culture

Forces to maintain organizational culture

1) Employee Selection- The organization then maintains its culture by disciplining or even terminating employees who consistently deviate from accepted norms and practices. Thus, discipline proce- dures also become an important instrument for maintaining cultural values. 2) Reward Allocations - The organization then maintains its culture by disciplining or even terminating employees who consistently deviate from accepted norms and practices. Thus, discipline procedures also become an important instrument for maintaining cultural values. 3) Leader Behaviors - Although it is rather subtle, what managers pay attention to is one of the more powerful methods of maintaining organizational culture. 4) Rites and Ceremonies - Ceremonies are special occasions when managers can reinforce specific values and beliefs. These occasions provide an opportunity to recognize heroes and induct them into the organization's hall of fame. 5) Stories and Symbols - Stories are important because they preserve the primary values of the organization and promote a shared understanding among all employees. 6) Reactions to Problems - The way managers and employees respond to a crisis also has the potential to create or change an organization's culture. The way in which a crisis is handled can either reinforce the existing culture or generate new values and norms that change the culture in some way.

levels of organizational culture analysis ( Artifacts , Norms , Values , Assumptions )

Culture can be studied from four very different levels of analysis: artifacts, norms, values, and underlying assumptions. artifacts: (furnishing) The most superficial and visible level of organizational culture consists of artifacts and symbols. Cultural artifacts are tangible aspects of culture—the behaviors, language, and physical symbols— that we can perceive with our senses and that reflect the rules and core beliefs of the organization's culture. Many of these symbols are readily apparent to anyone who visits an organization and observes its surroundings. Norms: These norms, or situation- specific rules, are often not directly visible but can be inferred from the organization's artifacts. Key norms can often be determined by the degree of consistency in how group members act. For example, if students raise their hands and wait to be recognized before commenting in class, we can infer that there is a norm of hand raising. Values: represent the collective beliefs, ideals, and feelings of members about the things that are good, proper, valuable, rational, and right. Unlike the situation- specific nature of norms, values are broader rules that are applied across situations. Values are often identified in statements of corporate values or management philosophy. Assumptions: (core shared assumptions) 1. Human Nature - Are people basically good, basically evil, or neither good nor evil? Can people be trusted? What is the value of a human life and do people care for one another? 2. The Nature of Relationships - Are relationships between people primarily hierarchical, equivalent, or individualistic in nature? Is there a caste system, and do some people "matter" more than others because of their status in society or their position in an organizational hierarchy? 3. The Nature of Truth - Is truth revealed by external authority figures, or is the accuracy of information determined by a process of personal investigation or scientific testing? 4. Our Fit with the Environment - What is our relationship with the environment? Do members believe they have the capacity to master the environment? Are they supposed to live in harmony with it? Do they think they are controlled by it? 5. Time Orientation - Are members of the organization primarily oriented to the past, the present, or the future? How long is our history and how much does it constrain the present and the future? 6. Assumptions about Activity - Assumptions about the nature of human activity can be divided into three approaches: (a) a "doing" orientation where people are basically active and evaluated according to what they produce, (b) a "being" orientation where people are passive and tolerant of existing circumstances, and (c) a "becoming" orientation where people are continually developing and becoming an integrated whole. 7. Universalism/Particularism - Do we treat all members of the organization the same regardless of their background (universalism), or do we treat people differently based on certain criteria such as race, age, religion, family affiliation, and so on (particularism)?

Define organizational Culture and climate ( what is the difference)

organizational culture : Culture defines the basic organizational values and communicates to new members the correct ways to think and act and the ways things ought to be done. Culture enhances the stability of the organization and helps members interpret organizational activities and events. -The people who study culture have tried to make a clear distinction between culture and climate. Culture refers to something that is more stable and enduring than climate, and it is more difficult organizational climate : Climate typically refers to people's attitudes and how they feel about the organization. ( whether and climate ) -- culture generally refers to organizational rules and beliefs that are relatively enduring and resistant to change, whereas climate is used to describe characteristics that are temporary and capable of being changed.

Role of stories and myths in culture

organizational myths: not supported by facts, but directionally consistent with the values and beliefs of the organization. Stories are important because they preserve the primary values of the organization and promote a shared understanding among all employees.