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1.
B. One of the primary things U.S. managers can do is to be culturally sensitive.
influence comes a reputation.
and loud,” says one U.S. executive.
3. Companies such as American Airlines, Lowe’s, Novell, ExxonMobil, and Microsoft
differences.
4. Some ways in which U.S. managers can be culturally sensitive include talking in a
religion and politics.
C. The management of ethical behavior is one area where national culture can rub up against
corporate culture.
the host country.
unethical.
4. Any action that deviates from profit maximization may indicate that inappropriate or
corrupt behavior may be occurring. In contrast, managers in developing economies
are more likely to see ethical decisions as embedded in a social environment.
also may even be an ethical responsibility.
6. Managers in many nations also view capitalism skeptically and believe the interests
II. Summary and Implications for Managers
A. Exhibit 16-6 depicts organizational culture as an intervening variable.
affects employee performance and satisfaction, with stronger cultures having greater
impact. Specific implications for managers are below:
2. Hire individuals whose values align with those of the organization; these employees
considerably higher turnover rates.
3. Understand that employees’ performance and socialization depend, to a considerable
degree, on their knowing what to do and not do. Train your employees well and keep
them informed of changes to their job roles.
4. You can shape the culture of your work environment, sometimes as much as it shapes
you. All managers can do their part to create an ethical culture and to consider
spirituality and its role in creating a positive organizational culture.
5. Be aware that your company’s organizational culture may not be “transportable” to
other countries. Understand the cultural relevance of your organization’s norms
before introducing new plans or initiatives overseas.
Myth or Science?
“An Organization’s Culture Is Forever”
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objectives: Describe the common characteristics of organizational culture; Identify the factors that create
and sustain an organization’s culture
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices for creating and sustaining organizational cultures
AASCB: Diverse and multicultural work environments; Reflective thinking
This is actually not true. Although research indicates organizational culture is difficult to change
and notable change can take a long time, it can be done. Sometimes it is essential for survival.
For years, Wisconsin’s Wellspring system provided a low-level nursing home environment in
which inpatients had little input about their care and the organizational culture allowed lax
standards to prevail. Then the network of 11 nursing homes launched a culture change initiative.
Management focused on caregiver collaboration, education, accountability, and empowerment.
The results were excellent. Wellspring realized fewer state standards infractions and higher
retention rates at the facilities, but the results for the patients were even greater: fewer bedfast
residents, less use of restraints and psychoactive medication, less incontinence, and fewer tube
feedings than in other nursing homes.
The Wellspring program illustrates the significant effect positive organizational culture change
can achieve. CEO Bob Flexon of Dynegy Inc., a Houston-based electric utility giant that
emerged from bankruptcy, saved his company by changing the organizational culture. First, he
ditched the cushy CEO office suite, $15,000 marble desk, and Oriental rugs for a small cubicle
on a warehouse-style floor shared with all 235 headquarters employees. Next, he visited
company facilities, trained “culture champions,” and reinstated annual performance reviews as
part of the plan to increase collaboration. He created a plaque as a reminder to “Be Here Now”
instead of multitasking and banned smartphones from meetings. Flexon said, “The idea was to
instill a winning spirit,” and he counts on his visibility as CEO to broadcast the culture change
down to the lowest levels of the widespread organization.
Positive results have included a reduction in turnover from 8 percent in 2011 to 5.8 percent in
2012. Flexon said, “People are cautiously beginning to believe that we can win again.” The
company continues to report massive earnings losses, but Flexon is optimistic about Dynegy’s
rebound. He says, “Our ongoing focus on culture is what will make the difference.” Through
substantial growth following their bankruptcy, Dynegy (as of 2017) now makes around 5.5
billion dollars annually.
Sources: J. Bellot, “Nursing Home Culture Change What Does It Mean to Nurses?” Research in Gerontological Nursing (October 2012), pp.
264–273; T. Linquist, “Interview With Bob Flexon, CEO of Dynegy in Houston,” Leadership Lyceum: A CEO’s Virtual Mentor [podcast],
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/part-1-2-interview-bob-flexon-ceo-dynegy-houston-thomas-linquist; J. S. Lublin, “This CEO Used to Have an
Office,” The Wall Street Journal (March 13, 2013), pp. B1, B8; and J. Molineux, “Enabling Organizational Cultural Change Using Systemic
Strategic Human Resource Management—A Longitudinal Case Study,” International Journal of Human Resource Management (April 1, 2013),
pp. 1588–1612.
