Lecture 15 & 16

Question 1

What are features of Culture?

Answer 1

Beliefs, Values, Routines, Norms, Rules

Question 2

What are some reasons for the emergence of organisational culture?

Answer 2

Decline in religious belief, Advances in technology, the “Japanese Miracle”, globalisation

Question 3

What is organisational culture?

Answer 3

The collection of values, beliefs and practices that an organisation establishes to guide the conduct of its employees and business

Question 4

Hofstede: what are the model features?

Answer 4

Indulgence vs restraint, long term vs short term, Masculinity vs femininity, tolerance of uncertainty, Individuality, Power distance

Question 5

Hofstede: What is Power Distance Index

Answer 5

Acceptance of power inequality: High PDI - hierarchical, centralised, Low PDI egalitarian workplace, employees empowered

Question 6

Hofstede: Individualism vs Collectivism

Answer 6

Group integration, individualism emphasises personal achievements, autonomy, collectivism prioritises group cohesion loyalty and collective interest

Question 7

Hofstede: Masculinity vs Femininity cultures

Answer 7

Masculinity: Value competitiveness, ambition, material success
Femininity: emphasises work-life balance, care, quality of relationships

Question 8

Hofstede: Uncertainty avoidance Index (UAI)

Answer 8

threat of ambiguity:
High UAI: prefer structured situations, clear rules, predictability
Low UAI: open to risk taking, innovation, tolerance for ambiguity

Question 9

Hofstede Long vs Short-term Orientation

Answer 9

Long-term: values persistence, thrift, long-term planning
Short-term: prioritises respect for tradition, social obligations and quick results

Question 10

Hofstede: Indulgence vs Restraint

Answer 10

Openness to leisure
Indulgence: encourages personal enjoyment, fun, freedom of expression
Restraint: Emphasises self-control, discipline and adherence to social norms

Question 11

Dean and Kennedy Model: What are its features?

Answer 11

Has two axis, feedback and reward (slow vs fast) and Risk (high vs low)

Question 12

Dean and Kennedy: What is the work hard, play hard culture?

Answer 12

Fast and low, focuses on high energy and customer satisfaction with frequent celebration of success e.g. restaurants, customer service sector

Question 13

Dean and Kennedy: What is the process culture?

Answer 13

Slow and low, stable, methodical focuses on routine, formal processes and consistency e.g. Banks, insurance, government

Question 14

Dean and Kennedy: what is the Tough-guy/Macho culture?

Answer 14

Fast and High, thrives on risk and rapid feedback, individual achievements and resilience e.g. police, film/entertainment, sports

Question 15

Dean and Kennedy: What is the bet-your-company culture?

Answer 15

Slow and high, cautious, high stakes involves risk and long-term investments e.g. aerospace and oil industry

Question 16

Handy Model: What are the features?

Answer 16

Centralisation (Low vs high), Formalisation (high vs low)

Question 17

Handy: What is the role culture (Apollo)?

Answer 17

High centralisation and formalisation, rules, hierarchy, bureaucracies and big businesses in stable environments

Question 18

Handy: What is the task culture (Athena)?

Answer 18

High centralisation, Low formalisation, flexible, task orientated, team based, service organisation and adhocracies in competitive environments

Question 19

Handy: What is the Power Culture?

Answer 19

Low centralisation, high formalisation, personal power and charisma, short lines of communication, entrepreneurs, small businesses in turbulent environments

Question 20

Handy: What is the Person culture (Dionysus)?

Answer 20

Low centralisation and formalisation, individual talents and ambitions, status based on profession, professional service firms in predictable environments

Question 21

Cameron and Quinn Model: What are the features?

Answer 21

Inward vs outward focus, focus on stability and control

Question 22

Cameron and Quinn: What is the Clan culture?

Answer 22

Inwards looking, flexible, team-work and collaboration, close nit and supportive

Question 23

Cameron and Quinn: What is the Hierarchy culture?

Answer 23

Inward looking, focused on control, value efficiency, process, structure, order and predictability

Question 24

Cameron and Quinn: What is the Adhocracy culture?

