5/26/2010

Cross Cultural
Psychology
Culture & Organization

Submitted To: Miss Sameera Shafiq

Submitted By: Muzamil Kousar(06010611-

011)

Suneela Saif

(06010611-012)

Saba Saleem

(06010611-014)

Lubna Ishtiaq (06010611-

032)
 Hina Akram (06010611-

033)

Defining the Culture

Culture exhibits the way people interpret their biology and

environment. Recently, psychologists have invoked the concept of
culture to understand the natural and regional differences in a wide
range if phenomena, from attention to categorization, thinking, style,
attribution, self-regularity, focus, prediction of future, events, choice
motivation, emotion and self satisfaction.
The world culture has been derived from the Latin word
cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate".
One of the first definitions of culture was given over a century ago by E. B. Taylor,
one of the founders of anthropology in 1870, defined culture as;
“The complex whole which include knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, customs
and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”.
Culture may be understood as:
The set of common understandings expressed in language.
 Values, beliefs and expectations that members come to share.
 A system for creating, sending, storing and processing information.
The collective of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group of people
from another.
Anthropologists most commonly use the term "culture" to refer to the universal human
capacity to classify codify and communicate their experiences symbolically. This capacity
has long been taken as a defining feature of the humans. Many observers have shown that
there are cultural differences in:
Self perception
 Self perception is how people belonging to different culture look at themselves. For
example, in some cultures people are viewed as honest while in other people are cynical
about each other. Therefore, they act accordingly taking or not taking precautionary
measures.
Relationship with world
This refers to the inclination of the people to dominate their environment to, perhaps
extract the most out of it. Further, it also refers to the acceptability of other cultures. In
simpler terms, relationship with the world refers to the terms that people have with their
environment and the rest of the world.
Time Dimension
Time dimension refers to the past, present or future orientation of the people in a
culture. It means that people in a particular culture may either be concerned about their
future or present or past. The Japanese culture is a future oriented while the American
culture is considered to be a present oriented.
Public and private space
In some cultures, people prefer to be sitting alone in their cabins at their workplace,
while in other cultures, people tend to inclined towards common working space where they
sit together and work. Therefore, the public or private space orientation is also a
differentiating feature of cultures.
Key Components of Culture
A common way of understanding culture sees it as consisting of four elements that are
"passed on from generation to generation by learning alone":
1. Values comprise ideas about what in life seems important. They guide the rest of
the culture.
2. Norms consist of expectations of how people will behave in various situations.
Each culture has methods, called sanctions, of enforcing its norms. Sanctions vary
with the importance of the norm; norms that a society enforces formally have the
status of laws.
3. Institutions are the structures of a society within which values and norms are
transmitted.
4. Artifacts are things, or aspects of material culture.
Culture and Its Nature
Learned behavior which is socially transmitted such as custom, beliefs, morals,
technology and art, everything in a society which is socially rather than biologically
transmitted it can be defining in two terms:
• Artifacts = material culture

• Practices and beliefs = adaptive culture

 It is the primary ways that affect the way in which individual respond to the
environment.
There are two different terms that define culture
1. Information
2. Group of individual

Information
Any kind of information from other members of one species through social learning
that is capable of effecting behavior of individuals.
Group of individual
Culture is people who are existing within same kind of shared context. They respond
too many of the same cultural ideas, advertisements, similar practice or in news papers.
Component of culture
Culture refers to the following Ways of Life, including but not limited to:

• Language: the oldest human institution and the most sophisticated medium of
expression.
• Arts & Sciences: the most advanced and refined forms of human expression.
• Thought: the ways in which people perceive, interpret, and understand the world
around them.
• Spirituality: the value system transmitted through generations for the inner well-
being of human beings, expressed through language and actions.
• Social activity: the shared pursuits within a cultural community, demonstrated in a
variety of festivities and life-celebrating events.
• Interaction: the social aspects of human contact, including the give-and-take of
socialization, negotiation, protocol, and conventions.

All of the above collectively define the meaning of Culture.

