Chapter 03 – Organizational Culture, Socialization, and Mentoring
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CHAPTER THREE: Organizational Culture, Socialization, and Mentoring
LEARNING OJBECTIVES
See Slides 3-2, 3-3
When you finish studying the material in this chapter, you should be able to:
• Define organizational culture and discuss its three layers.
• Discuss the difference between espoused and enacted values.
• Describe the four functions of organizational culture.
• Discuss the four types of organizational culture associated with the competing
values framework.
• Summarize the five conclusions derived from research about the outcomes
associated with organizational culture.
• Review the four caveats about culture change.
• Summarize the methods used by organizations to change organizational culture.
• Describe the three phases in Feldman’s model of organizational socialization.
• Discuss the various socialization tactics used to socialize employees.
• Explain the four developmental networks associated with mentoring.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
Chapter 3 defines organizational culture, describes its layers, identifies its functions,
describes the types of cultures and discusses the outcomes associated with
organizational culture. The process of cultural change and the mechanisms used for
change are addressed. This chapter also discusses the organizational socialization
process, including its three phases and its practical implications. Finally, embedding
organizational culture through mentoring is addressed.
Organizational culture is the set of shared taken-for-granted implicit assumptions held
by a group that determines how it perceives, thinks about, and reacts to its various
environments. There are three layers of organizational culture: observable artifacts,
espoused values, and basic assumptions. Artifacts are the physical manifestation of an
organization’s culture. Espoused values represent the explicitly stated values and
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norms preferred by the organization, whereas enacted values represent the values and
norms actually exhibited by employees. There is often a gap between espoused and
enacted values.
Organizational cultures give members an organizational identity, they facilitate collective
commitment, they promote social system stability and they shape behavior by helping
members make sense of their surroundings. According to the competing values
framework, there are four types of cultures defined by their preference for flexibility and
their orientation toward their internal or external environments. Clan cultures value
flexibility and have an internal focus. Adhocracy cultures value flexibility and have an
external focus. Hierarchy cultures value stability and have an internal focus. Finally,
market cultures value stability and have an external focus. Research findings indicate
that organizational culture is clearly related to measures of organizational effectiveness,
including job satisfaction, organizational commitment and innovation.
According to Edgar Schein, cultures are embedded in organizations by using one or
more of the following mechanisms: formal statements of organizational philosophy,
mission, vision, values, and materials used for recruiting, selection and socialization; the
design of physical space, work environment, and buildings; slogans, language,
acronyms, and sayings; deliberate role modeling, training programs, teaching, and
coaching by managers and supervisors; explicit rewards, status symbols and promotion
criteria; stories, legends, and myths about key people and events; the organizational
activities, processes, or outcomes that leaders pay attention to, measure, and control;
leader reactions to critical incidents and organizational crises; the workflow and
organizational structure; organizational systems and procedures; and organizational
goals and the associated criteria used for recruitment, selection, development,
promotion, layoffs, and retirement of people.
Organizational socialization is the process by which employees learn an organization’s
values, norms, and required behaviors. The socialization process is characterized by
three phases: anticipatory socialization, encounter, and change and acquisition. The
anticipatory phase occurs before the individual joins the organization. It is represented
by the information people have learned about different careers, occupations,
professions, and organizations. The encounter phase is a time for reconciling unmet
expectations and making sense of a new work environment. The third phase, change
and acquisition, requires employees to master important tasks and roles and to adjust to
their work group’s values and norms.
Research suggests several practical guidelines for managing organizational
socialization. First, managers should avoid a haphazard, sink-or-swim approach to
organizational socialization because formalized socialization tactics are more effective.
Second, managers should also consider how they might best set expectations regarding
ethical behavior during all three phases of the socialization process. Next, the type of
orientation program used to socialize employees affects their expectations and
behavior. Fourth, although there are different stages of socialization, they are not
identical in order, length, or content for all people or jobs. Finally, managers should pay
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attention to the socialization of diverse employees.
