Lecture 5

Question 1

Corporate culture model (levels) of E. Schein

Answer 1

Symbols & 7ysigns:
• Tangible: clothes, corporate buildings,
• Intangible: language, manners, customs & traditions,

Values & norms:
• Target values (e.g. quality, low costs) & instrumental values (behaviors like thriftiness, supportiveness, hard work)
• Behavioral guidelines, SOPs, preferences, prohibitions, type of employee assessment & control over them

World view & basic assumptions:
• Human image: Theory X or Theory Y
• Determinants of social relationships: Ranking based on age, tenure, performance, origin?
• Teamwork or internal competition?
• Risk Aversion
• Decision-making by authorities or group consensus

Question 2

Dimensions of cultural differences in various countries: framework of G. Hofstede

Answer 2

• Power distance ( Extent of acceptance of unequal power distribution by organizational members) (talk to CEO with the first name, Certain order for greeting, man/women in marriage)
• Individualism vs. collectivism (USA, Japan)
• Masculinity vs. femininity ( Arabic countries little right for women, Sweden mans seat with children at home)
• Uncertainty avoidance (in Germany if you were faired, you will get a worse job in the future)
• Long-term orientation (Greece have big debts, no long term orientation)

Question 3

Organizational change: Force field of K. Lewin

Answer 3

Lewin’s force field analysis is used to distinguish which factors within a situation or organization drive a person towards or away from the desired state, and which oppose the driving forces.

Successful change is achieved by either strengthening the driving forces or weakening the restraining forces.

Apple forced IBM to change organizational structure (restructuring, lean processes, autonomous or cross-functional workgroups, the transformation of the business model)
They had a very strong pressure to change

Question 4

K. Lewin‘s model of the organizational change process

Answer 4

Unfreezing
• Crisis due to (losses, quality issues, competitors)
• Create a „sense of urgency“ (Exams in FH)

Moving
• Implementation of organizational change
• Change agents as role models (Experienced guys in the company).
• Confusion during transition

Freezing

• Stabilization (structure)
• Rewards for behaving in a new way

Question 5

The most important Change Management factors

Answer 5

• Communication (don’t leave in the dark employees, beeing open )
• Participation (More ppl involve the better it is)