CH-14-16 Jobs and the Design of Work – Organizational Behavior: Science, The Real World, and You : Chapter Notes

This Document Contains Chapters 14 to 16 14. JOBS AND THE DESIGN OF WORK CHAPTER SCAN Work design is important because of the impact the design has on productivity. The Job Characteristics Model includes skill variety, task significance, task identity, autonomy, and feedback as major considerations for job design. In contrast, the social information-processing model considers information from others in the organization about the work to be just as important. This chapter examines the meaning of work, four traditional approaches to job design, four alternative approaches to job design, and emerging issues in job design. LEARNING OBJECTIVES PPT Slides 2, 3 After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following: 1. Define the term job, and identify six patterns of defining work. 2. Discuss the four traditional approaches to job design. 3. Describe the Job Characteristics Model. 4. Compare the social information-processing (SIP) model with traditional job design approaches. 5. Explain ergonomics and the interdisciplinary framework for the design of work. Compare Japanese, German, and Scandinavian approaches to work. Explain how job control, uncertainty, and conflict can be managed for employee well-being. 8. Discuss five contemporary issues in the design of work. key terms Chapter 14 introduces the following key terms: anthropocentric job sharing counter-role behavior lean production cross-training meaning of work engagement social information processing (SIP) model ergonomics sociotechnical systems (STS) flextime task revision job technocentric Job Characteristics Model (JCM) technostress Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) virtual office job enlargement work job enrichment work simplification job rotation THE CHAPTER SUMMARIZED I. THINKING AHEAD: Ford Motor Company – Where’s Your Wi-Fi? II. WORK IN ORGANIZATIONS PPT Slide 4 A job is defined as an employee’s specific work and task activities in an organization. Work is effortful, productive activity that results in a product or service. Work plays an important role in connecting people to reality. Work is organized into jobs, and people get work done through sets of task and authority relationships that make up organizations. A. The Meaning of Work Table 14.1; PPT Slides 5-7 The meaning of work is the way a person interprets and understands the value of work as part of life. It differs from person to person, and from culture to culture. One recent study found six patterns people follow in defining work that help explain the cultural differences in people’s motivation to work. Nevertheless, people in many cultures seem to make a similar distinction between the nature of their work and the context in which they perform the work. B. Jobs in Organizations PPT Slide 8 Jobs are the basic building block of the task and authority relationships that define an organization's structure. Differentiation is the process of subdividing organizational work into jobs. Integration is the process of connecting jobs into a coordinated, cohesive whole. Jobs are interdependent and require careful planning and design. III. TRADITIONAL APPROACHES TO JOB DESIGN PPT Slide 9 Failure to differentiate, integrate, or both may result in poorly designed jobs, which may lead to performance problems. In contrast, well-designed jobs improve productivity and enhance employee satisfaction. Four approaches to job design developed during the twentieth century include scientific management, job enlargement/job rotation, job enrichment, and the job characteristics theory. A. Scientific Management PPT Slide 10 Scientific management emphasized work simplification through job specialization. Work simplification is the standardization and the narrow, explicit specification of task activities for workers. The scientific management approach emphasized efficiency but also dehumanized labor. It undervalues the human capacity for thought and ingenuity, resulting in boring, monotonous work and lack of involvement. The Real World 14.1: Scientific Efficiency at Eli Lilly John Lechleiter, a former bench scientist and current CEO at Eli Lilly wants to bring scientific management, assembly line technology, and critical chain techniques to the development of new drugs. Doing so is critical because the company needs to replace $10 billion in lost annual revenues due to expiring patents by 2016. The goal is to turn drug development into something like automobile manufacturing with an assembly line of tasks that work in concert to make the final product quickly and efficiently. Between R&D investment and efficiency initiatives, Lechleiter aims to lift Lilly beyond its patent revenue cliff. B. Job Enlargement/Job Rotation PPT Slide 11 Job enlargement is a method of job design that increases the number of tasks in a job in an attempt to overcome the boredom of overspecialization. Job rotation is the systematic shifting of workers from one task to another over time. These approaches did not change the nature of the tasks performed, but did improve work with regard to repetition and the mechanical work pace. Cross-training is a variation of job enlargement in which workers are trained in different specialized tasks or activities. C. Job Enrichment PPT Slide 12 Job enrichment designs jobs by incorporating motivational factors into them. Job enrichment increases the amount of responsibility in a job through vertical loading. Employees are given more tasks, and more freedom and control in carrying out those tasks. Job enrichment is based on an oversimplified motivational theory and does not consider individual differences among employees. D. Job Characteristics Theory Figure 14.1; PPT Slides 13-15 The Hackman and Oldham model of job characteristics is a framework for understanding person-job fit through the interaction of core job dimensions with critical psychological states within a person. The Job Characteristics Model includes five core job characteristics: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback from the job itself. The model also includes three critical psychological states: experienced meaningfulness of the work; experienced responsibility for work outcomes; and knowledge of results. Unless all of the characteristics are present, the outcome proposed may only result in short-term success. The easiest aspects to enhance are skill variety and task identity. The Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) is a survey instrument designed to measure the elements in the Job Characteristics