Module II

Module- II
• Organizational culture: Perspective of
Organizational Culture, Definition and Core
Characteristics, Culture within Organizations,
Underlying Dimensions of Organizational
Culture, Types of Organizational Cultures,
Effect of Organizational Culture, Components
Of Individual and Team Creativity,
Components of Innovation
 Introduction of Culture
• Culture in organizations can simply be referred to as an
organization’s way of life or way of doing things.
• Most of the definitions use key elements such as,
norms, traditions, values, beliefs and assumptions.
• Organizational culture can be defined as “the collection
of relatively uniform and enduring values, beliefs,
customs, traditions and practices that are shared by an
organization’s members, learned by new recruits and
transmitted from one generation of employees to the
next” (Huczynski and Buchanan 2007, p.623).
 Definitions of Culture
• Horton and Hunt definition of culture, “Culture is
everything which is socially shared and learned by the
members of a society.”
• Tylor defined “It is that complex whole including
beliefs, art, values, norms, ideas, law, taught,
knowledge, custom and other capabilities acquired by
a man as a member of a society.”
• It is the totality of human experience acquired during
transmission of heritage from one generation to
another and to learn the ways of eating, drinking,
behaving, walking, dressing, and working is the culture
of man.
 Characteristics of Culture
1. Culture is learned
Culture is not inherited biologically but it is leant socially by
man in a society
2. Culture is social
It is not an individual phenomena but it is the product of
society. It develops in the society through social interaction.
3. Culture is shared
Culture is something shared. It is nothing that an individual
can passes but shared by common people of a territory.
4. Culture is transmitted
Culture is capable of transmitted from one generation to the
next.
5. Culture is continuous
It is like a stream which is flowing from one generation to another
through centuries. “Culture is the memory of human race.”
6. Culture is accumulative
Many cultural traits are borrowed from out side and these absorbed in
that culture which adopt it, as culture is accumulative and combines
the suitable cultural traits.
7. Culture is integrated
The development of culture is the integration of its various parts. For
example, values system is interlinked with morality, customs, beliefs
and religion.
8. Culture is changing
Cultural process undergoes changes. But with different speeds from
society to society and generation to generation.
9. Culture varies from society to society
Every society has its own culture and ways of behaving. It is not uniform every
where but occurs differently in various societies.
10. Culture is responsive
It intervenes in the natural environment and helps man from all dangers and
natural calamities e.g. our houses are responsible to give us shelter and safety
from storm and heavy rains.
11. Culture is gratifying
It is gratifying and provide all the opportunities for needs and desires
satisfaction. These needs may be biological or social but It is responsible to
satisfy it. it is defined as the process through which human beings satisfy their
need.
12. Linked with society
Culture and society are one and the same. Society is a composite of people
and they interact each other through it. It is to bind the people within the
society.
 Perspectives of Organizational Culture
• The three perspective framework developed by (Martin, 1992),
integration, differentiation and fragmentation perspectives which provide
understanding on organizational culture.
• The Integration or unitary perspective regards organizations as clear,
consistent and unified, believing that these integrating features may result
in improved organizational effectiveness.
• The differentiation perspective views organizations as consisting of
subcultures with diverse interests and different objectives while
• the fragmentation or conflict perspective, sees organizations as being in a
constant state of flux. The integration or managerial perspective appears
to suggest that there is a relationship between strong culture and
improved performance.
• Culture generates competitive advantage. However, sustainable
competitive advantage, “must be rare, adaptable and non-imitable” this
determines the strong cultural traits of the organization possesses
 Levels of Culture
• According to (Schein 1985 cited in Huczynski and Buchanan 2007, p.624 –
630) culture is considered to exist in three levels.
• Level one is regarded as ‘surface manifestations’. At this stage, the culture
of an organization is easily seen by outsiders in its symbols, language or
architecture. In the Hewlett Packard case, the open plan office adopted,
manifests, the relaxed environment the employees work in, and it also
suggests the ease of access, between managers and employees. Tesco is
very customer-centric and this is displayed by each employee’s approach
to customers which, conveys a message regarding Tesco’s organizational
culture of putting smiles on the faces of the shopping public, hence,
creating a pleasant shopping experience for them.
• The second level of culture is ‘values’. This has its firm foundation on
morals, awareness and religious or societal precepts and is usually
displayed on websites of organizations.
• The last level of culture is ‘basic assumptions’. These are assumptions
preconceived by an individual of an organization such as how it operates
and functions in its environment.
Dimensions of Organizational Culture
1. Means- vs. goal-oriented
A means-oriented culture places importance on how work gets done. A
goal-oriented culture identifies with what work gets done.
2. Internally vs. externally driven
Employees within an internally-driven culture see themselves as
experts; they feel they know what is best for the client and
customer and act accordingly. On the other side, employees
working in an externally-driven culture are very customer-oriented
and will do whatever the customer wants.
3. Easygoing vs. strict work discipline
In an easygoing culture, the approach to work is informal, loose,
unpredictable, and these characteristics facilitate a high level of
innovation. In a strict culture, there is a fair amount of planning,
which leads to efficiency and productivity. People take punctuality
seriously and delegate work with detailed instructions.
4. Local vs. professional
In a local organizational culture, employees identify with their boss
and their teammates. In a company with a professional culture,
employees identify with their profession or the content of the
work.
5. Open vs. closed system
In an open system, newcomers are welcomed easily. A closed system is
more exclusive, where newcomers have to prove themselves.
6. Employee- vs. work-centered
In a culture with an employee-centered management philosophy,
leaders take responsibility for the happiness, well-being, and
satisfaction of their employees. In a work-centered culture, a focus
on high task performance can come at the expense of employees.
In this environment, there is a low level of empathy for personal
problems.
7. Dominant Culture and Subcultures:
A dominant culture is a set of core values shared by a majority of the
organization’s members. The dominant culture is a macro view, that helps
guide the day to day, behaviour of employees. A sub-culture is a set of
values shared by a small minority of organization’s members. In the sub-
culture, the core values of the dominant culture are retained but modified
to reflect the individuals unit’s distinct situation.
8. Mechanistic and Organic Cultures:
People restrict their careers to their own specializations only and
organizational work is concerned as a system of narrow specialism. It
comprises of a traditional form of organization where the authority flows
from the top level of the organization to the lower levels. Communication
channels are also well defined and prescribed. Organic culture is just the
contrast of mechanistic culture. There are no prescribed communication
channels, departmental boundaries, hierarchies of authority or formal
rules and regulations. There is free flow of communication-both formal
and informal.
9. Authoritarian and Participative Cultures:
In authoritarian culture, power is centralized in the leader and all the
subordinates are expected to obey the orders strictly. The participative
culture is based on the assumption that when all the people working in
the organization participate in the decision making, they are likely to be
more committed to the decisions rather than to those decisions which are
imposed on them by one authoritarian leader.
10. National Culture vs. Organizational Culture:
Organizational culture is always influenced by the culture of the land,
irrespective of the origin of the company. They declare the same holidays,
celebrate the same festivals and organize the same functions and cultural
activities as reflected by the Indian ethos. But research also indicates that
though organisational culture is important in understanding the behaviour
of people at work, national culture is even more so.