LECT 8 Flashcards
(8 cards)
Explain the current and future state of organizational culture research
Current state:
Thousands of studies exist but lack integration due to inconsistent definitions, weak construct validity, and mismatched methodologies (Chatman & O’Reilly, 2016).
The field suffers from the culture vs. climate confusion and the “culture wars” between qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Future focus:
Combine quantitative and qualitative methods meaningfully.
Develop a robust, unified theory of culture that focuses on norms and values as social control mechanisms.
Include both psychological mechanisms and cultural context.
Analyze the methodological controversies and critical issues in quantitative culture research
Lack of construct validity in many instruments—measures predict outcomes but lack deep theoretical support.
Confusion between climate (individual, proximal, changeable) and culture (shared, stable, normative).
Quantitative tools risk oversimplifying culture by forcing typologies or fixed profiles.
Typologies often mix dimensions and constructs, lack clarity about referents (e.g., whose perception?), and neglect subcultural variation or context.
Compare various cultural typologies and profiles
Corporate character (Mercenary, Communal, Fragmented, Networked) – based on sociability and solidarity.
Competing Values Framework (CVF):
A widely used, theory-driven model that categorizes culture into four types—Clan, Adhocracy, Market, and Hierarchy—based on two dimensions:
Internal vs. External focus
Flexibility vs. Stability
It underpins the OCAI and links culture to leadership, HR roles, and organizational effectiveness.
OCP : Q-sort of 54 values measuring social control and value alignment.
OCAI Based on CVF; measures 4 culture types (Clan, Adhocracy, Market, Hierarchy) across 6 organizational dimensions.
Denison’s DOCS: Tied to effectiveness outcomes; focuses on mission, adaptability, involvement, consistency.
Each typology emphasizes different foundations (e.g., behavioral norms, organizational values, effectiveness criteria).
Analyze the main differences between OCP and OCAI, and evaluate their main limitations
OCP:
Uses Q-sort of 54 values
Focuses on individual-level value fit
Best for studying person–organization alignment
Limitation: less insight into organizational structure, and ipsative format can distort results
OCAI:
Based on CVF, with 6 items rated across 4 culture types
Captures dominant culture, strength, and congruence
Best for organizational diagnosis and guiding culture change
Limitation: mixes constructs, may oversimplify complex cultures, and is sensitive to who responds and when
Evaluate the theoretical foundation and practical application of the CVF and explain the relationship between CVF types and outcomes
Theoretical foundation:
CVF was derived from research on organizational effectiveness
Crosses two axes:
Internal vs. External focus
Flexibility vs. Stability
Yields four competing culture types:
Clan (collaborate)
Adhocracy (create)
Market (compete)
Hierarchy (control)
Practical application:
Forms the basis of the OCAI tool
Used to assess current vs. preferred culture, identify gaps, and guide culture transformation
Connects with leadership styles, HR roles, and total quality management
CVF and outcomes:
Meta-analyses (Hartnell et al., 2011 & 2019) show CVF types are linked to performance indicators like innovation, satisfaction, and profitability
However, types are correlated—suggesting less distinction than originally assumed
Despite this, CVF remains valuable for diagnosing and aligning culture with strategy and behavior
Given: Lamp manufacturer Bright is a mass producer of not too expensive, but good quality lamps. Through a highly experienced and longstanding work force, an efficient purchasing procedure and well-organized production technology, Bright succeeds in steadily expanding its profits. However, in order to survive in the long term, the continuous development of new lamp designs and sustainable lighting products is of great importance. Bright is at the forefront of their industry in this as well.
Question: Cameron and Quinn (2011) distinguish between four types of organizational cultures in their ‘Competing Values Framework’. What combination of cultures would they expect at Bright?
a) Clan and adhocracy
b) Adhocracy and market
c) Hierarchy and adhocracy
c
Given: Chatman and O’Reilly (2016) describe the state of research on organizational culture.
Question: What do they believe is an important starting point for further research on organizational culture and why?
a) Research on organizational culture should focus on developing a measurement tool that distinguishes different subclimates in order to compare organizations based on relevant elements of culture.
b) Research on organizational culture should be more quantitative, as this will do more justice to the uniqueness of each organizational culture, allowing organizational effectiveness to be better predicted.
c) Research on organizational culture should focus on the norms that can act as social control systems in an organization because they are translatable into behaviors and attitudes that can be reported on based on observation.
c
Given: Last week, we looked at macro-cultural differences between countries or groups of people, as these may impact organizational cultures. When looking at the Hofstede national culture dimensions, generally speaking, Japan scores low on Individualism, very high on Masculinity and very high on uncertainty avoidance.
The Competing Values Framework (CVF) assumes that organizations can be distinguished based on their scores on two dimensions. Imagine that you would have to analyze the culture of a large Japanese company that has existed for over 60 years and is located in Japan, focusing on the Japanese market. You decide to start your desk research by trying to formulate an expectation about what this company’s dominant culture type is according to the CVF.
Questions:
A. Describe how you would ‘translate’ the national culture scores to a score on the dimensions of the CVF. Use each of the three national culture dimensions indicated and briefly describe the behavior associated with them to clarify your scoring. (3 points)
B. What would be the dominant culture type(s) based on your scores? (1 point)
C. Hartnell et al. (2011) tested the theoretical predictions of the CVF in a meta-analysis. Based on their results, which organizational outcomes of this Japanese company would be most impacted, given your answer for B? (1 point)
A. Translating Hofstede Scores to CVF Dimensions
Low Individualism → Collectivism → Internal focus, aligns with Clan culture.
High Masculinity → Competitive, achievement-oriented → External focus, aligns with Market culture.
High Uncertainty Avoidance → Preference for rules and structure → Stability/control, aligns with Hierarchy culture.
B. Dominant Culture Type(s)
Hierarchy is likely dominant, with elements of Clan and Market.
C. Most Impacted Outcomes (Hartnell et al., 2011)
Operational effectiveness and product/service quality, linked to Hierarchy culture.