Model. An alternative to the JDS is the Job Characteristics Inventory (JCI). Although not as comprehensive as the JDS, the JCI does measure core job characteristics. E. Engagement PPT Slide 16 Meaningfulness, safety, and availability are three important psychological conditions that affect employees’ engagement in their jobs and work roles. Engagement refers to the harnessing of organizational members to their work roles. Science: Job Engagement and Job Performance In a recent study, researchers theorized that engagement provides a more comprehensive explanation of relationships with performance than do well-known concepts such as job involvement, job satisfaction, and intrinsic motivation. With a sample of 245 firefighters and their supervisors, researchers found that engagement was significantly more important than job involvement, job satisfaction, or intrinsic motivation in affecting performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Also, higher levels of value congruence, perceived organizational support, and core self-evaluations were associated with higher levels of job engagement. IV. ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO JOB DESIGN Limitations of the traditional job design approaches have stimulated the development of four alternative approaches. These alternative approaches to job design include social information- processing (SIP), ergonomics and the interdisciplinary framework, the international perspective, and the health and well-being approach. A. Social Information Processing PPT Slide 17 The social information processing (SIP) model suggests that important job factors depend in part on what others tell a person about the job. It emphasizes the interpersonal aspects of work design and helps people construct social realities associated with their jobs. B. Ergonomics and Interdisciplinary Framework Table 14.2; PPT Slide 18 Ergonomics is the science of adapting work and working conditions to the employee or worker. This framework incorporates engineering, biology, and psychology to develop an interdisciplinary framework for the design of work, and includes the mechanistic, motivational, biological, and perceptual/motor approaches to job design because it asserts that no one approach is comprehensive enough to solve the problems caused by poorly designed jobs. Table 14.2 summarizes the positive and negative outcomes of each job design approach. 1. Mechanistic Approach PPT Slide 19 The mechanistic approach is patterned after the scientific approach and has its roots in mechanical engineering. Outcomes include decreased training time and less likelihood of errors, as well as lower job satisfaction and lower motivation. 2. Motivational Approach PPT Slide 19 The motivational approach draws from industrial psychology and results in higher job satisfaction and higher motivation, but also involves increased training time and a greater chance of errors. 3. Biological Approach PPT Slide 19 The biological approach results in less physical effort and fatigue and higher job satisfaction, but requires higher financial costs because of the necessity to change equipment in order to achieve those reductions. 4. Perceptual Motor Approach PPT Slide 19 Experimental psychology produced the perceptual/motor approach that reduces the likelihood of accidents and errors, and decreases training time. However, it also results in lower job satisfaction and motivation. C. International Perspectives on the Design of Work 1. The Japanese Approach PPT Slide 20 Japanese work systems emphasize performance, accountability, and other- or self-directedness in defining work. The Japanese have been very successful with lean production methods that use committed employees to achieve zero waste, 100 percent good product, delivered on time, every time. Lean production is similar to sociotechnical systems (STS), but differs in that STS gives greater emphasis to teamwork and self-managed and autonomous work groups, the ongoing nature of the design process, and human values in the work process. 2. The German Approach PPT Slide 21 The German approach to job design originally consisted of a technocentric focus on technology and engineering, but has moved to an anthropocentric, or human centered, approach more recently. 3. The Scandinavian Approach PPT Slide 23 The Scandinavian perspective places its emphasis on worker control and social support systems more than on industrial efficiency. D. Work Design and Well-Being Figure 14.2; PPT Slides 22, 24-28 Organizations should consider the effects of job design on worker health and well-being. Some ways in which organizations can impact worker health and well-being include increasing worker control, reducing worker uncertainty, and managing conflict and task/job demands. V. CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN THE DESIGN OF WORK A. Telecommuting PPT Slide 29 Telecommuting involves fulfilling work responsibilities from home or other locations geographically separate from the company’s primary location. Notebook computers enable individuals to complete work responsibilities from virtually any location while traveling. Telecommuting can result in feelings of social isolation. B. Alternative Work Patterns PPT Slide 29 Alternative work patterns allow flexibility among people and time to complete a set of tasks. Job sharing is an alternative work pattern in which more than one person occupies a single job. Flextime enables employees to set their own daily work schedules. C. Technology at Work PPT Slide 29 The virtual office is a mobile platform of computer, telecommunication, and information technology and services that enables mobile workforce members to conduct business virtually anywhere, anytime, globally. Technostress is the stress caused by new and advancing technologies in the workplace. The Real World 14.2: Letting Your QB Bring the Office to You Robots are not very common in office work environments yet. However, Fast Company’s QB is a telepresence robot controlled by a remote computer. Not everyone is comfortable with QB in meetings rather than the operator, but there are many advantages to going to the office as a disembodied self by way of a robot, such as saving gas, commuting time, and having employees on site around the world. While there is no substitute for physical presence, QB takes Fast Company beyond teleconferencing and offers the possibility of several remote employees sharing one QB. D. Task Revision Table 14.3; PPT Slides 29, 30 Task revision involves innovative modification of incorrectly specified roles or jobs. Counter-role behavior is deviant behavior in