Difference between revisions of "Organizational culture"

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:''Main wikipage: [[Gods of management]]
 
:''Main wikipage: [[Gods of management]]
  
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:In his book, [[Gods of Management by Handy|Gods of Management: The Changing Work of Organizations]], [[Charles Handy]] uses four Greek gods to illustrate four approaches that managers can utilize to build the ''Culture'':
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:#Zeus-led or "club" organization values the power that spreads throughout the company from a top boss.
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:#Apollo-led organization is a bureaucracy; it is based on [[role]]s.
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:#Athena-led organization emphasizes problem-solving; it is based on projects and tasks.
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:#Dionysius-led organization tries to put its professionals before its management to free their initiative.
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:''Charles Hardy'' advocated managers to be aware of these [[gods of management]] to choose those that fit the organization best.
  
Gods of Management: The Changing Work of Organizations
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===Quotes===
by Charles Handy (Author)
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:*[[Peter Drucker]]: Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
 
 
 
 
Charles Handy’s Gods of Management
 
Charles Handy’s1
 
model of culture is based on the way in which organisations
 
are structured. It is important to remember that a single organisation may have
 
more than one of these cultures because parts of the organisation may be
 
structured differently and because of different occupational/professional
 
cultures. Handy uses the Greek gods as metaphors for his cultural types
 
because each god represented a particular trait or set of values.
 
• Zeus is the god representing the power or club culture. Zeus is a dynamic
 
entrepreneur who rules with snap decisions. This culture is based on
 
personalities with power and influence coming from a central source, usually
 
the founder or leader. Organisations with this culture are usually small and
 
informal and are capable of adapting quickly to changing circumstances.
 
However the success of the organisation depends on the luck or judgement
 
of key individuals. These organisations are really clubs of like-minded people
 
where personal contact is more important than formal liaison. An ACL
 
provider, led by a dominant Head of Service who has recruited individuals on
 
the same wavelength to key positions, may have elements of this culture.
 
• Apollo represents the role or bureaucracy culture. The underlying
 
presumption is logic and rationality. Apollo organisations have formal
 
structures and well defined rules and procedures. The structure defines the
 
authority and responsibility of individual managers. Fulfilling the requirements
 
of a job description is important, but individuals must remain within the
 
boundaries of their authority. The Apollo approach works well for large
 
organisations, with predictable work in a stable environment. You would
 
expect the payroll section in a large organisation to work this way. The task,
 
time frame and rules and procedures are clear and the result is that people
 
are paid on time. The downside of Apollo organisations is that they can be
 
inflexible and are generally slow to adapt to change. Some local authority
 
providers feel that they are part of a large bureaucracy with a strong focus on
 
rules, procedures and standardisation.
 
• Athena is the goddess of the task culture. Management is seen as
 
completing a series of projects or solving problems. Task cultures usually
 
have matrix structures or are organised as project teams. The principal
 
concern is to get the job done and performance is judged by results. The
 
ability to accomplish a particular task is more important than formal status.
 
Task cultures depend on variety and creativity which requires a tolerance of
 
 
1
 
Handy, C (1995), Gods of Management, the Changing Work of Organisations, Oxford, Oxford
 
University Press 
 
HANDY’S GODS OF MANAGEMENT 2
 
© FPM
 
mistakes. These organisations are flexible and constantly changing with
 
project teams being disbanded and new ones formed. This culture is suitable
 
for organisations (or parts of them) which are concerned with problem solving
 
and short one-off exercises. There is a conflict between the desire to see
 
results in meeting targets (task culture) and the way accountability is being
 
enforced through procedures, returns etc. (bureaucracy). The leader’s role is
 
to strike an appropriate balance between these competing demands.
 
• Dionysus is the god of existential culture. In the three other cultures, the
 
individual is subordinate to the organisation or the task. An existential culture
 
is found in an organisation whose purpose is to serve the interests of the
 
individuals within it. True existential cultures are rare although many
 
professional practices come very close. These organisations are
 
characterised by management having lower status than professional work.
 
