Chris Jarvis 1

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Organisation Culture & Interventions

Read Rollinson - Chapter 19

B & H, Chapter 18

Read Rollinson - Chapter 19

B & H, Chapter 18

Chris Jarvis 2

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Interests

What is organisation culture?

How do we describe the features of such culture?

How can the culture of an organisation be changed?

What are we seeking to change and why?

The merits and limitations of descriptions?

Themes and tensions in debates about organisation culture?

Comparing hard & technical 'culture' components with soft humanistic concerns

Chris Jarvis 3

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What then is a corporate culture?

The organisation itself has an underlying quality - style - character - soul, a way of doing things - possibly more powerful than one person's dictates or a formal system. To comprehend this "soul" requires that we go beyond below the trappings of charts, policies and jobs into a living and breathing world of cultural interaction.

The corporate culture gives the whole organisation a sense of how to behave, what to do, & where to place priorities in getting the job done. It helps members fill in the blanks between formal directives and how work actually gets done.

Compare these statements to an "engineering" model of structures, work-technologies, methods & controls

Compare these statements to an "engineering" model of structures, work-technologies, methods & controls

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What then is a corporate culture?

the way we do things around here

a dominant & coherent set of beliefs, deep-set, prevailing values and assumptions manifested in organisational activity

learned and accepted prescriptions for how people should think, feel, work & behave as members.

values & commitments - shared & understood through ritual/ceremonial & routinised processes

symbolic communication with imperative statements, slogans, internal and external "marketing

anecdotes, myths, legends

rewards and chastisement.

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Culture as a paradigm and metaphor

paradigm metaphor

positivist and physical functional, definable, rational, mechanical, engineered, predictable

phenomenological, interpretive, social psychology

mental & socially constructed. Enacted by members through on-going negotiation and sharing of symbols & meanings

unitary or pluralistic cultures

Consensus, co-existence of several, parallel sub-cultures, conflict

adaptive, regulating mechanism to dynamic equilibrium

biological, learning, cultural conflicts may engender change

corporatist managerial, strategic, shape culture for success, transformational, power discourse of values

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Rise of corporate culture concepts

Pre-50s classical and rational perspective

50s human relations school - influence through human relations and leadership

60s, 70s neo-human relations - control through groups and organisational development (Schein et al)

80s admiration of Japanese Quality, Kaizen and Excellence Theory Z

90s Lean and core Learning organisation Network organisation

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Soft systemsValuesInteractionsCommitmentsMotivationsLoyaltiesPerceptionsLeadership & teamsCommunications

Hard systemsPoliciesProceduresSystemsPerformancesTechnologiesEfficiencies

Hard and Soft in a Wet-Cold Climate

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Mintzberg: Five Glues

Mutual adjustment

Direct supervision

Standardisation of Systems and procedures

Skills

Results

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Exercise

What are the manifestations of corporate culture at

this university?

in the Body Shop organisation?

in the Metropolitan Police?

For each organisation, list examples of

Values, beliefs norms

Representative rituals & ceremonials

What external intervention has been evident?

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Culture Characteristics

Common, uniform, pervasive, homogenous?

Unitary, Integration

Differentiation, pluralist, diversity, groups with own subcultures

Fragmentation, so ad hoc with anomalies, inconsistencies that no 'culture'

strong culture ==> performance (Luthans 1995) Shared-ness Intensity

Propositionstrong culture leads to success if the organisation's structure is suited to environmental conditions. This is a good predictor of short term performance.How will you demonstrate the veracity of such a proposition?

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Cultural Evolution and Socialisation

Organisational growth, founders as role models

Early business Quaker philanthropists

Generic problems (Schein 1983) Adaptation and

survival in face of externalities

Ensuring internal integration

Replication

applicants

Boundaryfiltering

SocialisationPeers

Role modelsRewardsTraining

Rites, ritualsimitation

Full insider membership

Organisationculture

Organisationculture

The 'right stuff'I'm in with the in-crowdThe 'right stuff'I'm in with the in-crowd

Bye Bye

outsideroutsider

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Packaging and transmission

Packaging cultural elements Mission Core values Management style Competencies Ethical and environmental policy

Transmitting culture elements Formal, informal Events & activities in the culture transmission system

Hewlett Packard Way,

Ben and Jerry,

Body Shop

Disney

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Corporate culture & competitive strategy

societysociety industryindustry organisationorganisation

Corporate cultureCorporate culture

political ideologies social values

political ideologies social values

institutional relations: business, labour, govt

institutional relations: business, labour, govt

concentration social function of

product

concentration social function of

product

stage in lifecycle competitive strategy

stage in lifecycle competitive strategy

organisation structure HR systems

organisation structure HR systems

competitive nichein product market

competitive nichein product market

Fombrun, Tichy & Devanne, 1984, Strategic HRM, WileyFombrun, Tichy & Devanne, 1984, Strategic HRM, Wiley