Mentoring is the process of forming and maintaining development relationships between
developers and a junior person. Mentoring serves five career functions (sponsorship,
exposure and visibility, coaching, protection, and challenging assignments) and four
psychosocial functions (role modeling, acceptance and confirmation, counseling, and
friendship). In today’s dynamic workplace, people should seek career information and
support from numerous sources, called developers. A developmental network can be
assessed based on the diversity of the developmental relationships and the strength of
the developmental relationships. The diversity of developmental relationships reflects
the variety of people within the network. Developmental relationship strength reflects
the quality of relationships among those involved in the developmental network. The
personal implications of these developmental networks include job and career
satisfaction. On the organizational side, mentoring enhances the effectiveness of
organizational communication and can reduce employee turnover and increase
productivity.
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Organizational Culture: Definition and Context
i) Organizational culture: the set of shared, taken-for-granted implicit
assumptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks
about, and reacts to its various environments. See Slide 3-4
ii) Organizational culture is passed on to new employees through the process of
socialization, it influences our behavior at work and it operates at different
levels. See Slide 3-5
iii) Figure 3-1: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Organizational
Culture provides a conceptual framework for reviewing the widespread
impact organizational culture has on organizational behavior. See Slide
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(1) Organizational culture is shaped by the founders’ values, the industry and
business environment, the national culture and the senior leaders’ vision
and behavior.
(2) Organizational culture influences the type of structure adopted by the
organization and a host of practices, policies, and procedures
implemented in pursuit of organizational goals.
(3) Organizational culture is a contextual variable influencing individual,
group, and organizational behavior.
II. Dynamics of Organizational Culture
i) Layers of Organizational Culture See Slides 3-7, 3-9, 3-11, 3-13
(1) Observable Artifacts
(a) Artifacts consist of the physical manifestation of an organization’s
culture.
(b) Examples include acronyms, manner of dress, awards, myths and
stories told about the organization, published lists of values,
observable rituals and ceremonies, special parking spaces,
decorations, and so on.
(c) This level also includes visible behaviors exhibited by people and
groups.
(d) Artifacts are easier to change than the less visible aspects of
organizational culture.
(2) Espoused Values
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(a) Values:
(i) Are concepts or beliefs.
(ii) Pertain to desirable end-states or behaviors.
(iii) Transcend situations.
(iv) Guide selection or evaluation of behavior and events.
(v) Are ordered by relative importance.
(b) Espoused values: the stated values and norms that are preferred by
an organization.
(i) Espoused values are generally established by the founder of a new
or small company and by the top management team in a larger
organization.
(ii) The espoused values of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. are presented in
the Real World/Real People: Williams-Sonoma’s Espoused
Values Focus on Employees, Customers, Shareholders, and
Ethical Behavior. See Slide 3-12
(iii)Because espoused values constitute aspirations that are explicitly
communicated to employees, managers hope that espoused values
will directly influence employee behavior, but this often does not
occur.
(iv)At a growing number of companies, an espoused value is
sustainability or “being green,” which involves meeting humanity’s
needs without harming future generations.
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(v) Sustainability: meeting humanity’s needs without harming future
generations.
(vi)Managers hope that espoused values will directly influence
employee behavior but employees do not always “walk the talk.”
(c) Enacted values: the values and norms that are exhibited or converted
into employee behavior.
(i) Enacted values may differ from the values an organization
espouses and companies such as Starbucks have used training to
try to ensure the firm’s enacted values match the firm’s espoused
values.
(ii) Any gaps between an organization’s espoused and enacted values
should be reduced because they can significantly influence
employee attitudes and organizational performance.
(3) Basic Assumptions
(a) Basic assumptions: taken-for-granted underlying assumptions about
the organizational values that guide organizational behavior.
(b) Basic underlying assumptions are unobservable and represent the
core of organizational culture.
(c) Basic assumptions are highly resistant to change.
(4) What Are the Takeaways from Research on Levels of Culture?
(a) PE fit: extent to which personal characteristics match those from a
work environment.
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(b) People have higher job satisfaction and commitment to their
organizations and lower intentions to quit when their personal
characteristics (e.g., skills, abilities, and personalities) and values (e.g.,
integrity) match or fit the job requirements, organizational values, and
the values of the workgroup.
