lecture slides

1. ENGM 116 – Leadership and the
Management of Project Risk, Quality
and People
Lecture 5:2
Organisational Culture

2. Learning Outcomes
• To define Organisational Culture.
• To describe and analyse several models relating
to culture including
• To analyse Schein’s Model of Culture.
• To analyse the key dimensions of Hofstede’s
work Model of National Culture.
• To describe and analyse Pascale’s Model of
Socialisation.

3. Definitions of Culture
• ‘ …a pattern of basic assumptions invented,
discovered or developed by a given group as it
learns to cope with its problems or external
adaptation and internal integration- that has
worked well enough in the past to be considered
valid and, therefore, to be taught to new
members as the correct way to perceive, think
and feel in relation to those problems’
(Schein)

4. Definition
• ‘ The way we do things around here’
• [collection of relatively uniform and enduring
values, beliefs, customs, traditions and
practices shared by organisation’s members
and learned by new recruits. Transmitted
from one generation of employees to the
next]

5. Why is Culture Important?
• History
• Commitment to management values
• Control
• Links to productivity and
profitability

6. Organisational Culture (Shein)
• ARTEFACTS & CREATIONS
• VALUES
• BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

7. A Framework for Culture (Schein)
[Surface manifestations of culture – cultures
most accessible forms which are visible and
audible behaviour patterns and objects]
See next slide

8. ARTEFACTS & CREATIONS
VALUES
BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
Technology
Art
Visible and audible behaviour patterns
Testable in the physical environment
Testable only by social consensus
Relationship to environment
Nature of Time and space
Nature of human nature
Nature of human activity
Visible but
often not
decipherable
Greater level of
awareness
Taken for granted
A Framework for Culture (Schein)

9. Artefacts
[Material objects created by human hands]
• Logos
• Uniform
• Stories
• Rituals
• Ceremonies [a system of several rites
connected within a single event]

10. Values
For example:
• Integrity
• Loyalty
• Care
• Green
• Competition
• Innovation

11. Values
[organizational values those things that have a
personal/organizational worth or meaning to founder or
senior manage]
• Toyota way
• Kaizen – continuous improvement
• Genchi genbutsu – go to source of problem to find facts
and build consensus
• Challenge – see problems as opportunities
• Teamwork – co’s interests before individual
• Respect – for other people – skills etc]

12. Where does Organisational Culture
come from?
[Philosophy of founder leads to
Selection criteria which leads to both
Top management and Socialization which
are linked and they feed into Org Cult

13. • Seminal work - Tom Peters and Robert
Waterman’s book ‘In Search of
Excellence’ (1982, publisher Harper &
Row, New York) linked the 7-S framework
[(as introduced in lecture 1)] to
organisational success and positioned
values at the centre, holding the other
elements together.

14. 14
Strategy
Structure
Systems
Staff
Skills Style/ Culture
McKinsey 7-S Framework of Management
Superordinate
goals

15. Basic Assumptions - Schein
• [Basic Assumptions (Schein says that this is what culture is really about -
artefacts and values are the ways in which it is shown - ]
• Some examples are given below:-
– Relationship with environment[ - in tune with
nature, a company diverts its access road to
preserve a wild habitat]
– Nature of human nature[ - doctors may act
ethically to save lives]
– Survival of the fittest

16. • Nature of time [- ‘Now’ may mean immediately in
some cultures rather than some time in the future
(presently)]
• Nature of human relationships[ - managers
may regard employees as lazy and stupid (Theory X
assumption) or as having potential and wanting to work
(Theory Y assumption)]
Basic Assumptions - Schein

17. Limitations to Managerial Control
of Culture?
• Some organisations might already have a
strong culture which they wish to retain; others
might have cultures which are still embryonic. In
both cases there will be a need to at least
maintain if not develop these cultures. Some
writers would argue that culture is extremely
difficult to alter

18. Power, Role and Task Culture
Seminal work - Charles Hand 1979
Power culture
A Web
– All powerful centre
– Rays of power and
influence spread
from centre

19. The Role Culture
Works by logic and procedures: Greek Temple
•Have strong functional areas
•[Finance department, purchasing]
•Is bureaucratic [in that it has a sense of order,
rules, procedures, fairness]

20. Task Culture
• Represented by a net
• Project orientated
• Emphasis on getting the job done
• [Characterised by
• Project teams
• Adaptability
• Influence based on expert power]

21. Organisational Socialisation
• [Process by which individual is influenced to
conform to ‘desirable organizational behaviour
• Pre-arrival stage – period of learning prior to
joining organization
• Encounter stage – new recruit learns
• Role modelling – new recruit learns by example
• Metamorphosis stage - new recruit adjusts to
organizational values etc.]

