THE NATURE OF ORGANIZATION CULTURE –

Nature of Organizational Culture is defined as values, symbols, interpretations, and perspectives that
distinguish one person from another in modernized societies; it is not material objects and other
tangible aspects of human societies. People within a culture usually interpret the meaning of symbols,
artefacts, and behaviours in the same or in similar ways

Culture can also be defined as sharing of beliefs, values, behaviours and customs that the society will
cope with and relates with one another which are transferred from one generation to generation
through teaching and learning. Culture is one of those terms that are difficult to understand, but
everyone knows it when they sense or observe it.

WHAT IS ORGANIZATION CULTURE

- T.E DEAL & AA KENNEDY- “as the way we do thing around there”
- EH Schein- the pattern of basic assumption that a given group has invented, discovered of developed
in learning to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration”
- TOME PETERS AND ROBERT WATERMAN- a dominant and coherent set of shared values conveyed by
such symbolic means as stories, myths, legends, slogans, anecdotes, and fairy tales.”

DEFINITION OF ORGANIZATION CULTURE

ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTIONS.
- Anthropology is the study of human cultures.
- Anthropology is most closely related to the study of culture and cultural phenomena
- Anthropologists seek to understand how the values and beliefs that make up a society's culture
affect the structure and functioning of that society.
- Anthropologist usually produce book- length descriptions of the values, attitudes, and beliefs
that underlie the behaviors of people in one or two cultures.
SOCIOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTIONS.
- Sociology is the study of people in social systems such as organizations and societies.
- Sociologists have long been interested in the causes and consequences of culture.
- Sociologists have most often focused on informal social structure.
Many Sociological methods and theories have been used in the analysis of organizational cultures.
*Sociologists use systematic interviews, questionnaires, and other quantitative research methods rather
than the intensive study and analysis of anthropologists.
Social Psychology Contribution- a branch of psychology that includes the study of groups and the
influence of social factors on individual.
Economics Contributions- the influence of economics on the study of organization culture is substantial
enough to warrant attention, although it has been less significant than the influence of anthropology
and sociology
Wallmart- known for its retailing expertise and its culture of respect for individuals, is also
becoming known as company whose culture does not lead to success for women.
CULTURE VERSUS CLIMATE
The two concepts differ in several significant ways. Much of the study of climate was based in
psychology, whereas the study of organization culture was based in anthropology and sociology.

Organization Climate- is based on individual perceptions and is often defined as the recurring patterns of
behavior, attitudes, and feelings that characterize life in the organization and refers to current situations
in an organization and the linkages among work groups, employees and work performance.
Climate- usually more easily manipulated by management to directly affect the behavior of employees.
Organization- usually refers to the historical context within which a situation occurs and the impact of
this context on the behavior of employees.