(c) The Real World/Real People on page 66 profiles how one executive
left a firm because of low PE fit.
ii) Four Functions of Organizational Culture See Slide 3-14
(1) Figure 3-2: Four Functions of Organizational Culture illustrates the
four functions of organizational culture are to:
(a) Give members an organizational identity.
(b) Facilitate collective commitment.
(c) Promote social system stability—social system stability reflects the
extent to which the work environment is perceived as positive and
reinforcing, and conflict and change are managed effectively.
(d) Shape behavior by helping members make sense of their
surroundings—helps employees understand why the organization does
what it does and how it intends to accomplish its long-term goals.
(2) Southwest Airlines is an example of a firm that has successfully achieved
these four functions.
iii) Types of Organizational Culture
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(1) Overview of Organizational Culture Types
(a) The competing values framework (CVF) provides a practical way for
managers to understand, measure, and change organizational culture.
(b) The CVF indicates that organizations vary along two fundamental
dimensions or axes:
(i) The first dimension is the extent to which an organization focuses
its attention and efforts on internal dynamics and employees or
outward toward its external environment and its customers and
shareholders.
(ii) The second dimension is the organization’s preference for flexibility
and discretion or control and stability.
(c) Combining these two axes creates four types of organizational cultures
that are based on different core values and different sets of criteria for
assessing organizational effectiveness: Clan, Adhocracy, Hierarchy
and Market.
(d) Figure 3-3: Competing Values Framework shows the strategic thrust
associated with each of the four cultural types along with the means
used to accomplish this thrust and the resulting ends or goals pursued
by each cultural type. See Slide 3-15
(e) Organizations can possess characteristics associated with each
culture type but they tend to have one type of culture that is more
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dominant than the others.
(2) Clan Culture
(a) Clan culture: a culture that has an internal focus and values flexibility
rather than stability and control.
(b) Clan cultures resemble family-type organizations in which
effectiveness is achieved by encouraging collaboration between
employees.
(c) Clan cultures are very “employee–focused” and strive to instill cohesion
through consensus and job satisfaction and commitment through
employee involvement.
(d) Clan organizations devote considerable resources to hiring and
developing their employees, and they view customers as partners.
(e) Decagon Devices Inc. is an example of a company with a strong clan
culture.
(3) Adhocracy Culture
(a) Adhocracy culture: a culture that has an external focus and values
flexibility.
(b) Adhocracy cultures foster the creation of innovative products and
services by being adaptable, creative, and fast to respond to changes
in the marketplace.
(c) Adhocracy cultures do not rely on centralized power and authority
relationships and they encourage employees to take risks, think
outside the box, and experiment with new ways of getting things done.
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(d) This type of culture is well suited for start-up companies, those in
industries undergoing constant change, and those in mature industries
that are in need of innovation to enhance growth.
(e) AstraZeneca, Tata, W. L. Gore, Intel and Goggle are examples of
companies with an adhocracy culture.
(4) Market Culture
(a) Market culture: a culture that has a strong external focus and values
stability and control.
(b) Market cultures are driven by competition and a strong desire to deliver
results and accomplish goals.
(c) Customers and profits take precedence over employee development
and satisfaction and people who deliver results are rewarded.
(d) Virgin America and Kia Motors are examples of market cultures.
(5) Hierarchy Culture
(a) Hierarchy culture: a culture that has an internal focus and values
stability and control over flexibility.
(b) Hierarchy cultures have an internal focus, which produces a more
formalized and structured work environment, and value stability and
control over flexibility.
(c) Hierarchy cultures are characterized by reliable internal processes,
extensive measurement, and the implementation of a variety of control
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mechanisms.
(d) Johnson & Johnson (J & J) is an example of firm trying to create a
hierarchical culture.
(6) Cultural Types Represent Competing Values
(a) Cultures on the two diagonals in Figure 3-3: Competing Values
Framework reflect opposing core values.
(b) The clan culture has opposing values to the market culture, while the
adhocracy culture has opposing values to the hierarchical culture.
(c) These contradictions are important because an organization’s success
may depend on its ability to possess core values that are associated
with competing cultural types.
iv) Outcomes Associated with Organizational Culture See Slides 3-17,
3-18
(1) Figure 3-4: Correlates of Organizational Culture presents the results of
a meta-analysis that measured the strength of relationships between eight
different organizational outcomes and the culture types of clan, adhocracy,
and market. See Slide 3-19
(2) The results of this meta-analysis show:
(a) Organizational culture is clearly related to measures of organizational
effectiveness, suggesting an organization’s culture can be a source of
competitive advantage.