22. Solicalisation Model
Careful selection
of entry-level
candidates
Humility- Inducing
experiences promote
openness towards
accepting
organization’s norms
and values
Consistent Role Models
Reinforcing folklore
In-the-trenches training
leads to mastery of
core discipline
Rewards and control systems
are meticulously refined
to reinforce behaviour that
is deemed pivotal to success
in the workplace
Adherence to values enables
the reconciliation of
personal sacrifices
START
DESELECT
STEPS OF ORGANISATION CULTURE SOCIALISATION (Pascale, 1985)

23. Solicalisation Model
• 1. Selection of Candidates
Trained recruiters select entry-level candidates – applicants ‘deselect’
if org does not fit their values etc.
Pre-arrival stage socialization
• 2. ‘Humility Inducing Experiences’
• Encourages entrants to question past beliefs etc.
• Military e.g.; The regulation haircut
• Getting ‘kitted out’ for the first time
• ‘Square bashing’ (marching in formation)
• The assault course
• Being ‘eyeballed’ by a corporal or sergeant
• Inspection parades

24. Solicalisation Model
• 3. In the trenches training.
• Imbues staff with the organizational way of doing things
• 4. Rewards and Control Systems
• Performances assessed and rewarded – links to competitive
success and its values
• Salary increase / Promotion / Keeping your job!
• Other (status) symbols nice office, car etc.
• Being given interesting and prestigious work

25. Solicalization Model
• [5. Reinforcing Folklore
• New entrants exposed to organizational stories/myths
through interactions with colleagues – provided code of
conduct showing ‘how things are done around here’
• 6. Providing Consistent Role Models
• Entrants introduced to ‘winners’ who possess traits /
behaviours to achieve results valued by firm – may mark the
metamorphosis stage of socialization where entrants adjust
to organizational values and norms]

26. Culture and Nationality
• The work of Geert Hofstede
• Explored differences in national culture in
4 dimensions:
– Power-Distance Dimension
– Uncertainty-Avoidance Dimension
– Individualism-Collectivism Dimension
– Masculinity-Femininity Dimension

27. Power-Distance Dimension
• [The extent to which the culture encourages
superiors to exercise power and for
subordinates to accept this as legitimate. High
power distance = inequalities accepted
• The extent to which an unequal distribution of
power is accepted by members of society]

28. Uncertainty-Avoidance Dimension
• [The extent to which people try to avoid risk.
• In high uncertainty avoidance people do not
want risk; they prefer stable conditions with
rules and more certain outcomes; they don’t like
ambiguity
• Feel threatened by ambiguous situations –
create beliefs to avoid this]

29. Individualism-Collectivism Dimension
• [In an individualist culture focus is on the
individual; privacy; personal achievement
• In a collectivist culture the focus is much more
on the group, group achievement
• The tendency to take care of ourselves and
family Vs working together for the collective
good]

30. Masculinity-Femininity Dimension
• [Masculine culture-being ‘macho’-money,
materials, ambition are good
• Feminine-caring values, concern for quality of
life
• Extent to which assertive masculine values
predominate Vs concern for others and quality
of life]

31. Long – Short term orientation
• [the ability to pursue long-term goals and
general goals Vs short-term gain and
advantage ]

32. Criticisms
• [Research methodology – Hofstede studied only
IBM employees in different countries sometimes
small number of respondents (37) National
stereotyping – he assumed cultures fixed and
unchanging
• Causation – ignored effect of many other
variables]

33. LOW MEDIUM HIGH
Power
Distance
Uncertainty
Avoidance
Individualism
Masculinity
UK, USA Japan France
UK USA France
Japan
Japan
UK
USA,France
France
UK
USA, Japan
France, USA, UK & Japan using Hofstede’s Dimensions

35. REFERENCES
• Huczynski, A and Buchanan, D (2017)
Organizational Behaviour (9th Ed.) Pearson Higher
Education.
• Kerzner, H., Project Management: A Systems
Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling
(12th ed.) John Wiley and Sons ISBN (2017).

36. SELF STUDY ACTIVITIES
• Prepare for the tutorials
• Read to support lectures 5:1 & 5:2
• Read in preparation for lectures 6:1 &
6:2

37. NEXT WEEK
• Lecture 6:1 EFQM and self-assessment
• Lecture 6:2 Communication