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Cultural decline, performance decline

Peters and Waterman's 'excellent' companies - many cases are no longer "excellent"

Catch phrases: 'down sizing' (Roach), stick to the knitting (Peters) etc

Inertia - Marks and Spencer, IBM

Immoderation & excess - Marconi, Enron

Inattention - institutional 'groupthink' - Metropolitan Police, Conservative Party

No 'one-best-culture'

Staff turnover, business downturn & redundancies dilutes cultural strength

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Smircich 1983

Key variable (application) Organisation needs the right properties for dynamic equilibrium

with environment

Culture is something an organisation 'has'

Culture is an essential ingredient of organisational success

Member commitment to goals

Culture club industry

Root metaphor Culture is something that an organisation 'is'

Focus on how cultures are experienced by members & how this affects their actions

Phenomenological study > business usefulness

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Corporate Viagra - Ouchi Theory Z !!!!

commitment to employees

evaluation of employees

career structure

employee control

decision making

responsibility

concern for people

commitment to employees

evaluation of employees

career structure

employee control

decision making

responsibility

concern for people

Japanese firm outperform US firms. The secret is Theory Z !!!! therefore take the Z-pill to enhance performance !!!! Japanese firm outperform US firms. The secret is Theory Z !!!! therefore take the Z-pill to enhance performance !!!!

long term employment

slow + qualitative criteria

broad

implicit, informal methods

groups & high consensus

individual

whole person - work & non-work

long term employment

slow + qualitative criteria

broad

implicit, informal methods

groups & high consensus

individual

whole person - work & non-work

Theory ZTheory Z

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The Call for Excellence

a bias for action: getting on with it

get close to and learn from customer

autonomy and innovation - nurturing 'champions'

productivity through people; staff as a source of quality

hands-on management, value-driven

stick to the knitting: stay with the business you know

simple form and lean

loose-tight properties; local autonomy + centralized values

move from pyramid to horizontal, fast, cross-functional, coop

Peters & Waterman, In Search of Excellence, Harper & Row, 1982

Peters & Austin, A Passion for Excellence, Collins, 1985

Peters, Thriving on Chaos, Macmillan, 1987

Peters, Liberation Management, Macmillan, 1994

Peters & Waterman, In Search of Excellence, Harper & Row, 1982

Peters & Austin, A Passion for Excellence, Collins, 1985

Peters, Thriving on Chaos, Macmillan, 1987

Peters, Liberation Management, Macmillan, 1994

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The Call for Excellence - Precepts for managers

quality revolution strive to achieve uniqueness listen to customers, end users, suppliers, retailers make manufacturing the prime marketing tool

become customer-obsessed, responsive service addicts true internationalists, small and large firms

`over-invest' in frontline people & activities

develop an innovation strategy symbolize innovativeness multi-function teams for development activities pilots and prototypes not proposals ignore `Not Invented Here' & adapt thru. `creative swiping'

applaud heroes & champions

no blame culture - promote learning & right next time

Pinchot - Intrapreneurs

Pinchot - Intrapreneurs

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Paradigms of corporate culture

Integrationist - Differentiationist - Fragmentalist

Is culture a source of harmony, an effect of irreducible conflicts of interest or a reflection of inescapable ambiguities of modern organisational life?

Must culture be internally consistent, integrative and shared or can it be inconsistent and expressive of different? Can it incorporate confusion, ignorance, paradox and fragmentation?

What are the boundaries around cultures in organisations - are they essential?

How do cultures change? Martin 1992Martin 1992

Significance for m

anaging

diversity policies?

Significance for m

anaging

diversity policies?

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Integrationist

Unitary

Organisation-wide consensus

Consistency

Clarity & denial of ambiguity

Leader's role in culture

Harvey and Brown, 1992

Profit oriented & NfP organisations may have differing or conflicting sub-cultures

Mgt style & corporate culture are central "success" factors that influence communication problem-solving decision-making leadership patterns

for the entire system

Harvey and Brown, 1992

Profit oriented & NfP organisations may have differing or conflicting sub-cultures

Mgt style & corporate culture are central "success" factors that influence communication problem-solving decision-making leadership patterns

for the entire system

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Differentiationist

Pluralistic - emphasises power, conflicts, differences

lack of consensus, inconsistencies and non-leader initiated aspects of culture

acknowledge dominant culture & similarities, consistencies, unities but

choose to focus on inconsistencies and sub-culture differences - no consensus

action inconsistency symbolic inconsistency ideological inconsistency

Fox 'On Contract' - acceptance "for now"