CREATING THE ORGNZATION CULTURE STEPS

1- Formulate strategic values- basic beliefs about an org environment that shape its strategy.
2- Develop cultural values- values employees need to have and to act on to carry out strategic
values
3- Create vision- it is a picture of what org will be like in the future
4- Initiate implementation strategies- builds on the values and initiate the action for the vision.
5- Reinforce cultural behavior – to reinforce the behavior of employees as they act out of
cultural values and implement the org strategies.
-Reinforcement practices are final link between strategic and cultural values and the creation of
organizational culture.
APPROACHES TO DESCRIBING ORGANIZATION CULTURE
The Ouchi Framework
One of the researchers to focus explicitly on analyzing the cultures of a limited group of firms was
William G. Ouchi.
-Three groups of firms
1. typical US firm
2. typical Japanese firm
3. type Z US firm
-Ouchi developed a list of seven points to compare the three types of firms:
1. Commitment to employees - in type ZUS companies, this cultural value is manifested in a
commitment which ouchi called "long term employment" under Japanese system. of lifetime
employment, employees usually cannot be fired. Under the US system, workers and managers
can be fired only if they are not performing acceptably.
2. Evaluation- in Japanese and type Z US companies, evaluation of workers and managers is
tought to take a long time and require the quantitave and qualitative information about
performance. while in typical US firms, the cultural value suggest that evaluation should be done
rapidly and emphasize the quantitative measure of performance.
3. Career- the careers most valued in Japanese and typical Z US firms span multiple functions.
the career paths of typical Z US firms are somewhat narrower while typical US firms are
considerable narrower.
4. Control- in Ouchi's view, control is based in formal organizational mechanisms in typical US
firms, whereas control in Japanese and typical Z US firms is more social in nature and derived
from the organization culture's shared norms.
5. Decision Making- Japanese and type Z US decision making occurs in group, and is based on
principles of full information sharing and concensus while typical US firms individual decision
making is considered appropriate.
6. Responsibility- In both type Z US firms and typical US firms, individual expect to take
responsibility for decisions the situations in Japanese firms, seem to go together.
7. Concern for people- In Japanese firms and type Z US firms the cultural value that dominates is
a hollistic concerns for workers and managers. In typical US firms the concerns for people is a
narrow one that focuses on the workplace.
Peters and Waterman Approach
•focused even more explicitly than Ouchi on the relationship between organization culture and
performance.
 *Attidudes of an Excellent Firm
1.) Bias for Action •successful firm have a bias for action •managers in this firms are expected to
make decisions even if not all the acts are in.
2.) Stay Close to the Customer •believes that firms whose organization cultures value cutomers
over everything else outperform firms without this value. •customer is a source of a firms
current and future financial performance.
3.) Autonomy and Enterpreneurship • maintained successful firms fight the lack of innovation
and bureuacracy usually associated wth large size encouraging independent, innovative
activities within smaller business segment.
4.) Productivity through People •successful firms recognize that most important asset are their
people • a belief that treating people with respect and dignity is not only appropriate but
esential to success.
5.) Hands on Management •Peters and Waterman noted that the firms they studied insisted
that senior manager stay in touch wth the firms essential business.
6.) Stick to Knitting • cultural value characteristic of excellent firms is their reluctance to engage
in business outside their areas of expertise. 7.) Simple For, Lean Staff • successful firms tend to
have a few administrative layers and relatively small group staff groups. •cultural values in this
firms tells managers that what is important is their staff performance rather than its size.
8.) Simultaneously Loose and Tight Organization •these firms are tightly organized because all
their members understand and believe in the firms values.
• the firms are loosely organized because they tend to have a less administrative overhead,
fewer staff members and fewer rules and regulations.
EMERGING ISSUES IN ORGANIZATION CULTURE
EMERGING ISSUES INORGANZATION CULTURE
1. Innovation- is process of creating and doing new things that are introduced in the market.
a. Radical innovation- changes or creates a whole industries
b. System innovation- creates new functionality by assembling parts in a new ways
c. Incremental innovation- continues technical improvement and extends the
application of radical and system innovation
2. New ventures- based on innovation requires entrepreneurship and good management to
work,
a. Entrepreneurship- usually is most effective when it is a part of everyday life
3. Corporate research- common means of developing innovation in the traditional organization.
4. Empowerment- process of enabling workers to set their own goals, make decisions, solve
problems within their spheres of responsibility and authority.
5. Appropriate cultures- setting culture that fits to the organization
MANAGING ORGANIZATION CULTURE
2 IMPORTANT FACTS
1. Organization cultures differ mong firms
2. These different organization cultures can affect a firms performance
3 ELEMENTS OF MANAGING ORGANIZATION
1. Taking advantage of the existing culture
2. Teaching the organization culture
3. Changing the organization culture
1. Taking advantage of the existing culture – managers must first be fully aware of the culture’s
values
2. Teaching the organization culture: socialization
- SOCIALIZATION- is the process through which individuals become social beings.
- ORGANIZATION SOCIALIZATION – is the process through which employees learn about their
organization culture and pass their knowledge and understanding on to others.
3. Changing the organization culture
MANAGING SYMBOLS – suggest that organization culture is understood and communicated
through the use of stories and other symbolic media
- upper level manager – interested in creating new story
- lower level manager- that their idea re valuable
-THE DIFFICULTY OF CHANGE- changing firm’s culture is long and difficult process. A primary
problem is that upper level manager.
- THE STABILITY OF CHANGE- the process of changing a firms culture starts with a need for
change and moves through a transition period in which efforts are made to adopt new values
and beliefs.