Lesson 12

Question 1

What is an organizational culture?

Answer 1

system of shared assumptions, values and beliefs that show people what is appropriate and inappropriate behaviour

Question 2

Why does organizational culture matter?

Answer 2

• strongest assets
• biggest liability
• to have a rare and hard to imitate culture benefit from it as a competitive advantage

Question 3

Culture, and shared values in the organization lead to…

Answer 3

• increased performance

- effective control mechanism for dictating employee behaviour

Question 4

There are 3 interrelated levels of organizational culture?

Answer 4

• artifacts
• values
• assumptions

Question 5

What are assumptions?

Answer 5

taken for granted, reflect the beliefs about human nature and reality

Question 6

What values?

Answer 6

shared principles, standards and goals

Question 7

What are artifacts?

Answer 7

visible, tangible aspects of the culture (physical environment, employee interactions, company policies, reward systems)

Question 8

What are the 7 dimensions of organization culture profile?

Answer 8

• innovative
• aggressive
• outcome-oriented
• stable
• people oriented
• team oriented
• detail oriented

Question 9

Describe the innovative culture? (2)

Answer 9

• flexible, adaptable, experiment with new ideas

- flat hierarchy, titles and other status distinctions tend to be downplayed

Question 10

Describe the aggressive culture? (3)

Answer 10

• value competitiveness and outperforming competitors
• may fall short in the area of corporate social responsibilities
• aggressive in language

Question 11

Describe the outcome-oriented culture? (2)

Answer 11

• emphasize achievement, results and actions as important values
• hold employees as accountable for success and reward them

Question 12

Describe the stable culture? (2)

Answer 12

• predictable, rule oriented

- coordinate and align individual effort for greatest levels of efficiency

Question 13

Describe the people-oriented culture? (3)

Answer 13

• value fairness, supportiveness and respect for individual rights
• “people are the greatest asset”
• work is fun

Question 14

Describe team oriented culture? (2)

Answer 14

• collaborate and emphasize cooperation among employees

- more positive relationships

Question 15

Describe the detailed oriented culture? (2)

Answer 15

• emphasize precision and pay attention to details

- help with competitive advantage

Question 16

Describe the service oriented culture? (2)

Answer 16

• employees are trained to serve customers well

- desire to solve customer related problems proactivly

Question 17

Describe the safety culture? (1)

Answer 17

• competitive advantage, less accidents, maintain high moral and retention

Question 18

What is defined as a strong culture?

Answer 18

• one that is shared by organizational members,

- affects the way employees think and behave

Question 19

What is a limitation to a strong culture?

Answer 19

difficulty of changing them, unlearning the old values and learning the new values will be challenging (new way to think, behave, respond)

Question 20

What is a subculture?

Answer 20

one where there are different departments, branches, or geographic locations which all have different cultures

Question 21

What is a counter culture?

Answer 21

shared values and beliefs that are in direct opposition to the values of a broader organizational culture (shaped around a charismatic leader)

Question 22

How are cultures created and maintained?

Answer 22

organizations culture is shaped as the organization faces external and internal challenges and learns how to deal with them

Question 23

What is a companies culture tied to?

Answer 23

the personality, background and values of its founders, and the vision for the future

Question 24

Why is culture so hard to change?

Answer 24

it is shaped in the early stages of the company when people start up their business

Question 25

How do industry characteristics and demands play a role in corporate cultures?

Answer 25

act as a forcer to create similarities among the culture

Question 26

How is organizational culture maintained?

Answer 26

attraction-selection-attrition (ASA)

Question 27

How does the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) work?

Answer 27

- employees are attracted to the organizations where they will fit in - companies look for people that will fit in their organization - there may be new people who do not fit in, they will leave the organization through attrition

Question 28

What are 5 visual aspects of culture?

Answer 28

- mission statement - rituals - rules and policies - physical layout - stories

Question 29

What is a mission statement?

Answer 29

statement of purpose, describing who the company is and what it does

Question 30

What makes for an effective mission statement? (3)

Answer 30

- well known by all employees - transmitted starting on first day of work - influences employee behaviour

Question 31

What is a problem with mission statements?

Answer 31

reflect who the company wants to be as opposed to who they actually are

Question 32

What are rituals?

Answer 32

refer to repetitive activities within an organization that have symbolic meaning

Question 33

What do rituals teach employees? (2)

Answer 33

- corporate values | - create identification

Question 34

Why do companies create rules?

Answer 34

- to determine acceptable and unacceptable behaviour | - signal the companies values

Question 35

What do stories tell about the culture?

Answer 35

the company’s history, its values and priorities, and serve the purpose of creating a bond between the new employee and the organization.