Strategy and organisational culture Flashcards
CULTURE AND HISTORY
The textbook’s definition of what is happening ‘today’ is summed up in the what, where people are either doing what 3 things?
How does this link to culture?
What 3 things do the parameters of the operational circle represent?
Summed up in the operational circle where people are either (1) IMPLEMENTing the previously defined strategic tactics, (2) MONITORing the results of that implementation, or (3) making permitted ADJUSTments within the currently permitted parameters of the operation of the organisation
All 3 of these aspects (implement, monitor, adjust) are constantly happening within the culture of every organisation
Represent (1) the working everyday culture of the organisation, (2) the accumulated history of strategic thought, and (3) the decisions that have been taken
CULTURE AND HISTORY
To be able to understand the culture of an organisation requires consideration of its history.
Many organisations have long histories and their cultural drivers can stem back many years. Often these cultural drivers are intrinsically linked with what?
What is a negative aspect of this?
Name an example or an organisation where the name and the culture associated with that name continue to this day.
linked with the beliefs of the founders, which have remained as a core part of the organisational ethos and are immediately recognised by a wide group of stakeholders
= there can be conflicting visions between founders and directors = some organisations have had issues when they have a dominant shareholder e.g., Rupert Murdoch and News International
John Lewis
CULTURE AND HISTORY
Barney (1986) suggests that each organisation has a unique culture that has developed over the life of that organisation and is embedded in the history and heritage of the organisation and its employees.
The effective development of strategy requires an understanding of what?
How can this be achieved? (2)
Understanding of how an organisation behaves, and why it behaves in that way
by:
1. considering the historical development of the organisation, the different forces that have impacted upon its behaviours, and
2. by considering how it aligns with
the stereotypical models of culture (based on other organisations)
CULTURE AND HISTORY - ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
How does Barney (1986) describe culture? (A complex set of what, that defines what?)
What 2 advantages does he suggest a good culture can do for an organisation?
What is a frequently occurring definition of the word ‘culture’? Why?
= a complex set of values, beliefs, assumptions and symbols that define how a firm conducts its business
- deliver competitive advantage
- improve efficiency through enabling appropriate focus on areas such as customers or innovation
= ‘the way we do things around here’
= epitomises exactly what is meant by culture;
* WAY and DO: the manner in which something is done within an organisation.
* WE: the people who operate the organisation.
* HERE: culture is specific to an organisation or a situation
CULTURE AND HISTORY - ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
What are the 3 levels of organisational culture that Schein (2004) suggests exist?
- Underlying assumptions = held unconsciously by employees = implicitly guide the behaviour and opinions of employees for most day-to-day operational activities
- Values = promoted within an organisation, to epitomise what that organisation stands for = values allow an individual to decide how to tackle situation/decision that is not resolved automatically through the underlying assumptions
Tone from the top important! - Artefacts = the visible and tangible evidence of organisational culture e.g., structure/layout of workspace, written and spoken language within the organisation
CULTURE AND HISTORY - STRATEGIC DRIFT
Much of emergent strategy is based upon incremental change which develops from cultural influences within an organisation.
What is meant by strategic drift as referred to by Johnson (2017)?
What are the 4 phases in the drift process?
Strategic drift = there is often a time gap between the development of the strategy and the changes within the environment
- Incremental strategic change = small changes that occur during long periods of relative stability = external environment changing slowly so organisational strategy can adapt gradually without the need for radical change
- Strategic drift = occurs where micro and macro environmental changes restrict the ability of an organisation to amend its strategy = organisation will continue on an incremental change path with an increasing gap developing between the planned strategic path and the surrounding environment
- Flux = caused by the gaps that have developed during the strategic drift stage = can often cause significant periods of disagreement and complexity = different factions will try to find alternative methods to either change strategy or implement a radical environmental adaptation
- Transformation or death = the result that naturally emanates from the stage of flux = either there is an agreed resolution to realign the strategy with its external environment, or the strategy ceases to exist
CULTURE AND HISTORY - THE INFLUENCE OF THE PAST
To fully understand the culture of an organisation, it is essential to understand and be able to identify what?
What will this require consideration of?
understand how an organisation has evolved and be able to identify internal, micro, and macro forces that have resulted in the current structure, personnel, and culture
consideration of the people who have been, and continue to be, involved with the organisation and the way they have chosen to shape and influence the culture of the business, both top-down and bottom-up
CULTURE AND HISTORY - THE IMPORTANCE OF RECOGNISING BIAS
How does culture relate to Argyris (1990) ladder of inference? How does it inform and develop culture?
The use of the ‘inference’ model suggests what?
What can this process be described as?
At the outset of each process in the ladder, the brain will be influenced by the surrounding culture at that point and therefore inform and develop the culture further by the decision made or action taken
suggests that the penultimate stage before action or decision, combined with the result of the action or decision, will inform the earlier stage of ‘data filtration’
= the basis of prejudice or bias within the brain
CULTURE AND HISTORY - THE IMPORTANCE OF RECOGNISING BIAS
An Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) publication, ‘Banishing Bias’ (2017), recognises 12 frequent types of bias.
