help motivate staff.
 Human Resources Development
 Taps the higher order motivational needs of the people in the organization.
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 HRD is concerned with how leaders structure the work environment to socialize individuals to the organization. This affects how individuals develop perceptions, values, and beliefs concerning the organization and what influence these inner states have on behavior.
 This is the realm of organizational climate and organizational culture.
 Important individuals in the development of the field:
Kurt Lewin, Philip Selznick, Marshall Meyer,
Andrew Haplin, Don Croft, and Michael Rutter.
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Defining and Describing Organizational
Culture and Climate
 Different schools have distinct personalities due to the particular social system of each school.
 This social system has a CLIMATE that is defined as the “ characteristics of the total environments in a school building”.

Renato Tagiuri’s model identifies four elements that comprise climate.
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Defining and Describing Organizational
Culture and Climate (continued)

Tagiuiri’s Model is composed of four dimensions:

Ecology.

Milieu.

Social System (Organization).

Culture.

See Figures 6.1 through 6.5
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 Theory Z : William Ouchi
 Ouchi compared Japanese and U.S. management practices.
 He applied Japanese practices in the U.S. and, using
McGregor’s concept of Theory X and Y, called it
Theory Z.
 Theory Z accepts the concepts of human resources development.
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(continued)
In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters
 Research showed that successful organizations, including schools, had a consistent theme:
“ the power of values and culture in these corporations rather than procedures and control systems, provides the glue that holds them together, stimulates commitment to a common mission, and galvanizes the creativity and energy of their participants.”
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
Culture “ refers to the behavioral norms, assumptions, and beliefs of an organization.”

“the way things are done around here”.

Climate “ refers to perceptions of persons in the organization that reflect those norms, assumptions, and beliefs.”
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(continued)

Schein’s Model of Levels of Culture describes culture as:
 A body of solutions to problems that is believed to be the correct method for perceiving & thinking about problems.


These solutions become assumptions about reality, truth, human relations, etc.
These assumptions become internalized and operate as a set of unconscious assumptions taken for granted.


These assumptions are manifest by artifacts and values that can be studied through qualitative methods.
See Figure 6.6 for a depiction of Schein’s model.
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 Culture is developed over time from :

An organization’s history, composed of traditions and rituals that are passed to succeeding generations.
 Stories of heroes and heroines are important.
 Values and beliefs that are embodied in the traditions and rituals.
 Behavioral norms that result (e.g., bell schedules,
7-period day).
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(continued)
 Organizational culture has a powerful impact on climate:


Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s study of successful
U.S. corporations.
High performers have a “ culture of pride.”
 This is found in organizations that are integrative.
 This culture fosters a climate of success.
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(continued)
 Subunits within an organization may have cultures of their own resulting in multiple cultures.
 Theory X administrators believe this conflicts with their authority.
 Theory Y administrators accept them as natural.
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 Organizational climate is created by the dynamic interaction of:
 Ecology
 Milieu
 Organizational Structure
 Culture
 With perhaps culture being the most powerful determinant.

Roots of organizational culture are in Kurt Lewin’s work: B= f (p x e).

Example of the Carnegie Unit of Instruction impact on schools.
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(continued)
 Behavioral Settings: the complex physical and psychological environment of the organization in which individuals interact.
 Examples:
 Roger Barker and Paul Gump
 Leonard Baird
 Seymour Sarason
 James B. Conant
 Seymour Sarason
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How Organizational Climate is Created
(continued)
 Interaction-Influence System is the central concept in
Organizational Behavior.
 The structure and processes of interactions among individuals is the interaction-influence system.
 Interaction-Influence System includes:
 Communication, motivation, leadership goals setting, decisions making, coordination, control and evaluation.
 How these work in a school influence and shape behavior.
 Describing organizations, therefore, is describing the interaction-influence system.
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Relationship Between Organizational Culture and Organizational Effectiveness

Rensis Likert’s analysis led him to conclude that there are causal variables under a leader’s control that affect climate and organization performance :
 Organization structure: bureaucratic or flexible.
 Leadership style: authoritative or democratic.
 Philosophy of operation: consensus decision making or not.
 The choices leaders makes are critical to determining the nature of the management system in the organization. That is, Likert’s System 1, 2, 3, or 4.
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Relationship Between Organizational Culture and Organizational Effectiveness (continued)
 The Problem of Measuring School Effectiveness
 Identifying independent and dependent variables.
 Studies by
 Wilbur Brookover
 Christopher Jencks
 Joyce Epstein
 Rudolf Moos
 Findings from these type studies support the notion that many variables that can positively affect such outcomes as achievement and motivation of students are in control of leaders and teachers.
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 Many instruments exist to measure school climate:
 The OCDQ by Halpin and Croft is used to describe
Open and Closed school climates :
 Perceptions of teachers: Intimacy, Disengagement, Espirit,
Hindrance.
 Perceptions of the principal: Thrust, Consideration,
Aloofness, Production Emphasis.
 The OCI by George Stern and Carl Steinhoff
 Six factors: Intellectual Climate, Achievement Standards,
Personal Dignity (Supportiveness), Organizational
Effectiveness, Orderliness, Impulse Control.
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
Each of Likert’s four management systems have identifiable organizational climates:
 System 1: Exploitive-Authoritarian.
 System 2: Benevolent Authoritative.
 System 3: Consultative.
 System 4: Participative Group.
 Good communication requires effective use of the
Linking-Pin concept.
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