Class Exercise
organizational cultures.
3. Then ask each group to read Forbes’ “How Do You Change an Organizational Culture”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/07/23/how-do-you-change-an-organizati
onal-culture/ and use the model presented in the article to explore how the companies
presented in the text feature changed their cultures.
Teaching Notes
This exercise is applicable to face-to-face classes or synchronous online classes such as
BlackBoard 9.1, Breeze, WIMBA, and Second Life Virtual Classrooms. See
(http://www.wimba.com/solutions/higher-education/wimba_classroom_for_higher_education),
(http://go.secondlife.com/landing/education/) and
(http://docplayer.net/19442732-Effective-use-of-collaboration-tools-for-online-learning-jennifer-pontano-ke-anna-sk
ipwith-drexel-university-e-learning-2-0-conference-march-2011.html) for more information.
An Ethical Choice
A Culture of Compassion
This exercise contributes to:
organization
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices for creating and sustaining organizational cultures
AASCB: Ethical understanding and reasoning; Reflective thinking
In the world of banking, success and ethical culture don’t necessarily go hand in hand. Leaders
who desire ethical cultures in their organizations must choose to build ethics into the company’s
and clients, while JP Morgan Chase seems to emanate a culture of compassion. Consider some
recent headlines:
Mefit “Mike” Mecevic was a loyal janitor for Goldman Sachs when Superstorm Sandy hit
New York in 2012. Mecevic and his coworkers rode out the storm in the company’s
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase & Company proclaims, “People are our most important
asset. The long-term growth and success of JP Morgan Chase depends on our ability to attract
and retain our employees. Maintaining a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone can
thrive is not only the smart thing to do—it’s the right thing to do.” The culture of JP Morgan
to their cultures.
Sources: JP Morgan Chase & Co., “People and Culture,” https://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/About-JPMC/ab-people-culture.htm,
accessed April 18, 2017; B. Ross, A. Ng, and C. Siemaszko, “Ex-Goldman Sachs Janitor Sues for Being Forced into Post-Hurricane Sandy
Destruction,” New York Daily News, June 7, 2013,
www.nydailynews.com/new-york/janitorsues-tossed-aftermath-hurricane-sandy-article-1.1366334; M. Schifrin and H. Touryalai, “The Bank That
Works,” Forbes, February 13, 2012, 66–74.
Class Exercise
and how they might change if their approach was different.
4. Have each group present their discussions to the class. Ask students which type of
organization they would rather work for and why.
Teaching Notes
(http://docplayer.net/19442732-Effective-use-of-collaboration-tools-for-online-learning-jennifer-pontano-ke-anna-sk
ipwith-drexel-university-e-learning-2-0-conference-march-2011.html) for more information.
Career OBjectives
How do I learn to lead?
This exercise contributes to:
and sustain an organization’s culture
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices for creating and sustaining organizational cultures
AASCB: Diverse and multicultural work environments; Reflective thinking
I’ll be starting a new job in a few weeks. It’s my first time working as a leader for a team, and I
know I have a lot to learn. Is there any way I can be sure I’ll achieve success as a leader? —
Gordon
Dear Gordon:
successful:
• Ask questions. New leaders are often anxious about asking questions of direct reports for fear of
being seen as incompetent or weak. However, inquiring about how things have been done in the
past and asking about individual goals signals that you are concerned about the team members.
Familiarizing yourself with the group’s culture and practices can also help you develop
assistance and advice.
• Start small. Much has been written about the importance of gaining small wins early on to
build your reputation. The old saying “you never get a second chance to make a first impression”
definitely holds true in the workplace. Try to develop new initiatives with clear outcomes that
up for success from the start.
Be proactive!
Sources: T. B. Harris, N. Li, W. R. Boswell, X. Zhang, and Z. Xie, “Getting What’s New from Newcomers: Empowering Leadership, Creativity,
and Adjustment in the Socialization Context,” Personnel Psychology 67 (2014): 567–604; Y. H. Ji, N. A. Cohen, A. Daly, K. Finnigan, and K.