either a correctly or incorrectly defined job or role, and results in poor performance in cases where a role or task is correctly defined. When roles or tasks are incorrectly defined, counter-role behavior is a useful way to correct for the problem. E. Skill Development PPT Slide 29 One source of stress from new information technologies is the growing gap between the skills needed for the new technologies and the skills employees have in using the technologies. Skill development must be considered in conjunction with job design. VI. MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: The Changing Nature of Work PPT Slide 31 VII. LOOKING BACK: Ford - Job–1, Julies–2 you 14.1 Diagnosing Your Job This exercise challenges students to examine the motivating potential in their jobs. Students who are not currently working should complete the questionnaire for any jobs they have ever had for which they want to examine the motivating potential. Students whose jobs score low in motivating potential should consider specific changes in the design of the job that they believe would improve the motivating potential. An interesting way to approach the discussion of this exercise might be to use the student’s job with the lowest motivating potential as the focus of the discussion, starting with small groups and moving to the entire class, developing specific suggestions for redesigning the job. 14.2 Is Your Work Environment a Healthy One? Task uncertainty has been shown to have an adverse effect on morale; however, morale may be better predicted by considering both the overall design of the work unit and task uncertainty together. Various work parameters can be offset by others; for example, higher pay may offset an employee’s frustration with a difficult coworker. This exercise gives students an opportunity to evaluate how psychologically healthful their work environments are. Having students share examples of how their work environments have impacted them creates the framework for discussing the impact healthful and unhealthful work environments have on the people who work in those environments. DIVERSITY DIALOGUE: Making a Way for the Disabled Worker Millions of U.S. workers grapple with difficult issues and even discrimination in the work force related to their disabilities. Many of these workers suffer with serious or chronic illnesses that interfere with their ability to perform the work that brings so much meaning to their lives. Yet, many disabled employees do not let their employers know for fear of being perceived as a cop-out or other negative reactions. However, failure to disclose one’s illness, regardless of the reason, is risky. Employers may misinterpret certain behaviors and will not know how to adjust the disabled employee’s work if they don’t know an adjustment is required. As a manager, how would you balance a disabled employee’s needs for a work adjustment to your need to design jobs that meet organizational performance goals? Answer: The obvious answer is that not every employee must have the same performance goals. The company can still meet its organizational performance goals without requiring every employee to have the same individual goals. Disabled employees’ goals may differ from other disabled employees or from those without disabilities, without losing the ability to meet organizational performance goals. Do you believe United Airlines was justified in placing Boswell on involuntary leave? Explain. Answer: Although Boswell could no longer work as a mechanic, according to the scenario, it seems likely that United Airlines could easily have reassigned him to a job that he could perform well despite the brain tumor treatment. If that is the case, then United Airlines was not justified in placing him on involuntary leave. The fact that the EEOC filed a class-action lawsuit against the airline also suggests that the involuntary action against Boswell was unjustified. CHAPTER SUMMARY * Different countries have different preferences for one or more of six distinct patterns of defining work. * Scientific management, job enlargement/job rotation, job enrichment, and the job characteristics theory are traditional American approaches to the design of work and the management of workforce diversity. * The social information processing (SIP) model suggests that information from others and the social context are important in a job. * Ergonomics and the interdisciplinary framework draw on engineering, psychology, and biology in considering the advantages and disadvantages of job design efforts. * The cultural values and social organizations in Japan, Germany, and Scandinavia lead to unique approaches to the design of work. * Control, uncertainty, conflict, and job-task demands are important job design parameters to consider when designing work for the well-being of the workers. * Telecommuting, alternative work patterns, technostress, task revision, and skill development are emerging issues in the design of work and the use of information technology. 15. ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN AND STRUCTURE Chapter Scan Organizations are essentially structured around tasks. Organizational goals are broken into tasks, from which jobs are designed. Jobs are then grouped into departments, which are linked to form organizational structure. This chapter addresses differentiation and integration, six basic design dimensions, five structural configurations, contextual variables influencing organizational design, five forces shaping organizations today, and cautions for managers with regard to structural weaknesses. As the organization develops, the structure of the organization is likely to change. Organization size affects the centralization of the organization. Technology affects organizations whether structures are categorized as mechanistic or organic. LEARNING OBJECTIVES PPT Slides 2, 3 After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following: 1. Define differentiation and integration as organizational design processes. 2. Discuss six basic design dimensions of an organization. 3. Briefly describe five structural configurations for organizations. 4. Describe four contextual variables for an organization. 5. Explain the four forces reshaping organizations. 6. Discuss emerging organizational structures. 