Four important characteristics stressed by cultural relativists:

1. Symbolic Composition
Systematic Patterning
2. Learned Transmission
Societal Grounding

Emphasis 1. Symbolic Composition

A symbol is simply understood as an expression that stands for or represents

something else, usually a real world condition. The use of words in a language provides the
most obvious example. Words stand for perceived objective entities and states. Words as
symbols, however, differ from the objects they represent and have special qualities, which
is why they are so useful to us.
One important characteristic is that they bear no intrinsic relation to what they
represent and are thereby arbitrary.

Emphasis 2. Systematic Patterning

Cultural elements as symbols assume their meanings in relationship to other symbols

within a broader context of a meaning system. To interpret a symbol, therefore,
anthropologists must investigate the interrelatedness of elements and the presence of
unifying principles that connect symbols to form larger patterns and cultural wholes.

Emphasis 3 .Learned Transmission

Culture traits and broader cultural patterns inclusive of language,

technology, institutions, beliefs, and values are transmitted across
generations and maintain continuity through learning, technically termed
enculturation. Accordingly, learning abilities and intelligence are essential
assets for all human groups and have replaced the role of biologically
based genetic transmission of instincts dominant in most other animal
species. However, an important relation between biology and culture must
first be acknowledged.

Emphasis 4. Societal Grounding

Culture is observable only in the form of personal behavior but can be abstracted from
individuals' actions and attributed to the social groups to which they belong. Accordingly,
anthropologists underemphasize the importance of individual responsibility and creativity
and focus on the common denominator of collective identity and symbols. This position
counters some modern understandings of the importance of individual rights and actions.
However, a few reflections show that society defines and constrains our behavior in many
unperceived ways. We can best understand the social aspect of culture by realizing that the
central function of human symbolization is communication and requires adherence to
understood conventions.

What is an organization?
The concept of an organization

"Organization is a particular pattern of structure, people, tasks and techniques"

Features of an organization
Composed of individuals and groups of individuals
Oriented towards achievement of common goals
Differential functions
Intended rational coordination
Continuity through time

In other word it can be defined as;

“Sequential or spatial (or both) form in which a body of knowledge, data, people,
things, or other things, is purposefully arranged”.

In simply;

“When two or more people get together and agree to coordinate their activities in order
to achieve their common goals, an organization has been born”.

Its purpose is to:

Create an arrangement of positions and responsibilities through and by means of

which an enterprise can carry out its work.

How organizations perform a function?

• Inputs: people, skills, knowledge, capital
• Conversion: manner of using people and technology that converts input into
output
• Output: finished product produced that is used by the environment

Organizational Theory
Study of organizational designs and organizational structures, relationship of
organizations with their external environment, and the behavior of managers and
technocrats within organizations. It suggests ways in which an organization can cope with
rapid change.

Organizational structure
 Organizational structure is the formal system of task and reporting relationships
that controls, coordinates, and motivates employees so that they cooperate to achieve an
organization's goals.

Structure and culture affect:

• Behavior
• Motivation
• Performance
• Teamwork and cooperation
• Intergroup and Interdepartmental relationships

Organization design
Organization design is the process of aligning an organization's structure with its
mission. This means looking at the complex relationship between tasks, workflow,
responsibility and authority, and making sure these all support the objectives of the
business.

Good organizational design helps communications, productivity, and innovation. It

creates an environment where people can work effectively. Many productivity and
performance issues can be traced back to poor organization design

Consequences of poor organizational design

o Decline of the organization

o Talented employees leave to take positions in growing organizations
o Resources become harder to acquire
o Resulting crisis impels managers to change organizational structure and
culture

Organizational change
“the process by which organizations move from their present state to some desired
future state to increase their effectiveness is called organization change”.

Importance of Organizational Design and Change

• Dealing with contingencies

 • Gaining competitive advantage
o The ability to outperform other companies because of the capacity to create
more value from resources

Organizational culture
The set of shared values and norms that control organizational
members’ interactions with each other and with suppliers, customers, and other people
outside the organization”.