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Fragmentalist

emphasises loosely structured, incompletely shared system. emerges dynamically as

members experience each other, events & contexts

ambiguity > consistency

reject company wide integrated values instead a shared awareness of ambiguity

action ambiguity actions differ from espoused values

symbolic & ideological ambiguity obscure, inconsistent relationships between cultural themes & symbols

e.g. employee well-being and forms - jokes, stories, physical arrangements

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Goffe and Jones 1998 - Contingency framework

No "one best culture" - the formula that best fits the contingent situation in terms of

sociability

solidarity

communal culture

mercenary culture

fragmented culture Sub-cultures will exist

No culture lasts for ever & none is inherently good/bad

National cultures impact on organisation culture

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Dynamic national cultures & organisation accommodation

Dimensions

power distance

uncertainty avoidance

individualism-collectivism

masculinity-femininity

What

Dimensions?

More

developed

Less developed

Latin Be, Fr, Arg, Bra, Sp

Col, Mex, Chile, Peru, Port, Yugo

Asian Japan Singapore, Pakistan, Taiwan, HK, India, Phil, Thai

Near Eastern Greece, Iran, Turkey

Germanic Austria, Israel, Germany, Switz, South Africa, Italy

Anglo Australia, NZ, Canada, UK, Ireland, USA

Nordic Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Netherlands

Hofstede 1984cultural mapping of MNCs, 11600 staff across 40 countries

Hofstede 1984cultural mapping of MNCs, 11600 staff across 40 countries

How are these changing or have changed?

How are these changing or have changed?

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Culture as a power game?

Power - “the ability to get one’s way in a social situation.”

“…..organisational behaviour is a power game in which various

players seek to control the organisation’s decisions and actions.”

French and Bell 1959

Reward Power

Coercive Power

Legitimate Power

Referent Power/Charismatic Power

Expert Power

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Power and Images of Organisation

Groupthink Gender

Symbolism

CountervailersAlliances and Networks

Technological Dependence

Managing BoundariesContingent Hero Know-How

Decision Control Bureaucracy-based Resource-based

adapted from Morgan G, Images of Organisations, Sage, 1997

adapted from Morgan G, Images of Organisations, Sage, 1997

see http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/~jarvis/bola/power/power.htmlsee http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/~jarvis/bola/power/power.html

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Mintzberg - Sources of power

Control of

1. a resource

2. a technical skill

3. a body of knowledge

(1-3 must be critical to the organisation)

4. Legal prerogatives - exclusive rights or privileges to impose

choices

5. Access to those who have power based on the first four bases

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Organisational politics

Sub-set of power? Informal power? Illegitimate in nature?

Conflicts of interests

Conflict or competition for scarce resources

Pay-off matrix - how goods & services are to be distributed

between different parties

Stakeholder analysis - grievances, power, ability to resist change,

winners, losers,

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Organisational development assumptions

Normative + learning, adaptation, empirical, rationalist not Power-coercive (Power & politics de-emphasised)

OD weak on - accommodation and avoidance?

OD programmes

managerial driving devices

or

"OD transcends the negatives of power & politics" ??

French & Bell…. "OD programs are unlikely to be successful in organisations with high negative faces of politics & power".

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Mintzberg: ‘The structuring of organisations’

StrategicStrategic

apexapex

Middleline

Technostructure

Supportstaff

Operating core

IdeologyIdeology Evangelise

Centralise

Balkanise

Collaborate

Standardise

Professionalise

Mintzberg, 1979Mintzberg, 1979

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How can OD interventionists gain and wield power?

Competence

Political access & sensitivity

Sponsorship

Stature & credibility

Resource management

Group support

Competence

Political access & sensitivity

Sponsorship

Stature & credibility

Resource management

Group support

Beer (1980)Beer (1980)

OD change agents (internal and external) need to know about bargaining, negotiation, power shifts & politics, strategies of influences & the characteristics of power holders

Hard, technical expert

Intuitive, soft, influential behavioural expert.

OD change agents (internal and external) need to know about bargaining, negotiation, power shifts & politics, strategies of influences & the characteristics of power holders

Hard, technical expert

Intuitive, soft, influential behavioural expert.

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Organisational Analysis

Techniques of:

Hard & soft systems analysis

Key processes (e.g. BPR)

Planning processes (power plays)

Evolutionary models (Chandler & strategy)

Pro-active structuring (Mintzberg)

Virtualisation

Changing units of currency (knowledge)

Meta-system analysis

Network analysis

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Questions

Evaluate the tensions revealed by the term "organisational development" and processes of organisational change.

Why do organisation development interventions so frequently fail or not live up to expectations?

Evaluate the merits and difficulties associated with cultural intervention strategies.

How do various models of OD influence your understanding of organisational change?

What issues confront a "change" practitioner beginning a career as an OD adviser or consultant?

What "pearls of wisdom" would you give an organisational client who wants to learn more about OD?