7. Identify two cautions about the effect of organizational structures on people. key terms Chapter 15 introduces the following key terms: adhocracy mechanistic structure centralization organic structure complexity organizational design contextual variables organizational life cycle differentiation organizational structure divisionalized form professional bureaucracy environment simple structure environmental uncertainty specialization formalization standardization hierarchy of authority task environment integration technological interdependence machine bureaucracy THE CHAPTER SUMMARIZED I. THINKING AHEAD: Groupon – The Problem with Copycats II. KEY ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN PROCESSES PPT Slide 4 Organizational design is the process of constructing and adjusting an organization's structure to achieve its goals. Organizational structure is the linking of departments and jobs within an organization. The contextual variables are a set of characteristics that influence the organization’s design process and include size, technology, environment, and strategy and goals. A. Differentiation Figure 15.1; Table 15.1; PPT Slides 5-10 Differentiation is the process of deciding how to divide the work in an organization. It ensures that all essential tasks are assigned to jobs and will be accomplished. An earlier study identified four dimensions of differentiation: (1) manager’s goal orientation; (2) time orientation; (3) interpersonal orientation; and (4) formality of structure. Differentiation consists of horizontal differentiation (the degree of differentiation between organizational subunits), vertical differentiation (difference in authority and responsibility in the organizational hierarchy), and spatial differentiation (geographic dispersion of an organization’s offices, plants, and personnel). B. Integration PPT Slide 11, 12 Integration is the process of coordinating the different parts of an organization. Vertical linkages integrate activities up and down the organizational chain of command. Horizontal linkages provide for communication and coordination across jobs and departments. The flatter the organization, the more necessary horizontal integration linkages become. III. BASIC DESIGN DIMENSIONS PPT Slide 13 There are six basic design dimensions. Formalization is the degree to which the organization has official rules, regulations, and procedures. An organization may have a formal structure, but may operate informally. Centralization is the degree to which decisions are made at the top of the organization. The quality movement and programs that stress delegating responsibility and decision making to lower levels result in decentralization. At the same time, reductions in organizations have altered the middle management tier of the organization by eliminating part of the central reporting structure. Typically, the larger and longer the organization has been in existence, the more centralized its structure will be. Specialization is the degree to which jobs are narrowly defined and depend on unique expertise. Standardization is the extent to which work activities are accomplished in a routine fashion. Complexity refers to the number of different types of activities that occur in the organization. The hierarchy of authority is the degree of vertical differentiation across levels of management. Organizations that are highly specialized, formalized, and centralized typically have a tall hierarchy of authority, are highly bureaucratic, and have a mechanistic structure. The term bureaucracy has not always had the negative connotation that it carries today. Max Weber coined the term to mean a complex organization based on hierarchy of authority and adherence to rules. Science: Integrating Distributed Work This study examined various ways in which distributed work might be most effectively integrated through a study of business process offshoring. The researchers found that the interdependence between offshore and onshore processes contributes to lower offshored performance. This difficulty can be eased by investing in coordination mechanisms. The two commonly used coordination mechanisms are building communication channels and modularizing processes to minimize the need for communication. Tacit coordination can be a complementary third mechanism. Tacit coordination occurs where one employee predicts the behavior of another and then adjusts responses accordingly. IV. FIVE STRUCTURAL CONFIGURATIONS Table 15.2; Figure 15.2 Mintzberg proposes five structural configurations for organizations. A. Simple Structure PPT Slides 14-16 The simple structure is a centralized form of organization that emphasizes the upper echelon and direct supervision. Most organizations pass through the simple structure in their formative years. It is the riskiest structure because success is often based on whims. The Real World 15.1: Complicated but Increasingly Common Matrix structures are complicated ways of organizing but appear increasingly common in the new normal business environment. This new normal, resulting from the Great Recession, is characterized by being more agile and doing more with less. Aligning a company across multiple functions such as HR, IT, finance, and marketing is a key advantage of the matrix. The challenges of the matrix include internal conflict and competitiveness. B. Machine Bureaucracy The machine bureaucracy is a moderately decentralized form of organization that emphasizes the technical staff and standardization of work processes. Its strength is efficiency of operation in stable, unchanging environments. C. Professional Bureaucracy The professional bureaucracy is a decentralized form of organization that emphasizes the operating core and standardization of skills. Hospitals and universities are examples of professional bureaucracies. D. Divisionalized Form A loosely coupled, composite configuration, the divisionalized form is a moderately decentralized form of organization that emphasizes the middle level and standardization of outputs. E. Adhocracy Highly open and decentralized, the adhocracy is a selectively decentralized form of organization that emphasizes the support staff and mutual adjustment among people. V. CONTEXTUAL VARIABLES PPT Slides 17, 18 A. Size Table 15.3 Size determinations are typically based on number of employees. Generally speaking, the larger the organization, the more likely it will be formalized, specialized, standardized, and complex. Additionally, larger organizations typically have a tall structure, with numerous levels in its hierarchy of authority. Large organizations also reap the efficiency advantages of economies of scale. B. Technology Figure 15.3; PPT Slides 19-23 Joan Woodward classified technologies by their complexity. Perrow focused on task variability and problem analyzability. Technological interdependence is the degree of interrelatedness of the organization’s various technological