(b) Employees are more satisfied and committed to organizations with
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clan cultures, suggesting employees prefer to work in organizations
that value flexibility and are concerned with satisfying employees’
needs.
(c) Innovation and quality can be increased by building characteristics
associated with clan, adhocracy, and market cultures into the
organization.
(d) An organization’s financial performance is not very strongly related to
organizational culture.
(e) Companies with market cultures tend to have more positive
organizational outcomes.
(3) Studies of mergers have indicated that mergers frequently failed because
of incompatible cultures.
(4) Research underscores the significance of organizational culture and it
reinforces the need to learn more about the process of cultivating and
changing an organization’s culture.
III. The Process of Culture Change See Slides, 3-20, 3-21, 3-22
i) The process of culture change essentially begins with targeting one of the
three layers of organizational culture—observable artifacts, espoused values,
and basic assumptions.
ii) Culture will not change in a significant way unless managers are able to
change basic underlying assumptions.
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iii) It is important to consider the extent to which the current culture is aligned
with the organization’s vision and strategic plan before attempting to change
any aspect of organizational culture.
iv) Vision: long-term goal describing “what” an organization wants to become.
v) Strategic plan: outlines an organization’s long-term goals and the actions
necessary to achieve these goals.
vi) Mechanisms for cultural change include:
(1) Formal statements of organizational philosophy, mission, vision, values,
and materials used for recruiting, selection, and socialization.
(2) The design of physical space, work environments, and buildings.
(3) Slogans, language, acronyms, and sayings.
(4) Deliberate role modeling, training programs, teaching and coaching by
managers and supervisors.
(5) Explicit rewards, status symbols (e.g., titles) and promotion criteria.
(6) Stories, legends, and myths about key people and events.
(7) The organizational activities, processes, or outcomes that leaders pay
attention to, measure, and control.
(8) Leader reactions to critical incidents and organizational crises.
(9) The workflow and organizational structure.
(10) Organizational systems and procedures.
(11) Organizational goals and the associated criteria used for
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recruitment, selection, development, promotion, layoffs, and retirement of
people. The Real World/Real People: Zappos Works Hard to Recruit
and Select People Who Fit Its Culture profiles the approach to
recruitment and selection of the online shoe retailer, Zappos.
IV. The Organizational Socialization Process
i) Organizational Socialization Overview
(a) Organizational socialization: the process by which a person learns
the values, norms, and required behaviors which permit him to
participate as a member of the organization. See Slide 3-23
(b) Organizational socialization is a key mechanism used by organizations
to embed their organizational cultures.
ii) A Three-Phase Model of Organizational Socialization
(1) Three-Phase Model of Organizational Socialization Overview
(a) Figure 3-5: A Model of Organizational Socialization shows the
three-phase model of organizational socialization. See Slide 3-
24
(b) Each phase has its associated perceptual and social processes.
(c) The model specifies behavioral and affective outcomes that can be
used to judge how well an individual has been socialized.
(2) Phase 1: Anticipatory Socialization See Slide 3-25
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(a) Anticipatory socialization occurs before an individual joins an
organization and involves the information people learn about different
careers, occupations, professions, and organizations.
(b) The information for anticipatory socialization comes from many
sources, including the organization’s current employees, the Internet
and social media.
(c) Unrealistic expectations about the nature of the work, pay, and
promotions are often formulated during phase 1.
(d) Because employees with unrealistic expectations are more likely to
quit their jobs in the future, organizations may want to use realistic job
previews.
(e) Realistic job preview (RJP): presents both positive and negative
aspects of a job.
(3) Phase 2: Encounter See Slide 3-26
(a) In the encounter phase, employees learn what the organization is
really like and reconcile unmet expectations after the employment
contract has been signed.
(b) This is a time for reconciling unmet expectations and making sense of
a new work environment.
(c) Organizations use a combination of orientation and training programs
to socialize employees during the encounter phase, including
onboarding.