L7: Levels of org culture

Question 1

What are the 3 levels of org culture (Lily pond metaphor)?

Answer 1

from top to bottom
- cultural artifacts: visible & feelable structures & processes, observed behaviour (difficult to decipher)
- espoused beliefs & values: ideals, goals, values, aspirations, ideologies, rationalizations (may or may not be congruent w behaviour & other artifacts)
- basic underlying cultural assumptions (unconscious, taken for granted beliefs & values that determine behaviour, perception, thought, and feeling)

Question 2

what does “level” mean for culture?

Answer 2

the degree to which the cultural phenomenon is visible to you as participant or observer
they range from the very tangible, overt manifestations that you can see & feel, to the deeply embedded, unconscious, basic assumptions that we are defining as the essence of culture or its DNA

Question 3

what are espoused values?

Answer 3

• not tangible, “up in the air”, what the “farmer” says
• may transform to basic assumptions
• note the difference between espoused & enacted values
• ex: “we’re commited to creating positive change around the world and ensuring we act as responsible business leaders for our people, our clients, and the communities we call home”

Question 4

whats the difference between espoused & enacted values?

Question 5

what are cultural artifacts?

Answer 5

• visible & tangible structures & processes
• difficult to interpret
• ex: logo, flag, language, architecture, clothing, myths/stories, rituals etc

Question 6

what are shared basic assumptions?

Answer 6

cultural dna
- unconscious, taken for granted “truths”
- “theories in use”
- ex: continuous learning or innovation or client centric approach

Question 7

What are meso vs macro cultures?

Answer 7

macro: ethnic group or nation
meso: organisation, industry or profession

Question 10

How do meso vs macro cultures relate w org culture and employee behaviours?

Question 11

whats the relationship between national & org cultures w org outcomes?

Question 12

what was Hartnells 2016 paper on CEO leadership about?

Answer 12

Do similarities or differences between CEo leadership & org culture have a more positive effect on firm performance?

aka whether CEO leadership styles that are similar to or different from organizational culture are more beneficial for firm performance.

Question 13

what are the 2 theoretical perspectives on CEO leadership style & org culture similarity?

Answer 13

1. similarity perspective: grounded in attribution theory & social identity theory. predicts better performaznce when CEO leadership behaviours match cultural values. logic: alignment creates task clarity & focus
2. dissimilarity persepctive: drawn from contingency leadership theories & substitutes for leadership. predits better performance when CEO leadership compensates for what the culture lacks. logic: influences via teamwork & participative action

Question 14

what was the methodology for Hartnells research on CEO leadership style & org culture?

Answer 14

• 114 CEOs & 324 top management team members from high tech firms
• variables: CEO leadership (task oriented & relational), org culture (task & relationship oriented), firm performance

Question 15

what were the key findings of Hartnells research on CEO leadership style & org culture?

Answer 15

• similarity hypotheses: not supported: firms did not perform better when leadership and culture were aligned, in fact similarity sometimes led to lower performance due to redundancy
• dissimilarity hypotheses: supported, best performance occured when task leadership was high but task culture low & vice versa

-> implies leadership can fill gaps left by culture

Question 16

what were the implications of Hartnells research on CEO leadership style & org culture?

Answer 16

Theoretical:
- Challenges the assumption that culture-leadership alignment is always good.
- Highlights contextual leadership as critical — leaders should read the culture and adapt.

Practical:
- CEOs shouldn’t just mirror their company’s culture.
- Instead, they should identify what’s missing in the culture and compensate accordingly

Question 17

what are important considerations in qualitative research on culture?

Answer 17

• position of researcher: outsider vs insider
• role: potential partner, researcher, helper/consultant
• what are YOU doing here: aciton research vs clinical research

Question 18

what is the action research vs clinical research motivation

Answer 18

different reasons to research culture
- action: im here to understand how things really work in ur org (what helps ppl thrive & what gets in the way), so we can learn from it & share insights that make workplaces better
- clinical: im here to help u, to listen, explore challenges w you, and work together toward improvements that fit ur reality

Question 19

what is Hofstede’s dimensional model of national culture?

Answer 19

• analyzes national culture through 6 dimensions based on massive survey data
• core concept “culture is the collective programming of the mind”

Question 20

what are Hofstede’s 6 deimsnions of culture?

Answer 20

1. power distance
2. uncertainty avoidance
3. individualism vs collectivism
4. masculinity vs feminity
5. long term vs short term orientation
6. indulgence vs restraint

Question 21

what is Hofstedes uncertainty avoidance dimension of culture?

Answer 21

how societies deal w ambiguity
- high UAI: need rules, structure, avoid risks (japan)
- low UAI: chill w uncertainty, more flexible (india)

Question 22

what is Hofstedes power distance dimension of culture?

Answer 22

how okay ppl are w inequality
- high: hierarchies are accepted (malaysia, arab nations)
- low: expect equality, challenge authority (scandinavia)

Question 23

what is Hofstedes individualism vs collectivism dimension of culture?

Answer 23

the “i” vs “we” mentality
- individualistic: personal goals, autonomy (USA, UK)
- collectivist: group loyalty, harmony (china, colombia)

Question 24

what is Hofstedes masculinity vs femininity dimension of culture?

Answer 24

tough vs tender values
- masculine: achievement, assertiveness, competition (Japan)
- feminine: caring, cooperation, quality of life (sweden)

Question 25

what is Hofstedes long term vs short term orientation dimension of culture?

Answer 25

- focus on future vs past/present - long term: perseverance, thrift, adapting to change (china) - short term: tradition, fulfilng social obligations (USA, africa)

Question 26

what is Hofstedes indulgence vs restraint dimension of culture?

Answer 26

freedom vs control of desires - indulgent: enjoy life, have fun (latin america) - restrained: suppress gratification, strict norms (eg russia, asia)

Question 27

what is the core criticism by Vaara on Hofstedes cultural dimensions?

Answer 27

- international business reserach treats national culture like a magic variable: we need to stop treating culture like a static national average and start thinking more critically

Question 28

what are the 4 specific critiques by Vaara on Hofstedes cultural dimensions?

Answer 28

1. Functionalist Dominance: - Culture is treated as a fixed, objective, measurable variable. - Overly reliant on Hofstede-style quantification. - Assumes culture = nation = uniform group (which is BS). 2. Neglect of Power & Politics: - Cultural models ignore how power relations and politics shape and are shaped by culture. - E.g., who defines “national culture”? Whose values get prioritized? 3. Lack of Historical Context: - Culture didn’t appear out of thin air. - Historical legacies, colonization, globalization, etc., matter — but IB research often acts like these don’t exist. 4. Limited View of Cultural Dynamics: - Cultures change over time, and within nations. - But most IB studies act like culture is static and unchanging.

Question 29

what are some alternative perspectives on culture besides Hofstedes dimensions?

Answer 29

- interpretive approaches: how culture is constructed through meaning & discourse - postcolonial & political views: challenging western dominance in defining culture - practice based views: looking at how culture plays out in actual itneractions, not just survey averages

Question 30

how should we view culture going forward? as opposed to just through Hofstedes dimensions

Answer 30

- move beyond hofstede: he was a starting point - use multiple lenses: combine culture w politics, history, power, identity - go micro & macro: look at individuals, orgs, nations - together - contextualize culture: understand why, who, and how behind cultural behaviours

Question 31

what is high context culture vs low context culture

Answer 31

high context culture: implicit communication, intensive interpersonal relations, avoid public conflict, responsibility lies w leader low context culture: explicit communication, superficial interpersonal relations, conflict in public, shared between group members