Organizational Effectiveness
o Control: external resource approach
 Method evaluates how effectively an organization manages and
controls its external environment
o Innovation: internal system approach
 Method allows managers to evaluate how effectively an organization
functions and operates
o Efficiency: technical approach
 Method evaluates how efficiently an organization converts a fixed
amount of resources into finished goods and services

Definition of Organizational Culture

It can be define as “The set of shared, taken-for-granted implicit assumptions that a

group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about, and reacts to its various
environments”

Organizational culture, or corporate culture, comprises the attitudes, experiences,

beliefs and values of an organization. It has been defined as “the specific collection of
values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control
the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization. It
refers to a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization
from other organizations. Organizational values are beliefs and ideas about what kinds of
goals members of an organization should pursue and ideas about the appropriate kinds or
standards of behavior organizational members should use to achieve these goals. From
organizational values develop organizational norms, guidelines or expectations that
prescribe appropriate kinds of behavior by employees in particular situations and control
the behavior of organizational members towards one another”.

It is basically used to refer to a system of shared meaning. In every organization,

there are systems or patterns of values, symbols, rituals myths and practices that have
overload over time. These shared values determine as to how the managers see and how
they respond to their world. For example, the president of any company recognized the
constraining role that culture was playing in his efforts to get his managers to be less
authoritarian. He noted that organization’s culture would have to become more democratic
if it was going to succeed in the marketplace.

Senior management may try to determine a corporate culture. They may wish to
impose corporate values and standards of behavior that specifically reflect the objectives of
the organization.

Characteristics of Organizational Culture

Some researchers suggest culture can be analyzed by assessing how an organization
rates on ten characteristics. They have been identified as follows:

Individual Initiative

The degree to of responsibility, freedom and independence that individual have.

Innovation and Risk Taking

The degree to which employees are encouraged to be aggressive, innovative and

risk seeking.

Direction

The degree to which the organization creates clear objectives and performance
expectations.

Integration

The degree to which units within the organization are encouraged to operate in a
coordinated manner.

Management Support

The degree to which the managers provide communication, assistance, and support
to their subordinates.

Control

The number of rules and regulation and the amount o supervision that is used to
averse and control employee behavior.

Identity
 The degree to which members identity with the organization as a whole rather than
with their particular work groups or field of professional expertise.

Reward System

The degree to which reward allocations are based on employee performance citeria
in contrast to seniority, favoritism, and so on.

Conflict Tolerance

The degree to which employees are encouraged to air conflicts and criticism
openly.

Communication Pattern

The degree to which organizational communications are restricted to the formal

hierarchy of authority.

Elements of Organizational Culture

 The Paradigm: What the organization is about; what it does; its mission; its
values.
 Control System: the processes in place to monitor what is going on. Role cultures
would have vast rulebooks. There would be more reliance on individualism in a
power culture.
 Organizational Structure: Reporting lines, hierarchies, and the way that work
flows through the business.
 Power Structure: Who makes the decisions, how widely spread is power, and on
what is power based?
 Symbols: these include organizational logos and designs, but also extend to
symbols of power such as parking spaces and executive washrooms.
 Rituals and Routines: Management meetings, board reports and so on may
become more habitual than necessary.
 Stories and Myths: Build up about people and events, and convey a message about
what is valued within the organization.

These elements may overlap. Power

structures may depend on control systems,
which may exploit the very rituals that
generate stories which may not be true.

Dimensions of Culture
1. Innovation
2. Stability
3. People orientation
4. Outcome orientation
5. Easygoingness
6. Detail orientation
7. Team orientation
8. Communications
9. Training & Development
10. Rewards
11. Decision-making
12. Risk taking
13. Planning
14. Teamwork
15. Management practices

Functions of Culture
• Supports the organization’s business strategy.
• Prescribes acceptable ways for managers to interact with external constituencies.
• Makes staffing decisions.
• Sets performance criteria.
• Guides the nature of acceptable interpersonal relationships in the company
• Selects appropriate management styles.
 Four Functions of Organizational Culture

