Chapter 18
Organizational Culture and Cultural Diversity
Learning Goals
1. Describe the core elements of a culture
2. Compare and contrast four types of organizational culture
3. Discuss why subcultures exist in organizations
4. Describe several activities for successfully managing diversity
Culture: the unique pattern of shared assumptions, values, and norms that shape the socialization, symbols, language, narratives, and practices of a group of people
Shared assumptions: the underlying thoughts and feelings that members of a culture take for granted and believe to be true
Value: a basic belief about something that has considerable importance and meaning to individuals and is stable over time
Norms: rules that govern the behaviors of group members
Symbol: anything visible that can be used to represent an abstract shared value or something having special meaning
Socialization: a process by which new members are brought into a culture
Language: a shared system of vocal sounds, written signs, and/or gestures used to convey special meanings among members of a culture
Narratives: the unique stories, sagas, legends, and myths in a culture
Practices
Taboos: culturally forbidden behaviorsCeremonies: elaborate and formal
activities designed to generate strong feelings
Taboos: culturally forbidden behaviorsCeremonies: elaborate and formal
activities designed to generate strong feelings
Internal ExternalFocus of Attention
Stable
Flexible
For
mal
Con
trol
Ori
enta
tion
ClanCulture
ClanCulture
EntrepreneurialCulture
EntrepreneurialCulture
BureaucraticCulture
BureaucraticCulture
MarketCultureMarketCulture
Behavior of employees is governed by formal rules and standard operating procedures, and coordination is achieved through hierarchical reporting relationships
Behavior of employees is governed by formal rules and standard operating procedures, and coordination is achieved through hierarchical reporting relationships
Focuses on predictability, efficiency, and stability
Focuses on predictability, efficiency, and stability
Tasks, responsibilities, and authority clearly spelled out
Tasks, responsibilities, and authority clearly spelled out
Internal Focus Internal Focus
Behaviors of employees are shaped by tradition, loyalty, personal commitment, extensive socialization, and self-management
Formal rules and procedures minimized
High sense of member obligation and identity to the organization
Long and thorough socialization process Mentors and role models
Strong peer pressure Internal focus
Andres Smith, Accountant, Analytic Graphics, Inc., Easton, Pennsylvania
“There’s a family mentality here as opposed to just being another number. That trickles
down from the top. He [the CEO] knows everyone’s name and says ‘hi’ everyday
when I see him during morning workouts at the gym.”
External focus and flexibility create an environment that encourages risk taking, dynamism, and creativity
Encouraged and rewarded Encouraged and rewarded
Commitment to experimentation, innovation, and being on the leading edge
Creates change and quickly reacts to change
Individual initiative, flexibility, and freedom seen as fostering growth
Values and norms reflect the importance of achieving measurable and demanding goals, especially those that are financial and market based (e.g., sales growth, profitability and market share)
Market Culture
Hard driving competitiveness dominates
Profits orientation and quantifiable performance goals prevail
Minimal informal social pressure on members
Superior interactions with subordinates focus on performance-reward (economic) agreement and resource allocations
Exists when assumptions, values, and norms are shared by some—but not all—organizational members
Inability to manage target business
Clash of management styles/egos
Inability to implement changein new organization
Synergies were overstated
Incompatible culturesRea
son
for
mer
ger
fail
ure
Percent of executives who state reason as primary explanation for merger failures
Reasons Executives Give for Failed Mergers
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Percent
Departments and divisions within the organization have their own subcultures
Occupational subcultures Geographically based subcultures Subcultures created by managers
Positive cultures are created by managers who: recognize personal milestones, such as birthdays and
employment anniversaries; hold public celebrations for professional
achievements; sponsor picnics and parties; and listen to their employees and recognize the efforts
they put into work
Diverse workforce demographics create subcultures
EthnicityEthnicity
AgeAge
Gender and other demographicsGender and other demographics
“My first conscious exposure to racism occurred when I came back to the States and went to public school. One of the children said something—I don’t remember now what—but I remember what my grandmother said to me: ‘They tried to put you in a box. Don’t ever let anybody put you in a box.’”
Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., Former Chairman and CEO, TIAA-CREF
Cultural diversity: encompasses the full mix of the cultures and subcultures to which members of the workforce belong
Organization goals for managing cultural diversity include:
Legal compliance
Creating a positive culture for employees
Create greater economic value for the organization
“HP is committed to building a work environment where everyone has an opportunity to fully participate in creating business success…We address our commitment [to diversity] through development programs targeted to the next generation of HP leaders, work-life initiatives for our employees, recruiting of diverse talent, and other efforts that help employees and managers foster an inclusive work environment. Additionally, we establish diversity goals to create accountability and drive our success. By weaving diversity into the fabric of our company, we create a mind-set in every employee and manager that will allow them to think consciously about diversity and inclusion in everything they do.”
Emily Duncan, VP Culture and Diversity, Hewlett-Packard
Diagnosis: Before managers begin to design new approaches to managing diversity, they must understand how current practices affect the amount and nature of diversity
(continued)
Vision: Leaders must formulate and articulate a clear vision to persuade others to join them
Involvement: For the plan to be effective, those who are affected must buy into it
Timing: Planned organization change usually follows an evolutionary—not revolutionary—path
Managing Cultural Diversity and Inclusion: Diversity Training
Awareness training: designed to provide accurate information about the many subcultures present in the organization
Harassment training: aimed at ensuring that employees understand the meaning of harassment and the actions the company will take when someone complains of being harassed
HarassmentTrainingSeminar
Create Family-Friendly Work Places
Hold Managers Accountable
Survey employees
Offer options to meet employees’ needs
Consider child-care initiatives
Consider elder-care initiatives
Managing the reactions of the members of the dominate culture, who may feel that they have lost some of the power they previously had
Synthesizing the diversity of opinions from individuals and using them as the basis for reaching meaningful agreement on issues
Avoiding real and perceived tokenism and quota systems