Organizational Culture

The Issues

The functions of cultureThe nature of & roles of the hidden elements of cultureThe nature of & roles of the visible elements of cultureBuilding a learning culture

Organizational Culture

Definition of CultureThe set of values, guiding beliefs, understandings, ways of thinking, and norms shared by members of an organization

Functions of cultureInternal integrationExternal adaptation

The Strength of Culture

Depth: The degree of agreement among members about the importance of specific cultural values, beliefs, norms (i.e., how many people agree & how strongly)Breadth: The number of cultural elements (values, beliefs, norms) on which there is agreement

The healthy culture vs. the unhealthy culture

Can organizational culture predict performance?

Cultural Elements

Hidden Elements

Visible Elements

Question: Does the hidden manifest in the visible?Question: Does the visible inform the hidden?

Hidden ElementsValues about what is importantAssumptions & beliefs about what is trueAttitudes toward others and issuesNorms about appropriate & inappropriate behavior

Visible Elements

Rituals and ceremoniesSymbols

Language & Slogans

Heroes Stories

Language and Slogans

Intended to convey cultural meaning to employees and/or stakeholdersEasy to pick up, remember, & repeat

Quality is Job 1

At SpeedyYou’re SomebodyWork

SmarterNot Harder

SymbolsThings that stand for something elseMaterial objects that hold cultural meaning

OPEN

How Symbols Can be Dysfunctional

How did the organization intend to use this symbol?How was the symbol actually received?What should the organization have done differently?

Rituals and CeremoniesCelebrations of an organization’s valuesProvide dramatic examples of culture

Types of Rituals & Ceremonies Passage: Facilitates transition into new role or status. Enhancement: Increases social status. Renewal: Refurbishes and improves. Integration: Encourages common feelings.

Heroes

Company role models whose ideals, character, and support of the organizational culture highlight the values and norms a company wishes to reinforce

Our Founder

Stories, Legends, & MythsNarrative examples repeated among employees to inform (often new) employees about cultureStories: based on factLegends: based on facts but embellishedMyths: consistent with culture but not based on fact

Roberta: A True Story

Is this story believable? Why or why not?What message about culture does this story tell?Is this a stronger message than just talking about the culture? Why or why not?

Building a Learning Culture

The “learning organization”: promotes communication and collaboration so that everyone is engaged in identifying and solving problems, enabling the organization to continuously experiment, improve, and increase its capability

Knowledge Management

Knowledge is a valuable assetCompetitive advantage (tacit vs. explicit knowledge)Can far exceed physical/financial assetsReplacing a knowledge worker can cost 20-30 times that person’s salary (Peter Drucker)Can be gaps when someone leaves

Chief Knowledge Officer?

Knowledge Management: To enhance organizational performance by explicitly designing and implementing tools, processes, systems, structures and cultures to improve the creation, sharing and use of all types of knowledge that are critical for decision making

Cultural Influenceson Knowledge

How can an organization build an effective “learning culture?”

Culture can impede or enhance knowledge creation, sharing, leverage.

Shapes assumptions about which knowledge is importantIndustry specific

Creative knowledge in advertisingProcess knowledge in manufacturing

Subcultures can existAccounting point of viewEngineering point of view

Assessment: Knowledge Management

http://www.skyrme.com/kmtools/know10.pdf1. Leadership2. Culture/Structure3. Processes 4. Explicit Knowledge 5. Tacit Knowledge 6. Knowledge Hubs and Centers7. Market Leverage8. Measure9. People/Skills10. Technological Infrastructure

The Issues

The functions of cultureThe nature of & roles of the hidden elements of cultureThe nature of & roles of the visible elements of cultureBuilding a learning culture