Organization
al identity

Sense-making
Organizational culture Collective
device
commitment

Social system
stability

Organizational Culture and Human Resource Management

Practices The Model of Culture Fit
Zeynep Aycan (Koç University, Turkey) Rabindra N. Kanungo (McGill
University) Montreal, Canada Jai B. P. Sinha (ASSERT Institute of Management Studies,
India)The Model of Culture Fit postulates that the sociocultural environment affects the
internal work culture, which in turn influences human resource management practices. This
model was tested by two independent cross-cultural studies comparing Indian and Canadian
managers and employees. In assessing sociocultural environment and internal work culture,
the "participant" technique was used in Study 1 (the respondents indicated their own beliefs
and assumptions), and the "observant" technique was used in Study 2 (the respondents
indicated beliefs and assumptions of the majority of individuals in society). In both studies,
India scored higher than Canada on paternalism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance,
loyalty toward community, reactivity, and futuristic orientation. Indian employees reported
having less enriched jobs than did Canadian employees. Mediated multiple regression
analyses supported the Model of Culture Fit. Results suggest that the paternalism, self-
reliance, and employee participation constructs merit further exploration, as does
participant methodology.

The relationship between managerial values and managerial

success in the United States, Japan, India, and Australia
 England, George W.; Lee, Raymond, Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol 59(4),
Aug 1974, 411-419. doi: 10.1037/h0037320. Investigated the relationships between
managerial values and managerial success for a diverse sample of 878 American managers,
301 Australian managers, 500 Indian managers, and 312 Japanese managers. Cross-
validated results show that value patterns were significantly predictive of managerial
success and could be used as a basis for selection and placement decisions. Results also
indicate that managers from the 4 countries were rather similar in terms of the personal
values that were related to success. More successful managers had pragmatic, dynamic,
and achievement-oriented values, while less successful managers had more static and
passive values.

Types of Organizational Culture

1. Bureaucratic Culture

An organization that value formality, rules, standard operating procedures, and

hierarchical coordination has a Bureaucratic culture. Its members highly value,
standardized goods and customer service. Behavioral norms support formality over
informality. Managers view their roles as being good coordinators, organizers and
enforcers of written roles and standards. Task, responsibilities and authority for all
employees are clearly defined. The organization’s many rules and processes are spelled out
in thick manuals and employees believe that their duty is to “go by the book” and follow
legalistic procedures.

Research

According to Bahman P. Ebrahimi “Motivation to manage in Hong Kong”.

Researcher had Examined the construct validity of the Miner Sentence Completion
Scale form-H (MSCS-H for hierarchic) as a measure of managerial role motivation theory
in Hong Kong. Managerial motivation or motivation to manage has been shown to be a
major cause of managerial effectiveness and success in large bureaucratic organizations in
the USA and elsewhere. Data were collected from a sample of Hong Kong business
students. A three-part questionnaire containing the MSCS-H, demographic and educational
background information, and objective measures relating to the MSCS-H and its subscales
was used as the research instrument. No significant influence of demographics and
educational variables on levels of managerial motivation were detected. As hypothesized,
the objective measures including the preference for managerial jobs and employment with
a large company positively correlated with levels of motivation to manage. In addition,
relevant questionnaire measures positively correlated with the underlying constructs of
MSCS-H. Overall, analyses provide further support for the construct validity of the
theory's main construct (MSCS-H) in Hong Kong.
 2. The Clan Culture

Tradition, loyalty, personal commitment, extensive socialization, teamwork, self

management, and social influences are attributes of a clan culture. One would find a great
deal of teamwork in these organizations, and a significant commitment to foster inclusion
and having everyone’s voice heard. This culture might sound very appealing to foundation
management. It might mirror the foundation’s values of inclusion and humility at every
level. A Clan culture reflects a high value placed on flexibility and a strong internal focus.
However, a foundation that finds itself squarely in this category might be failing to learn
from communities and other stakeholders.