elements. C. Environment Table 15.4; PPT Slides 24-27 The organizational environment is considered anything outside the boundaries of the organization. The task environment includes elements that are specifically related to the attainment of the organization's goals. Environmental uncertainty refers to the amount and rate of change in an organization’s environment. Burns and Stalker compared rates of change and determined that organizations have either mechanistic or organic structures. A mechanistic structure is an organizational design that emphasizes structured activities, specialized tasks, and centralized decision making. An organic structure is an organizational design that emphasizes teamwork, open communication, and decentralized decision making. The Real World 15.2: Acer Faces Off with Apple Acer Corporation is the second largest PC maker by shipments after HP, making it a key global competitor in that domain. It also has an IT division that encompasses notebook, tablet, and netbook operations as well as a smartphone division. Apple’s iPad is a direct competitive challenge to Acer along several of its product lines. To meet the competitive challenge, Acer restructured its operation, creating a separate tablet division that encompasses tablets and smartphones, leaving notebook computers in the separate information-technology division. D. Strategy and Goals Figure 15.4; Table 15.5; Table 15.6; PPT Slides 28-30 Strategies and goals provide legitimacy to the organization, as well as employee direction, decision guidelines, and criteria for performance. They also help the organization fit into its environment. VI. FORCES RESHAPING ORGANIZATIONS A. Life Cycles in Organizations PPT Slide 31 The organizational life cycle is comprised of the different stages of an organization's life from birth to death. During early life cycle stages, organizations typically have organic structures. As organizations progress through the stages, they become more mechanistic. B. Globalization PPT Slide 32 As organizations develop globally, they often change their structures to accommodate the decentralization necessary because of geographic dispersion and cultural and value-related differences. C. Changes in Information Processing Technologies PPT Slide 33 Advances in information technology lead to a flattening of hierarchies of authority, decreases in centralization, and less specialization and standardization. D. Demands on Organizational Processes PPT Slide 34 Managers must learn to meet both efficiency and quality goals by combining long-term thinking with flexible and quick responses. E. Emerging Organizational Structures Figure 15.5; Table 15.7; PPT Slide 35 Emerging structures will increasingly and necessarily be organized around processes. Three emerging organizational structures include network organizations (weblike structures), virtual organizations (temporary network organizations), and circle organizations (open, organic structure focused on customer responsiveness). VII. CAUTIONARY NOTES ABOUT STRUCTURE PPT Slide 36 Not all structures are advantageous, particularly if they are deficient in some area. If the hierarchy is overloaded with too much information, decision making is cumbersome and delayed. At the highest levels, the personality of the chief executive may adversely affect the organization's structure. VIII. MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: Fitting People and Structures Together IX. LOOKING BACK: Groupon – More than Web Sites: People on the Ground YOU 15.1 How Decentralized Is Your Company? Decentralization is one of the key design dimensions in an organization. It is closely related to several behavioral dimensions of an organization, such as leadership style, degree of participative decision making, and the nature of power and politics within the organization. Decentralization has also been linked to increased safety in organizations. This exercise helps students gain a sense of how decentralized their own organizations are. Students can then share their perceptions of their companies as examples during a more general discussion of decentralization. 15.2 Managers of Today and the Future This exercise asks students to consider whether the roles for managers in the organizations they work for are more oriented toward today or the future, using Table 15.7 as a reference. As students complete this exercise, they should also consider how difficult it would be for their organizations to become more oriented toward the future and what specific steps their organizations might need to take to make that transition. DIVERSITY DIALOGUE: Restructuring for the New Reality: Male Beauty Once upon a time…women made up the market for skin and hair care products, cosmetics, and fragrances. Women still dominate spending in the personal care market, but the male grooming market, though not as lucrative as the women’s market, is expanding and has great potential for companies that position their products to meet the needs of beauty-conscious men. Proctor & Gamble is restructuring its beauty and grooming division to better serve ‘Him and Her’. How will P&G’s redesign affect their employment recruitment and selection practices? Answer: P&G will need to hire individuals, including males, who are specifically interested in the male beauty market at every level (R&D, marketing, sales, etc.) in order to successfully create and market products that appeal to males interested in greater available of beauty products. Discuss the contextual variables that led to P&G’s restructuring. Answer: The contextual variables leading to P&G’s restructuring are primarily environmental. Demand for male beauty products is becoming a notable segment of the market and P&G’s customer base is experiencing that demand as well. If P&G wants to salvage its beauty business unit, it will have to change to take advantage of this expanding market. CHAPTER SUMMARY * Three basic types of differentiation occur in organizations: horizontal, vertical, and spatial. * The greater the complexity of an organization because of its degree of differentiation, the greater the need for integration. * Formalization, centralization, specialization, standardization, complexity, and hierarchy of authority are the six basic design dimensions in an organization. * Simple structure, machine bureaucracy, professional bureaucracy, divisionalized form, and adhocracy are five structural configurations of an organization. * The contextual variables important to organizational design are size, technology, environment, and strategy and goals. * Life cycles, globalization, changes in information-processing technologies, and demands on process capabilities are forces reshaping organizations today. * Network organizations, virtual organizations, and the circle organization are emerging organizational structures. * Organizational structures may be inherently weak, or chief executives may create personality-organization constellations that adversely affect employees. 16. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Chapter Scan Corporate cultures provide identifying characteristics and values for organizational members to appreciate and learn. Cultures are distinguished by artifacts, values, and basic assumptions. The socialization process is the entry stage in an organization that provides clues about its culture. Cultures are difficult to change, yet change is necessary in some instances for survival. Organizations need an adaptive culture in order to respond effectively to the changing environment. LEARNING OBJECTIVES PPT Slides 2, 3 After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following: 1. Describe organizational culture. 2. Critically evaluate the roles of the three levels of culture. 3. Evaluate the four functions of culture within an organization. 4. Explain the relationship between organizational culture and performance. 5. Contrast the characteristics of adaptive and nonadaptive cultures. 6. Describe five ways leaders reinforce organizational culture. 7. Describe the three stages of organizational socialization and the ways culture is communicated in each step. 8. Identify ways of assessing organizational culture. 9. Explain actions managers can take to change organizational culture. key terms Chapter 16 introduces the following key terms: adaptive culture anticipatory socialization artifacts assumptions change and acquisition enacted values encounter espoused values organizational (corporate) culture organizational socialization strong culture triangulation THE CHAPTER SUMMARIZED I. THINKING AHEAD: QuikTrip – An Unbeatable Culture II. THE KEY ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE PPT Slide 4 Organizational cultures exist in all organizations, and have important effects on the morale and motivation of organizational members. Cultures are communicated through artifacts, values, and basic assumptions that are both visible and invisible. Stories are considered by some as the most effective approach to reinforcing an organization’s values, and frequently involve the CEO. Values that organizations hold can be either enacted or espoused. When espoused values are not confirmed by actions, the organizational culture is weakened. Leaders have a responsibility to monitor and alter the organizational culture when necessary. Much of our concept of organizational cultures has been adapted from cultural anthropology. There appears to be distinct cultures in organizations. The subject has been studied closely since the 1970s, and particularly since the early 1980s, with the publication of the Deal and Kennedy’s Corporate Cultures, Ouchi’s Theory Z, and Peters and Waterman’s In Search of Excellence. One of the best-known scholars in the area of corporate cultures is Edgar Schein. Schein became interested in organizational culture when he discovered, while teaching in Mexico and Europe, that company cultures may be stronger than country cultures. A. Culture and Its Levels Figure 16.1; PPT Slides 5, 6 Organizational (corporate) culture is a pattern of basic assumptions that are considered valid and that are taught to new members as the way to perceive, think, and feel in the organization. Culture consists of the three levels of artifacts, values, and basic assumptions. B. Artifacts PPT Slide 7 Symbols of culture in the physical and social work environment are called artifacts. Artifacts are the most visible and accessible level of culture. Artifacts include personal enactment, ceremonies and rites, stories, rituals, and symbols. 1. Personal Enactment Personal enactment is behavior that reflects the organization's values. 2. Ceremonies and Rites Ceremonies can be divided into organizational rites, including rites of passage, rites of enhancement, rites of renewal, rites of integration, rites of conflict reduction, and rites of degradation. They are relatively elaborate sets of activities that are enacted repeatedly on important occasions. 3. Stories Stories are rich carriers of organizational culture that give meaning and identity to organizations and help orient new employees. There are stories about the boss, stories about getting fired, stories about how the company deals with employees who have to relocate, stories about whether lower-level employees can rise to the top, stories about how the company deals with crisis situations, and stories about how status considerations work when rules are broken. 4. Rituals Everyday practices that are repeated frequently are known as rituals. Typically unwritten, rituals send a clear message about the way things are done in an organization. 5. Symbols Symbols communicate the culture through unspoken messages, and include company logos, company colors, and even mental images held by employees. C. Values PPT Slide 8 Values are a deeper level of culture that reflects underlying beliefs. An espoused value is what organizational members say they value, like ethical practice. Enacted values are values reflected in the way individuals actually behave, and may differ from espoused values. The Real World 16.1: Zappos: A Happiness Culture Zappos believes culture fit is so important that it offers to pay new employees for their time in training plus a $2,000 bonus if they quit and leave at the end of the first week. The goal is to weed out employees who are just at Zappos for the paycheck. Zappos is so passionate about culture fit that in the hiring phase, the manager and team do a standard interview about whether the person fits the job. A second round of interviews is conducted by HR solely for ensuring culture fit. CEO Tony Hsieh says the best companies focus on combining profit, passion, and purpose by thinking about how they can make customers, employees, and investors happier. D. Assumptions PPT Slide 8 Assumptions are deeply held beliefs that guide behavior and tell members of an organization how to perceive and think about things. They are often held at a level below consciousness and are difficult to measure. III. FUNCTIONS AND EFFECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE PPT Slide 9, 10 Culture serves four functions, including providing a sense of identity to members and promoting a sense of commitment. Culture helps organizational members