Answer 24

Outward looking, flexible, fast paced, dynamic and entrepreneurial, innovate, take risk and dynamic

Question 25

Cameron and Quinn: What is the Market culture?

Answer 25

Outward looking, focused on stability and control, outcome driven, focused on competing and winning, market achievement oriented

Question 26

Johnson & Scholes cultural web: What are the features of this model?

Answer 26

Stories, Rituals & Routines, symbols, org structure, power structure, control systems

Question 27

Johnson & Scholes: What are stories?

Answer 27

The narrative, stories and examples spoken about within the business

Question 28

Johnson and Scholes: What are rituals & routines?

Answer 28

The unspoken rules and ways of doing things

Question 29

Johnson and Scholes: What are symbols?

Answer 29

They physical and metaphorical symbols used in the organisation

Question 30

Johnson and Scholes: What is org structure?

Answer 30

The way organisations are explicitly and implicitly structured (used within organisations)

Question 31

Johnson and Scholes: What is power structure?

Answer 31

The way power is managed and handled, pockets of power within the org

Question 32

Johnson and Scholes: What are control systems?

Answer 32

the control mechanisms within the organisation - finance, performance management, results, rewards

Question 33

What are some mainstream approaches?

Answer 33

- Top-down perspective of culture - integrate organisations - consider organisational culture as amenable to managerial manipulation - 'well-managed' culture linked to performance

Question 34

What are critiques of mainstream approaches?

Answer 34

- management centric - Organisational culture is complex and layered - Positivist and quantitative view - Emphasised the culture - Performance links - Assumptions about human nature

Question 35

What are some managerial biases in organisational culture?

Answer 35

- Top-driven culture - Culture as separate from management - Managerial bias - Positivist approach (culture measurable and controllable for outcomes)

Question 36

Organisational culture: what are some further features of culture?

Answer 36

- Complex and layered, includes subcultures - Conflicting interests between stakeholders - Incongruent values and beliefs across org

Question 37

Organisational culture: What is the positivist approach?

Answer 37

Culture is seen as a part of the management toolkit and can be adjusted for org changes

Question 38

Organisational culture: What are quantitative research methods?

Answer 38

Emphasis on empirical studies using surveys and predefined categories?

Question 39

Organisational culture: What are limited interpretivist approaches?

Answer 39

less focus on understanding culture through qualitative methods, such as interviews and observations

Question 40

Organisational culture: What are features of the culture-performance link?

Answer 40

- Emphasis on cultural change (assumes culture change improves performance) - Serves managerial interests - neglects non-dominant voices

Question 41

Organisational culture: What are assumptions about people in organisations?

Answer 41

- Passivity of people - Pre-constructed symbols, beliefs, values - are values shared? - Assumptions about diffusion, acculturation, assimilation - Human agency

Question 42

Organisational culture: What is the critical perspective?

Answer 42

- Organisation are cultures - Explores role of power and inequality - What is symbolic and meaningful to individuals - Advocated for an interpretivist approach - Recognises incongruent values among stakeholders - Challenges the idea of bureaucratic control and acknowledges employees active participants

Question 43

Organisational culture studies: What are key critical studies on organisational culture?

Answer 43

- Ackroyd & Crowdy's case - Kunda's Work - Collinson's Research

Question 44

Ackroyd & Crowdy's case: What was their study?

Answer 44

Looked at abattoir workers, had formal leaders but real leaders were those doing 'dirtiest' work, had a function and symbolic hierarchy and that workers had inverted values to wider societal values

Question 45

Kunda's Work: What was their findings?

Answer 45

Employees encouraged to merge their sense of self with organisation, employees distanced themselves from orgs ideology, maintaining emotional distance, which acted as a safety value to express frustrations, preventing serious dissent.

Question 46

Collinson Engineering Humour - What were their findings?

Answer 46

Studied lorry-making factory workers, found humour as a coping mechanism of employees and that it became a subculture to help them cope with work demands and reinforced creativity

Question 47

Organisational culture studies: What were critical issues arising from the studies?

Answer 47

- Collaborative culture creation - Symbolic meaning - Adapting to demands - Organic development - Cultural traffic - Diversity awareness - Active role of employees