Clan cultures are more successful when the business environment is largely stable. For
example, a company that intends on providing the same service year after year does not
need to consult with its consumers on a daily basis. What it needs to do is reduce its labor
and training costs. A Clan culture will do this, as employees are likely to take lower pay
and stay around longer if they are receiving the emotional and social support that a Clan
culture provides. A foundation must be internally focused enough to provide a level of
participation among staff and to mirror its values of inclusiveness, but this focus must be
counterbalanced by a commitment to also be outwardly focused and learn lessons that only
community members and other external stakeholders can offer.

Research

Zeynep Aycan (Koç University, Turkey) Rabindra N. Kanungo (McGill University)

Montreal, Canada Jai B. P. Sinha (ASSERT Institute of Management Studies, India) had
conducted the research on Organizational Culture and Human Resource Management
Practices The Model of Culture Fit. The Model of Culture Fit postulates that the
sociocultural environment affects the internal work culture, which in turn influences human
resource management practices. This model was tested by two independent cross-cultural
studies comparing Indian and Canadian managers and employees. In assessing
sociocultural environment and internal work culture, the "participant" technique was used
in Study 1 (the respondents indicated their own beliefs and assumptions), and the
"observant" technique was used in Study 2 (the respondents indicated beliefs and
assumptions of the majority of individuals in society). In both studies, India scored higher
than Canada on paternalism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance, loyalty toward
community, reactivity, and futuristic orientation. Indian employees reported having less
enriched jobs than did Canadian employees. Mediated multiple regression analyses
supported the Model of Culture Fit. Results suggest that the paternalism, self-reliance, and
employee participation constructs merit further exploration, as does participant
methodology.

3. Entrepreneurial Culture
 High level of risk taking, dynamism and creativity characterize and entrepreneurial
culture. There is a commitment to experimentation, innovation and being on the leading
edge. This culture does not just quickly react to changes in the environment its creates
change. Effectiveness means providing new and unique products and rapid growth.
Individual initiative, flexibility and freedom foster growth and are encouraged and well
rewarded.

In late 2000and throughout much of 2001, many of the dotcom companies failed
because their leaders lacked the management competencies to build the companies and
manage external relationships with financial backers. Entrepreneurial cultures usually are
associated with small to mid-sized companies that are still run by a founder, such as
Microsoft, dell, and many Silicon Valley stats-ups. Innovation and entrepreneurship are
values held by the founder.

Research

Wing S. Chow , Vivienne W.M. Luk had Examines the managerial attitude of women
managers in China and Hong Kong. Measures particularly their preference of managerial
practices and identifies the key job motivators, vital management skills, and reasons for job
promotion. Data were collected by a questionnaire survey method and the results reveal
that the general practices of managers in China are not as mature as those in Hong Kong. In
job motivation, findings show that Hong Kong women managers view their jobs in terms
of career development, whereas the Chinese respondents seek immediate monetary reward.
The mutually exclusive findings regarding management skills between these two groups
are that Hong Kong managers concentrate on planning and Chinese managers concentrate
on directing. However, results disclose that the reasons for job promotion for both groups
are similar. In management practices, Hong Kong managers are more assertive than their
Chinese counterparts.

4. Market Culture

The achievement of measureable and demanding goals, especially those that are
financial and market based ( e-g sales growth, profitability, and market share) characterize
a market culture.
In a market culture, the relationship between individual and organization is contractual.
That is, the obligations of each party are agreed upon in advance. In this sense, the control
orientation is formal and quite stable. The individual is responsible for some level of
performance, and the organization promises a specified level of reward in return. The
contract, renewed annually if each party adequately performs its obligations, is utilitarian
because each party uses the other to further its own goals. Rather than promoting a feeling
of membership in a social system, the market culture values independence and
individuality and encourages members to pursue their own financial goals. For example,
the store manager at pizza hut who increase sales will make more money, and the firm will
earn more profits through the greater sales volume generated.
 Strong vs. Weak Cultures
The argument is that strong cultures have a greater impact on employee
behavior and are more directly related to reduce turnover:

• The organization’s core values are both intensely held and widely shared.
• A strong culture will have a great influence on the behavior of its members because the
high degree of shared-ness and intensity creates an internal climate of high behavioral
control.
One specific result of a strong culture should be lower employee turnover. A high
agreement about what the organization stands for builds cohesiveness, loyalty, and
organizational commitment.