attribute sense and meaning to organizational events, and reinforces the values in the organization. Finally, culture serves as a control mechanism for shaping behavior. A. The Strong Culture Perspective PPT Slides 11 A strong culture is an organizational culture with a consensus on the values that drive the company and with an intensity that is recognizable even to outsiders. Strong cultures can be positive or negative. For example, street gangs have strong cultures, yet they also exhibit negative characteristics. B. The Fit Perspective PPT Slide 12 The concept of fit asserts that an organization’s culture is only good if it fits, or aligns itself, with the industry or the firm’s strategy. C. The Adaptation Perspective Table 16.1; PPT Slide 13, 14 Adaptive cultures encourage confidence and risk taking among employees, have leadership that produces change, and focus on the changing needs of customers. Cultures that promote long-term performance tend to be the most adaptive. Adaptive cultures facilitate change to meet the needs of their constituents. Science: What Type of Culture Would You Want to Work For? The competing values framework suggests four types of organizational cultures: the clan, the adhocracy, the market, and the hierarchy. A recent study investigated the effectiveness of each of these cultural strategies by comparing results from 84 different studies. Results indicated that clan cultures excel when it comes to relationships with employees and having quality products and services. However, market cultures lead the pack in financial success and innovation. IV. THE LEADER'S ROLE IN SHAPING AND REINFORCING CULTURE PPT Slide 15 A. What Leaders Pay Attention To Organizational members can get information about the priorities, values, and beliefs of leaders by observing the things on which leaders spend their time, as long as leaders are consistent in the things to which they pay attention. B. How Leaders React to Crises Many believe that organizations show their real culture during times of crisis, and consequently pay close attention to the leaders during a crisis situation. C. How Leaders Behave Employees emulate the leader's behavior and look to leaders for cues to appropriate behavior. Leaders demonstrate the organization’s values and culture through their behavior. D. How Leaders Allocate Rewards Rewarding behavior that is consistent with the organization’s values increases acceptance of those values and the organization’s culture. If leaders do not allocate rewards in a way that reinforces espoused values, employees may become confused and frustrated. E. How Leaders Hire and Fire Individuals Leaders often reinforce a desired organizational culture through the selection of new employees whose value systems are similar to the organization’s value system. Promoting from within the organization also serves to reinforce the culture. Also, both the rationale behind firing an employee and the manner in which the termination is carried out convey a great deal about the organization’s culture. V. ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION A. The Stages of the Organizational Socialization Process Figure 16.2; PPT Slides 16, 17 Organizational socialization is the process by which newcomers are transformed from outsiders to participating, effective members of the organization. The movie The Firm illustrates this concept particularly well, in that the socialization process for the new lawyer is exaggerated to make a point, and occurs more quickly and aggressively than is typical in most organizations. 1. Anticipatory Socialization PPT Slide 18 All of the learning about the organization that occurs before a newcomer’s first day on the job is referred to as anticipatory socialization. Realism is the degree to which the new person holds accurate expectations about the job and the organization. Congruence refers both to the extent to which a newcomer’s abilities match the demands of the job, and the extent to which the newcomer’s values match the values of the organization. 2. Encounter PPT Slide 18 The second socialization stage, in which the newcomer learns the organizational tasks associated with the job, clarifies roles, and establishes relationships at work, is known as encounter. Expectations formed in the anticipatory socialization stage may clash with the realities of the job during this stage. 3. Change and Acquisition PPT Slide 18 During the change and acquisition stage, newcomers begin to master the demands of the job. The time span of the last stage varies greatly, but is complete when the newcomer and others consider the newcomer an organizational insider. B. Outcomes of Socialization PPT Slide 19 Successful socialization of newcomers typically results in good performance, high job satisfaction, and the intention to stay with the organization. Mutual influence also indicates successful socialization. C. Socialization as Cultural Communication PPT Slide 20 The socialization process centers on the transmission of the organization’s core values to newcomers. Newcomers are exposed to these values through interaction with and observation of role models, through training, and through the rewarding and punishing of specific behaviors. VI. ASSESSING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE PPT Slide 21 Quantitative and qualitative techniques are both valuable approaches to assessing culture. A. Organizational Culture Inventory Based on Maslow's need hierarchy, the Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI) measures twelve cultural styles. It provides an assessment of culture at the individual level that can be aggregated to the group level or organization level. The two dimensions of the OCI are task/people and security/satisfaction. B. Kilmann-Saxton Culture-Gap Survey This survey focuses on what actually happens and on the expectations of others in the organization. It measures operating norms and ideal norms along the two dimensions of technical/human and time (short term versus long term). Results provided at the individual level can be aggregated to the group level. C. Triangulation PPT Slide 22 Triangulation refers to the use of multiple methods to measure organizational culture. Three commonly used methods include (1) obtrusive observations, (2) self-administered questionnaires, and (3) personal interviews. This approach provides a more complete picture than using any of the methods singularly would reveal. VII. CHANGING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Figure 16.3; PPT Slides 23, 24 Organizations need to periodically reassess their cultures as environmental changes occur