Klein, “The Dynamics of Voice Behavior and Leaders’ Network Ties in Times of Leadership Successions,” Academy of Management
http://www.businessinsider.com/5-thingsnew-ceos-should-focus-on-2015-6.
MyLab Management
Personal Inventory Assessments
Comfort with Change Scale
Do you like change? Hate change? Few people are neutral about their preference for change.
MyLab Management
Try It!
Organizational Culture
If your instructor has assigned this activity, go to www.pearson.com/mylab/management to
complete the video exercise.
MyLab Management
Watch It!
Organizational Culture (TWZ Role Play)
complete the video exercise.
Point/Counterpoint
Organizational Culture Can Be “Measured”
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objective: Describe the common characteristics of organizational culture
Point
Greg Besner, the CEO of CultureIQ, has spent 15 years as an entrepreneur and leader following
hundreds of companies to be able accurately measure an organization’s culture. CultureIQ
focuses on measuring and managing organizational culture using a software package, and over
time, they have found that they believe there are 10 indicators present that help a company assess
companies should assess all the following:
1. Communication, including employee voice and downward communication from leaders.
2. Innovation, including employee creativity and organizational receptiveness to new ideas.
3. Agility, including employee perceptions of whether the organization adapts to changes.
4. Wellness, including the mental and physical well-being of employees.
6. Collaboration, including how well employees work with one another.
organization as a whole.
8. Performance orientation, including role clarity, rewards, and employee recognition.
9. Responsibility, including employee accountability and autonomy.
10. Mission and values, including awareness and implementation.
Beyond Besner’s approach, a variety of other researchers and practitioners have claimed to
accurately assess organizational culture. Primarily, they have used surveys and interviews to
assess organizational culture and have amassed evidence that they measure what they should and
do so consistently. One example of these measures asks employees respond to questions related
to the dimensions of organizational culture discussed at the beginning of the chapter (e.g., the
“objective factors” in Exhibit 16-6) and to compare how their stance on these values aligns with
the organization’s.
Counterpoint
Can something so complex, so deep, and difficult to clearly define be measured by asking
someone about their organization’s culture in an interview or a survey? Probably not. As
Professor John Traphagan notes, “The problem with the term ‘culture’ is that it tends to
essentialize groups: it simplistically represents a group of people as a unified whole that share
simple common values, ideas, practices, and beliefs.” Not only does it reduce complex systems
to unified wholes, organizational culture is also deterministic, meaning that it is a given,
focus on myths? Stories? Values? Behavior? Artifacts? Beliefs? Underlying Assumptions?
Although it is easy to see how values, behavior, and beliefs can be assessed with surveys; it is
perhaps very difficult to make sense of the organization’s stories, artifacts, and underlying
assumptions. Furthermore, how can we reliably distinguish the effect of subcultures or the
“measure” them.
Sources: N. M. Ashkanasy, L. E. Broadfoot, and S. Falkus, “Questionnaire Measures of Organizational Culture,” In N. M. Ashkanasy, C. P. M.
Wilderom, and M. F. Peterson (Eds.), Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2000): 131–146; G. Besner,
“The 10 Company Culture Metrics you Should be Tracking Right now,” Entrepreneur, June 3, 2015,
Class Exercise
1. Divide the class into teams of three to five students each.
2. Assign half the class teams to assume the Point view and the other half the Counterpoint
view.
3. Ask the students to fact find on the Internet about their side of the issue and prepare to
Difference Between Manipulation and Motivation”
https://www.management-issues.com/opinion/1918/the-difference-between-manipulation
-and-motivation/
5. On a specified day, call upon a Point Team and a Counterpoint Team to use 15 minutes to
make their sides of the issue clear. Offer each team a chance to rebut the view of the other
team.
Teaching Notes
This exercise is applicable to face-to-face classes or synchronous online classes such as
BlackBoard 9.1, Breeze, WIMBA, and Second Life Virtual Classrooms. See
(http://www.wimba.com/solutions/higher-education/wimba_classroom_for_higher_education),
(http://go.secondlife.com/landing/education/) and
(http://docplayer.net/19442732-Effective-use-of-collaboration-tools-for-online-learning-jennifer-pontano-ke-anna-sk
ipwith-drexel-university-e-learning-2-0-conference-march-2011.html) for more information.