Name 6 of them that are most relevant to EZH.
Why is this important for a company secretary?
- Outcome = results rather than origination (Eddy focused on profits)
- Conjunction = predefined linkage in our minds (Eddy been successful with other projects prior to EZH and sees AI as a profit exploiting opportunity in healthcare)
- Availability / Selectivity = not looking beyond the obvious (Eddy only seeing money potential)
- Recency = not looking far enough back (Eddy not appreciating EZH history and what made EZH so successful under Niamh)
- Overconfidence = ‘we know better’ (Eddy believes he knows better due to his previous success as a technological visionary)
- Blindspot = lack of 360 vision (Eddy failing to see vision of AI industry and specifically its application to healthcare)
Given the objectivity required in the consideration of strategy, it is important to be aware of the range of different cognitive biases, including their own, which will be affecting the development of strategy
UNDERSTANDING CULTURE
To understand the cultural conflict and cultural alignment that exists within an organisation it is important to consider what?
CULTURAL FRAMES OF REFERENCE
What are the 3 main cultural frames that need to be taken into consideration to understand how and why an individual behaves in a particular way as suggested by Johnson (2017)?
the different frames of reference for those cultures, where they originate, and their differing impacts
to understand how and why an individual behaves in a particular way, need to consider:
1. geographic = mixture of national and regional influences
2. organisational field = the sector of the industry with its differing professional influencers
3. organisation = the intermix of subcultures and divisions within the organisation itself
UNDERSTANDING CULTURE - CULTURAL FRAMES OF REFERENCE - GEOGRAPHIC
It is recognised by many writers that people originating from different countries and regions may have significantly differing attitudes to work and authority.
Hofstede (1980) suggested that there are at least 4 key dimensions to take into consideration with regard to national culture. What are they?
Why has his work been criticised?
- The relationship with authority and the acceptance of inequality = democratic approach or dictatorship?
- The relationship between an individual and groups of people = individualism (US) or collectivism (South America)
- The longevity of the vision = shorter-term perspective (North America) or longer-term orientation (Asian cultures)
- The tolerance of uncertainty and ambiguity = Hofstede suggested that Japanese culture is associated with a high intolerance of uncertainty
some say his ‘whole country’ approach fails to recognise the significant cultural differences that exist between different regions within 1 individual country
UNDERSTANDING CULTURE - CULTURAL FRAMES OF REFERENCE - ORGANISATIONAL FIELD
What does the concept of an ‘organisational field’ describe?
What are the 3 different types of concept that Johnson (2017) suggests are useful to consider with regard to cultural impact of an organisational field?
Describes any group of organisations that have frequent contact and relationships with each other and therefore developed a shared cultural approach e.g., accountancy/law/finance (cross-sectoral influencers)
- Categorisation = the labelling of activities, products or services to identify societal impact e.g., in technology - differentiate marketing and use of computers, tablets, mobile phones
- Recipes = a set of assumptions, norms and routines that are held in common, sometimes referred to as ‘best practice’ for that field e.g., UK Corporate Governance Code
- Legitimacy = the institutionalisation of categories and recipes over time will lead to an assumption that people operating within the field should always follow these particular strategic routes e.g., UK universities adapt and reflect their mutual approach to a diversity of degree courses
UNDERSTANDING CULTURE - CULTURAL FRAMES OF REFERENCE - ORGANISATION
What are the 4 constituent parts of the culture of an organisation?
- Mission = the underlying causes of the heartbeat of an organisation
e.g., those areas of strategic direction that are held closely and often with deep conviction - Methods = the habits of the organisation, why certain tasks are carried out in certain ways
= the communication infrastructure (or lack thereof) and the means of transforming inputs into outputs - Principles = the hierarchical structure within the organisation and the flow of information to enable the fulfilment of tasks
E.g., the structure of interactions and communication with differing stakeholders - Values = the fundamental beliefs about humanity that pervade the organisation (individualism vs. collectivism, authority vs. democracy)
E.g., the ethical standards that employees are expected to adhere to
UNDERSTANDING CULTURE - SUB-CULTURES
In anything other than a single-person organisation there will be an interplay of the main cultural drivers with a range of differing subcultures.
What might these be based around? (3)
These might be based around
(1) the behaviour and expectations of different individuals
(2) different local, national and regional cultures in a large multi-national, and/or
(3) different internal departments and operational functions within the same office (e.g. there is often a different cultural approach between a sales team and a finance team)
UNDERSTANDING CULTURE - MODELS OF CULTURE
Culture will vary from and between what?
Should models be used as a fixed framework?
What are the 3 different models?
Culture will vary from organisation to organisation and between timeframes within the same organisation
No, only ever as a benchmark
- Harrison and Handy: cultural types
- Deal and Kennedy: organisational cultures
- Johnson: the cultural web
