Organizational Culture

Is a system of shared values and beliefs that influence worker behavior.

The Determinants of Organizational Culture
Values, administrative practices, and personality of the founder or founders.
Leaders vision
The conscious and unconscious choices, behavior patterns and prejudices of top-level
manaers.
!olleiality
Introduction of values from another society into a retail business can be a competitive
advantae
The industry to which a firm belons helps shape its culture.
" firms code of conduct
Dimensions of Organizational Culture
1. Values- " firms philosophy is e#pressed throuh values, and values uide
behavior on a daily basis. It is the foundation of any orani$ational culture.
2. Organizational stories that have underlying meanings %tories are
circulated in many orani$ations to reinforce principles that top manaement
thinks are important.
3. Myths - &yths are dramatic narratives or imained events about the firms
history.
. Degree of !ta"ility " fast-paced, dynamic firm has a different culture from that
of a slow-paced, stable one. It also influences whether or not a culture can take a
root and how stron that culture can be.
#. $esour%e allo%ations and re&ards The ways in which money and other
resources are allocated have a critical influence on culture. The investment of
resources sends a messae about what the firm values.
'. $ites and rituals 'art of a firms culture is made up of its traditions, or rites
and rituals.
(. ) sense of o&nershi* Includes increased loyalty, improved work effort, and
alinment of worker interests with those of the company.
+. Cor*orate s*iritualism and organizational s*irituality !orporate
spiritualism takes place when manaement is just as concerned about nurturin
employee well-bein as they are about profits. (rani$ational spirituality refers
to workers at all levels believin in somethin bier than themselves in addition
to traditional reliion.
,or-ers .earn the Culture
!o%ialization is the process of comin to understand the values, norms and customs
essential for adaptin to the orani$ation. It is method of indoctrinatin employees into
the orani$ation in such a way that they perpetuate the culture. The sociali$ation
process takes place mostly by learnin throuh imitation and observation.
Tea%hing of leaders- (rani$ation members learn the culture to some e#tent by
observin what leaders pay attention to, measure, and control.
The Conse/uen%es and 0m*li%ations of Organizational Culture
1. Com*etitive advantage and finan%ial su%%ess The orani$ational culture
contributes to ainin competitive advantae and therefore achievin financial success.
2. 1rodu%tivity2 3uality2 and Morale " culture that emphasi$es productivity, includin
hih )uality, encouraes workers to be productive. 'roductivity and competitive
advantae are closely linked because bein productive contributes heavily ainin on
the competition.
3. 0nnovation %ettin very hih e#pectations, creatin a cause that workers can be
passionate about, encourain radical ideas, and allowin talented people in the
company to easily transfer to different business areas within the firm.
. Com*ati"ility of mergers and a%/uisitions " reliable predictor of success in
merin two or more firms is compatibility of their respective cultures.
#. 1erson-organization fit "n important success factor for the individual is findin an
orani$ation that fits or her personality.
'. Dire%tion of leadershi* a%tivity " key leadership role is to establish what type of
culture is needed for the firm and then shapin the e#istin culture to match that ideal.
4eneral Considerations a"out Managing Change
The many chane in orani$ational structure, and the people with whom one works,
such as customers and company insiders.
5no&ledge Management 6 5M 7
- Is the systematic sharin of information to achieve oals as innovation, non-
duplication of effort, and competitive advantae.
Organizational Conditions 8avoring 5no&ledge Management
.earning organization facilitates knowlede manaement because the learnin
orani$ation creates the conditions for makin use of information.
Organizational Culture emphasi$es sharin information.
1rovide leadershi* for the effort senior manaement should understand the value
of knowlede manaement and support the development of prorams and policies to
make it reality.
Demonstrate the value of -no&ledge management to en%ourage %ommitment
workers must understand why orani$ation has formali$ed knowlede manaement
and how it will benefit the orani$ation.
5no&ledge Management !trategies and Te%hni/ues
0re the $ight 1ersons hirin people who are ood at learnin and teachin makes a
substantial difference in the effectiveness of knowlede manaement.
Create 5no&ledge- important step for manain knowlede. *nowlede is the raw
material that allows people to innovate new products, services, processes, and
manaement methods.
Com*etitive 5no&ledge Management- an aressive approach to knowlede
manaement is to develop mechanisms for enablin workers to track knowlede and
e#pertise outside t he company.
Codifi%ation versus 1ersonalizing 5no&ledge
- Codifi%ation !trategy *nowlede is carefully codified and stored in databases.
- 1ersonalization !trategy 'rovide hihly customi$ed solutions to uni)ue
customer or client problems+ knowlede is shared primarily throuh interpersonal
contacts.
)**ointing a Chief 5no&ledge Offi%er
Chief 5no&ledge Offi%er is in chare of systematically collectin information and
connectin people who need information with others who miht have the information
they need.