Chapter 4 ACCA F1

Chapter 4
Organizational culture
1. Cultural web
It is culture inside the business. The influences on culture could be represented by the
cultural web.
Defined culture as the way we do things around here.
Symbols and titles- Are you an organization with many presidents and vice-presidents?
Power relations- Do top managers keep most power to themselves or is it dispersed? Are you
told what to do or is it more likely you will be asked to contribute your ideas about what should
be done?
Organizational structure- Some organizations are whats known as tall narrow with many
layers, each layer being carefully supervised by the supervisor or manager above. Other
organizations are whats known as flat wide organizations, relatively few vertical layers and
each manager therefore having to look after a relatively large number of people.
Control systems- For example how carefully you have to account for your time. Some
organizations, perhaps for billing purposes, insist that people record what they are doing every
12 minutes. Other organizations dont control individual activities quite so closely and are more
interested in the overall results.
Rituals and routines- For example, in some organizations when a sale is made, the person who
has made the sale has to stand up and ring a bell. Other people then applaud. To some of you
this may seem childish. But those organizations which do it presumably think its worthwhile in
terms of morale-boosting and challenging others who have not yet made the sale or to socialize
on a Friday evening.
Myths and stories- How the company in the past won a particular contract which was very
valuable, the way in which a clever presentation was made or the way in which they worked
hard against the clock to ensure that a job was finished on time.
Organizational assumptions- For example the assumption that we are the best, that we are
never beaten, that we only produce work of the highest quality.
2. Types of culture Handys classification

Charles Handy identified four types of organizational culture.
Power culture (Zeus)-power is concentrated in the hands of essentially one person, the
boss - probably the person who started the company. There is very little delegation,
very little decentralization. Almost all decisions are made by that person.
Role culture (Apollo) - In the role culture there is effectively a management structure
with different people having different roles. The problem with the role culture is that
sometimes the title, the job, is regarded as more important than actually getting the job
done. Often associated with role culture are very strict job specifications and something
isnt on the specification then people will refuse to do it even if it hurts a client or
customer.
Task culture- (Athena) is where there is a great emphasis on getting the job done and
achieving the task. People do not depend so much on their job specifications or their
particular place in a hierarchy. Everyone pulls together for the sake of the organization
and to please clients and customers.
Person culture- A relatively rare type of culture is the person organization (Dionysus).
Here you have people who are essentially pursuing a private ambition (e.g. a surgeon) in
the context of an organization. Its not very important in business.
3. Schein - three levels of culture

Artifacts- The topmost and the most superficial level. These are essentially what you
see, the way people dress, the way they behave, the structure of the company as set out
in the organization chart. These are most obvious things that you see when you join an
organization but in some ways the least important.
Espoused values- At a slightly deeper level are espoused values. These are the stated
goals, strategies, and philosophies. The mission statement of a company, for example,
may set out what the companys purpose is and how it perceives itself within the
marketplace, how it values employees, how it tries not to harm the environment.
Underlying assumptions- The most fundamental level is the basic underlying

assumptions. These are very important but are often the most difficult to identify and to
understand. They will often not be stated, but there is an assumption about the quality
of work, about never missing deadlines, about out willingness to work overtime even if
not paid in order to hit a deadline, the assumption that we are the best. It can take time
before these basic underlying assumptions are understood by new members of
organizations.
4. National cultures
The Hofstedes model
National culture influences how people work and expect to be managed (Hofstedes analysis of
national cultures)
Countries differ on the following dimensions:
Power/distance-Do people expect to be told what to do and then do it without
question? Or do people come from a national culture where that approach would not be
expected. They expect to have a more participative role to contribute to decisions.
Uncertainty avoidance-Some national cultures shy away from taking risks; those people
may prefer certainty.
Individualism-collectivism- To what extent are all people within the organization
expected to agree with particular decisions and to conform to what other people are
doing, or are they expected to go their own way?
Masculinity- This looks at the extent to which social gender roles are important.
Cultures with high masculinity value assertiveness, competition, material success, and
being dominant, whereas in those cultures feminine values of modesty, reaching
consensus, understanding, and relationships are not valued so highly.

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Chapter 4

2. Types of culture Handys classification

3. Schein - three levels of culture

Underlying assumptions- The most fundamental level is the basic underlying

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