Benefits of Strong Corporate Cultures

Social Control

Strong
Organizational Social Glue
Culture
Aids
Sense-Making

Organizational Culture Evolution

Arthur F Carmazzi states that the dynamics of organizational culture are an "Evolutionary"
process that can change and evolve with the proper psychology of Leadership.

Foundations of Culture Evolution

At each level of Organizational Evolution, people will work, acting, thinking and feeling at
different levels of personal commitment. Carmazzi's Directive Communication psychology
classifies these levels commitment as:

1. The Level of Individual

 People rely on personal skill and the direction from Leaders. When working on the
plane of "SKILL" people work at the level of "Individual". They work because it is
required and use and develop their skill because it maintains the security related to their
job.

2. The Level of Group

People have an emotional connection to their work. This has further developed attitude
for success. They thrive on an environment of personal growth and others who have the
same Attitude. When working on the plane "ATTITUDE", people work at the level
"GROUP". They take on additional tasks and even apply more effort to their job. Unlike
those working at the level of individual, they do not need to be told what to do, only to be
guided to a direction.

3. The Level of Organization

The Pinnacle of greatness comes when the individuals see their work as their purpose.
People see a greater purpose to the work they do, something greater than the individual, or
the group. The organization is the vehicle to doing and becoming something greater then
themselves. When working on the plane of "SELF ACTUALIZATION", people work at
the level of "Organization". At this level of commitment, an individual will do for the
organization the same he would do for himself. The individual and the organization (and
all its components and people) are one.

Insights on Evolving Corporate Culture

According to Carmazzi, each culture affects the effectiveness and ''level of
commitment'' of people within that culture. And that perpetuates the psychology that
creates the culture in first place.In order to break the cycle and evolve a culture and the
commitment of those in it, leaders need to understand their role in the psychological
dynamics behind the culture and make adjustments that will move it to next level.
Carmazzi has stated 5 levels of organizational Culture.

1) The Blame Culture

This culture cultivates distrust and fear, people blame each other to avoid being
reprimanded or put down, this results in no new ideas or personal initiative because
people don't want to risk being wrong. The majority of commitment here is at the level of
''Individual''.

2) Multi-directional Culture
 This culture cultivates minimized cross-department communication and cooperation.
Loyalty is only to specific groups (departments).Each department becomes a clique and is
often critical of other departments which in turn create lots of gossip. The lack of
cooperation and ''multi-direction'' is manifested in the organizations inefficiency. Of
The majority
Personal commitment in this culture borders on the level of Individual and level of
Group.

3) Live and let live Culture

This culture is Complacency; it manifests Mental Stagnation and Low Creativity.

People here have little future vision and have given up their passion. There is Average
cooperation and communication and things do work, but they do not grow. People have
developed their personal relationships and decided who to say away from, there is not
much left to learn. Personal commitment here is mixed between the level of individual and
level of group.

4) Brand Congruent Culture

People in this culture believe in product or service of the organization, they feel good
what their company is trying to achieve and cooperate to achieve it. People here are
passionate and seem to have similar goals in the organization. They use personal resources
to actively solve problems and while they don't always accept the actions of management
or others around them, they see their job as important. Almost everyone in this culture is
operating at level of group.

5) Leadership Enriched Culture

People view the organization as an extension of themselves; they feel good about what
they personally achieve through the organization and have exceptional cooperation.
Individual’s goals are aligned with the goals of the organization and people will do what it
takes to make things happen. In this culture, Leaders do not develop followers, but develop
other leaders. Almost everyone in this culture is operating at the level of organization.