due to globalization, workforce diversity, and advances in technology. Mergers and acquisitions require the blending of two organizational cultures, often a difficult process. Two basic approaches to changing culture are (1) helping current organizational members buy into a new set of values, and (2) adding newcomers and socializing them into the organization, and removing current members as appropriate. The Real World 16.2: Joie de Vivre CEO Uses Maslow’s Pyramid to Change Culture Joie de Vivre was in big trouble when tourism virtually halted after 9/11. CEO Chip Conley reasoned that lack of recognition was the primary motivator of unhappiness at work. Among the changes he made was to require his executive committee members to spend the last ten minutes of the meeting focused on recognition. Attendees had to bring examples of someone from a different department who needed to be recognized for a good job. This trickled down and employees throughout the company started recognizing each other more. Conley made many other changes to focus on meaning and recognition, and he believes it turned the company around. A. Developing a Global Organizational Culture PPT Slide 26 Developing a global organizational culture requires that the values that drive an organization’s culture support a global view of the company and its efforts. Conflicting pressures of centralization and decentralization add to the difficulty of creating such a culture. B. Developing an Ethical Organizational Culture PPT Slide 27 An organization’s culture can profoundly affect the ethical behavior of its employees. Managers must behave in an ethical manner themselves, encourage ethical behavior from their employees, and present ethical behavior as good business. Trust plays an important role in any effort to develop an ethical organizational culture. C. Developing a Culture of Empowerment and Quality PPT Slide 28 Empowerment requires trust between managers and supervisors and between supervisors and employees. In an environment of trust, empowerment releases the creative energy of employees and leads to increased productivity and higher quality products and services. However, in order to develop a culture of empowerment, managers must be willing to let go of traditional hierarchical notions of power. VIII. MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: The Organizational Culture Challenge IX. LOOKING BACK: QuikTrip – QuikTrip’s Success: Socialization and Retention YOU 16.1 Analyzing the Three Levels of Culture Encouraging students to discuss examples from this challenge in the classroom can really bring the concepts alive for them. Another option would be to have the whole class evaluate the artifacts in the university’s environment. A variation on this option is to divide the class into five small groups and conduct a modified scavenger hunt with each group tasked with finding evidence of one type of artifact and bringing it back to the classroom. For example, the group tasked with finding evidence of rites and ceremonies might find a copy of the most recent commencement program and bring it back to class. 16.2 Organizational Culture and Ethics This exercise integrates the material on ethics with the information on organizational culture. Students could also be asked to evaluate the ethical climate of the university. This would provide a common experience to generate class discussion on the influence an organization’s culture has on the ethical behavior of its members. DIVERSITY DIALOGUE The “Browning” of Reading, PA What effect will the increased number of Hispanic residents in Reading have on the cultures of the city’s businesses? Answer: The only change that can reasonably be predicted is that there is likely to be an increased number of Hispanic employees in the city’s businesses. Along with the increased numbers of Hispanic employees, there may also cultural be changes in things like ethnic foods and services. Despite the shift in population, Reading’s culture remains one influenced by its German and English heritage. Do you foresee that changing in the near future? Explain. Answer: It is certainly possible that Reading’s culture will experience increasing influence from the growing numbers of Hispanic residents. Yes, the cultural influence of German and English heritage in Reading may change in the near future due to ongoing demographic shifts. As new populations with diverse backgrounds move into the area, their cultural practices and traditions will increasingly shape the local culture. This could lead to a richer, more multicultural environment, potentially blending traditional heritage with new cultural influences. However, core aspects of the historical heritage may persist, even as they evolve. CHAPTER SUMMARY * Organizational (corporate) culture is a pattern of basic assumptions that are considered valid and that are taught to new members as the way to perceive, think, and feel in the organization. * The most visible and accessible level of culture is artifacts, which include personal enactment, ceremonies and rites, stories, rituals, and symbols. * Organizational culture has four functions: giving members a sense of identity and increasing their commitment; serving as a sense-making device for members; reinforcing organizational values; and serving as a control mechanism for shaping behavior. * Three theories about the relationship between culture and performance are the strong culture perspective, the fit perspective, and the adaptation perspective. * Leaders shape and reinforce culture by what they pay attention to, how they react to crises, how they behave, how they allocate rewards, and how they hire and fire individuals. * Organizational socialization is the process by which newcomers become participating, effective members of the organization. Its three stages are anticipatory socialization, encounter, and change and acquisition. Each stage plays a unique role in communicating organizational culture. * The Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI) and Kilmann-Saxton Culture-Gap Survey are two quantitative instruments for assessing organizational culture. Triangulation, using multiple methods for assessing culture, is an effective measurement strategy. * It is difficult but not impossible to change organizational culture. Managers can do so by helping current members buy into a new set of values, by adding newcomers and socializing them into the organization, and by removing current members as appropriate. Instructor Manual for Organizational Behavior: Science, The Real World, and You Debra L. Nelson, James Campbell Quick 9781111825867