Management can only happen with the consent of the managed and the
 
organisation’s success depends on the talent of the individuals.
 
Occupational/professional culture is dominant here and in the past many
 
education professionals, among others, found it difficult to accept the need
 
for any form of management.
 
Handy advocates a ‘best fit’ approach to organisational culture. The most
 
effective organisations have an appropriate fit between the individuals, the type
 
of work, the environment and the culture. This implies that changes in the work
 
or the environment may lead to a requirement for culture change as well.
 
  
 
==Components==
 
==Components==
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===Cultural web===
 
===Cultural web===
:With regard to its sources,
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:''Main wikipage: [[Cultural web]]
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:[[File:Cultural-web.PNG|thumb|400px|right|[[Cultural web]]]]With regard to its drivers, Johnson and Scholes have identified the six elements,
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:#Stories and myths.
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:#Rituals and routines.
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:#Symbols.
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:#[[Organizational structure]].
 +
:#Control systems.
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:#Power structures.
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:All of these elements contribute to the cultural web core. Johnston and Scholes call this "core" "the paradigm" or "the recipe."
  
 
==Related concepts==
 
==Related concepts==

Latest revision as of 01:36, 25 April 2021

Organizational culture (alternatively known as corporate culture; hereinafter, the Culture) is a system of the shared meaning, mental models, principles, traditions, values, and ways of doing things held by members of the organization that influence the way organizational members act and that distinguish the organization from other organizations.


Trivia

Definitions

According to Organizational Behavior by Robbins and Judge (17th edition),

Organizational culture. A system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations.

According to Management by Robbins and Coulter (14th edition),

Organizational culture. The shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of doing things that influence the way organizational members act and that distinguish the organization from other organizations.

According to Marketing Management by Keller and Kotler (15th edition),

Corporate culture. The shared experiences, stories, beliefs, and norms that characterize an organization.

According to the Corporate Strategy by Lynch (4th edition),

Organizational culture. The set of beliefs, values and learned ways of managing in an individual organization. Note that it is important to distinguish this from national cultures.

According to the Strategic Management by David and David (15th edition),

Organizational culture. A pattern of behavior developed by an organization over time as it learns to cope with its problem of external adaptation and internal integration, and that has worked well enough to be considered valid and to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in the firm.

According to the HRBoK Guide,

Corporate culture. The beliefs and behaviors of an organization. The values, language, rules, procedures, expectations, and processes that affect how employees of an organization think, act, and view the world.

Types

Main wikipage: Gods of management
In his book, Gods of Management: The Changing Work of Organizations, Charles Handy uses four Greek gods to illustrate four approaches that managers can utilize to build the Culture:
  1. Zeus-led or "club" organization values the power that spreads throughout the company from a top boss.
  2. Apollo-led organization is a bureaucracy; it is based on roles.
  3. Athena-led organization emphasizes problem-solving; it is based on projects and tasks.
  4. Dionysius-led organization tries to put its professionals before its management to free their initiative.
Charles Hardy advocated managers to be aware of these gods of management to choose those that fit the organization best.

Quotes

Components

Application areas

With regard to its application areas, every Culture can be divided in four parts:
  1. historical organizational culture or the culture envisioned by the founders and others that is no longer executed,
  2. operational culture or the culture exercised by an enterprise today for its operations,
  3. change culture or the culture related to change in the enterprise, and
  4. risk culture or the culture related to handling risks.

Cultural web

Main wikipage: Cultural web
With regard to its drivers, Johnson and Scholes have identified the six elements,
  1. Stories and myths.
  2. Rituals and routines.
  3. Symbols.
  4. Organizational structure.
  5. Control systems.
  6. Power structures.
All of these elements contribute to the cultural web core. Johnston and Scholes call this "core" "the paradigm" or "the recipe."

Related concepts

Related lectures