Culture Maintenance
Once an organizational culture has evolved to a higher level, the challenge lies in
maintaining it. To continuously develop an organization's people as well as new staff, there
are practices within the organization that act to maintain it by giving employees a similar
set of experiences. Three forces play a very important role in sustaining culture: selection
practices, the actions of top management, and socialization method.
 I. Selection:
The explicit goal of the selection process is to identify and hire individuals who have
knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the jobs within the organization successfully.
Typically, more than one candidate will be identified who meets any given job
requirements. When that point is reached, it would be naïve to ignore that the finial
decision as to who is hired will be significantly influenced by the decision maker’s
judgement of how well the candidates will fit into the organization. This attempt to ensure
a proper match, results in the hiring of people who have values essentially consist with
those of the organization. Also the candidates can self select themselves out of the
applicant pool in case there is a conflict between organizational values and theirs.

II. Top Management:

The actions of top management have a major impact on the organization’s culture.
Through what they say, how they behave, senior executives establish norms that filter
down through the organization as to whether risk taking is desirable; how much freedom
managers should give their employees; what is appropriate dress; what actions will pay off
in terms of pay arises, promotions, and other rewards; and the like.

III. Socialization:
Socialization refers to the process that adapts employees to the organization’s culture.
Since the new employees are unfamiliar with the organization, they are potentially likely to
disturb the beliefs and customs that are in place. Thus, socialization becomes important.
E.g. all new employees at starbucks, the large coffee chain, go through 24-hours of
training. Classes are offered on everything necessary to turn the new employees into
brewing consultants. They learn the starbucks philosophy, the company jargon and even
help customers make decisions about beans, grind, and espresso machines. The result is
employees who understand starbucks culture and who project an enthusiastic and
knowledgeable interface with customers.
Socialization can be conceptualized as a process made up of three stages:

I. Pre Arrival Stage: The period of learning in the socialization process that occurs
before a new employee joins the organization.

II. Encounter Stage: The stage in which the employees sees what the organization is
really like and confronts the possibility that expectations and reality may diverge.
Where expectations and reality differ, the new employee must undergo that detach
him from the previous assumptions and replace them with another set that the
organization deems desirable.

III. Metamorphosis Stage: The stage in which a new employee changes and adjusts to
the job, work group, and the organization.
 Prearrival + Encounter
+Metamorphosis

Productivity Commetment Turnover

Organizational Culture and change:

When one wants to change an aspect of the culture of an organization one has to
keep in consideration that is a long term project. Corporate culture is something that is very
hard to change and employees need to get used to the new way of organizing. For
companies with a overstoring and specific culture it will be even harder to change.

Cummings and Worley give the following six guidelines for cultural change.

I. Formulate a clear strategic vision.

In order to make a cultural change effective a clear vision of the firm’s new strategy,
shared values and behaviors in needed. This vision provides the intention and direction for
the culture change.

II. Display top-management commitment.

It is very important to keep in mind that culture change must be managed from the top of
the organization, as willingness to change of the senior management is an important
indicator

III. Model culture change at the highest level

In order to show that the management team is in favor of the change, the change has to be
notable at first at this level. The behavior of the management needs to symbolize the kinds
of values and behaviors that should be realized in the rest of the company.

IV. Modify the organization to support organizational change

The forth step is to modify the organization to support organizational change.

V. Select and socialize newcomers and terminate deviants

A way to implement a culture is to connect it to organizational membership, people can be

selected and terminate in term of their fit with the new culture.

VI. Develop ethical and legal sensitivity

Changes in culture can lead to tensions between organizational and individual interests,
which can result in ethical and legal problems for practitioners. This is particularly relevant
for changes in employee integrity, control, equitable treatment and job security.

The four components of every organization

Organizations are comprised of four major components

• Physical (the visible aspects of the organization)

• Infrastructure (the
systems and processes for
directing and managing
work)

• Behavioral (the daily

actions and reactions of
employees)
 • Cultural (the underlying assumptions, values, beliefs and norms that shape daily
behavior)

While implementing change at the “higher” levels is possible, as the following graphic
suggestions, the durability of the change is short-lived without change at the underlying
cultural level.

