MGMT Ch. 3

corporate culture

The set of key values, beliefs, understandings, and norms that members of an organization share

high uncertainty

When external factors change rapidly, the organization experiences? (i.e. telecommunications firms, computer firms, and electronics firms)

visible culture

culture that can be seen at the surface level (i.e. artifacts, such as dress, office layout, symbols, slogans, ceremonies)

internal environment

includes the elements within the organization's boundaries. It is composed of current employees, management, and corporate culture.

business intelligence

using sophisticated software to search through large amounts of internal and external data to spot patterns, trends, and relationships that might be significant is a recent approach to boundary spanning. (EX. Verizon uses this to actively monitor customer interactions and fix problems almost immediately)

consistency culture

values and rewards a methodical, rational, orderly way of doing things. This culture has an internal focus and a orientation for a stable environment

adaptive strategies

Managers use the following three things as what when they are in an uncertain or turbulent environment: boundary-spanning roles, interorganizational partnerships, mergers/joint ventures

low uncertainty

When an organization deals with a few external factors that are stable, managers experience?(i.e. soft-drink bottlers or food processors)

hero

a figure who exemplifies the deeds, character, and attributes of a strong corporate culture. typically are role models for employees to follow

story

a narrative based on true events that is repeated and shared among organizational employees. these are told to new employees to keep the organization's primary values alive

slogan

a phrase or sentence that succinctly expresses a key organizational value (i.e. "Just Do It)

ceremony

a planned affair that makes up a special event and is conducted for the benefit of an audience

achievement culture

a results-oriented culture that values competitiveness, aggressiveness, personal initiative, and willingness to work long and hard to achieve results. It is suited to organizations concerned with serving specific customers in the external environment but without the intense need for flexibility and rapid change. An emphasis on winning and achieving specific ambitious goals is the glue that holds this organization together

joint venture

a strategic alliance by two or more organizations that occurs when the project is too complex, expensive, or uncertain for one firm to handle alone

indirectly

affects almost all organizations i.e. general environment

directly

affects the business function(s) of one organization i.e. task environment

symbol

an object, act, or event that conveys meaning to others. when associated with corporate culture, this can convey the organization's important values

high-performance culture

based on a solid organizational mission or purpose; embodies shared adaptive values that guide decisions and business practices; and encourages individual employee ownership of both bottom-line results and the organization's cultural backbone

adaptability culture

characterized by values that support the company's ability to rapidly detect, interpret, and translate signals from the environment into new behavior responses. This culture emerges in an environment that requires fast response and high-risk decision making

invisible culture

deeper values and shared understandings held by organization members (i.e. expressed values such as "The Penny Idea," "the HP Way"; underlying assumptions and deep beliefs, such as "people here care about one another like a family")

external environment

includes all elements existing outside the boundary of the organization that have the potential to affect the organization. The environment includes competitors, resources, technology, and economic conditions that influence the organization. It does not include those events so far removed from the organization that their impact is not perceived. The organizational environment can be conceptualized as having two layers surrounding the organization: the general environment and the task environment

mergers/joint ventures

legal combination of operations; legal collaboration for specific project

boundary-spanning roles

link and coordinate the organization with key elements in the external environment. This serves two purposes for the organization: they detect and process information about changes in the environment; and they represent the organization's interests to the environment; seeking business and competitive intelligence

uncertainty

managers do not have sufficient information about environmental factors to understand and predict environmental needs and changes. Environmental characteristics that influence this are the number of factors that affect the organization and the extent to which those factors change

merger

occurs when two or more organizations combine to become one

involvement culture

places high value on meeting the needs of employees and values cooperation and equality. This culture has an internal focus on the participation of employees to rapidly meet changing needs from the environment. Managers emphasize values such as cooperation, consideration of both employees and customers, and avoiding status differences

interorganizational partnerships

reduce boundaries and begin collaborating with other organizations; Companies are joining together to become more effective and share scarce resources.

competitive intelligence

refers to activities designed to get as much information as possible about one's rivals. (EX. Harley-Davidson hires an outside research firm to search through massive amounts of data and reveal patterns that help decipher and predict competitors' actions)

general environment

represents the outer layer of the environment and will influence the organization over time, but often is not involved in day-to-day operations. The dimensions of this environment include international, technological, sociocultural, economic, natural, and legal-political.

cultural leader

someone, typically a manager, who defines and uses signals and symbols to influence corporate culture by: -articulating a vision for the organizational culture that generates excitement and that employees can believe in -heeding the day‑to‑day activities that reinforce the cultural vision

legal-political

the dimension of the general environment that includes federal, state, and local government regulations and political activities designed to influence company behavior

technological

the dimension of the general environment that includes scientific and technological advancements in a specific industry as well as in society at large

natural

the dimension of the general environment that is different from other sectors of the general environment because it has no voice of its own. It includes all elements that occur naturally on earth, including plants, animals, rocks, and natural resources such as air, water, and climate

international

the dimension of the general environment that represents events originating in foreign countries and opportunities for American companies in other countries. This dimension influences all other aspects of the external environment

sociocultural

the dimension of the general environment that represents the demographic characteristics, norms, customs, and values of the general population

economic

the dimension of the general environment that represents the general economic health of the country or region in which the organization operates. Components of this dimension include consumer purchasing power, the unemployment rate, and interest rates

task environment

the layer closest to the organization and includes those sectors that have a direct working relationship with it. This environment includes customers, competitors, suppliers, and the labor market.