The Bottom Line: Developing an Effective Organizational

Culture

Identify the Core

Develop a Mission
Statement for the
Firm
Socialize New
Employees into the
Culture of the Firm
Formulate Strategic
Objectives to Support
the Mission
Hire New
Employees Who
Are Compatible with
the Firm’s Culture
Values and Operating
Principles
That Support the
Mission and Strategic
Objectives
Develop Formal
Mechanisms for
Communicating the
Elements of the
Culture to Employees

Strengthening organizational culture

Founders and leaders

Selection and
socialization
Strengthening Culturally
rewards
consistent

Organizational
Managing the cultural
Culture Stable workforce
network

Do Organizations Have Uniform Cultures?

1. Individuals with different backgrounds or at different levels in the organization will tend
to describe the organization’s culture in similar terms.
2. There can be subcultures. Most large organizations have a dominant culture and
numerous sets of subcultures.
3. A dominant culture expresses the core values that are shared by a majority:
• An organization’s culture is its dominant culture.
• This macro view of culture that gives an organization its distinct personality.
4. Subcultures tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common problems,
situations, or experiences that members face:
• Defined by department designations and geographical separation
• It will include the core values plus additional values unique to members of the
subculture.
• The core values are essentially retained but modified to reflect the subculture.
5. If organizations had no dominant culture and were composed only of numerous
subcultures, the value of organizational culture as an independent variable would be
significantly lessened:
• It is the “shared meaning” aspect of culture that makes it such a potent device for
guiding and shaping behavior.

We cannot ignore the reality that many organizations also have subcultures that can
influence the behavior of members.

Culture as a Liability
1. We are treating culture in a nonjudgmental manner.
2. Culture enhances organizational commitment and increases the consistency of employee
behavior, but there are potentially dysfunctional aspects of culture.
3. Barrier to change:
• Culture is a liability when the shared values are not in agreement with those that
will further the organization’s effectiveness. This is most likely to occur when an
organization’s environment is dynamic.
• This helps to explain the challenges that executives at companies like Mitsubishi,
General Motors, Eastman Kodak, Kellogg, and Boeing have had in recent years in adapting
to upheavals in their environment.
4. Barrier to diversity:
• Hiring new employees who, because of race, gender, disability, or other
differences, are not like the majority of the organization’s members creates a paradox.
• Management wants new employees to accept the organization’s core cultural
values but, at the same time, they want to support the differences that these employees
bring to the workplace.
• Strong cultures put considerable pressure on employees to conform. They limit
the range of values and styles that are acceptable.
 • Organizations seek out and hire diverse individuals because of their alternative
strengths, yet these diverse behaviors and strengths are likely to diminish in strong
cultures.
• Strong cultures, therefore, can be liabilities when:
b. They effectively eliminate the unique strengths that diverse people bring to the
organization.
b. They support institutional bias or become insensitive to people who are different.
5. Barrier to acquisitions and mergers:
• Historically, the key factors that management looked at in making
acquisition/merger decisions:
a. Financial advantages
b. Product synergy
• Cultural compatibility has become the primary concern. Whether the acquisition
actually works seems to have more to do with how well the two organizations’ cultures
match up.

Conclusion
As the world is getting more flat and individuals more complex, there is be less
distinction among cultures and executives are becoming international.

Cultures are not only able to create an environment, but they also adapt to diverse
and changing circumstances. As organizations begin to experience a revolution in
structures, the study of culture and the implications for change will become more
important. Understanding of work group subcultures within an organization’s culture will
influence strategies for changing organizational culture and overcoming resistance to
change programs.

Changing an organization’s culture may be extremely difficult, as the processes that

support a particular organization or a departmental method of working are both interrelated
and varied. Organizational culture is self-perpetuating and highly resistant to change.
Changes may cause confusion, conflict and resistance.

Organizational culture can be influenced by the leaders, the culture of country of

origin, and the culture of country of operation. Managers need to understand the nature and
role of culture and how it may be altered. When the role of culture is more clearly defined,
managers can better understand its importance in managing organizational change and its
impact on day-to-day decision-making.
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