Understanding Corporate Culture: Values, Norms, and Adaptation Strategies
This chapter delves into the essence of corporate culture, explaining its key components: shared values, assumptions, and norms that unify members of an organization. It explores levels of culture, differentiating between visible artifacts and underlying beliefs. The chapter highlights the importance of culture strength, adaptive versus unadaptive cultures, and tools like ceremonies, stories, and symbols in shaping culture. Additionally, it addresses organizational values, ethics, and the role of values-based leadership, emphasizing the significance of a well-defined code of ethics and a Chief Ethics Officer in maintaining moral integrity within a company.
Understanding Corporate Culture: Values, Norms, and Adaptation Strategies
E N D
Presentation Transcript
Chapter 14 Shaping Culture and Values
Culture The set of key values, assumptions, understandings, and norms that is shared by members of an organization and taught to new members as correct • Internal integration • External adaptation
Ex. 14.1 Levels of Corporate Culture Culture that can be seen at the surface level Visible • Artifacts such as dress, office layout, symbols, slogans, ceremonies Invisible • Expressed values, such as “The Penney Idea,” “The HP Way” • Underlying assumptions and deep beliefs, such as “people here care about one another like a family” Deeper values and shared understandings held by organization members
Culture Strength The degree of agreement among employees about the importance of specific values and ways of doing things
Ceremony, Story, and Symbol Ceremony • A planned activity that makes up a special event and is generally conducted for the benefit of an audience Story • A narrative based on true events that is repeated frequently and shared among employees Symbol • A object, act, or event that conveys meaning to others • Shaping culture: specialized language, selection and socialization, daily actions.
Organizational Values The enduring beliefs that have worth, merit, and importance for the organization
Ex. 14.3 Four Corporate Cultures Flexibility Clan Culture Adaptability Culture Values: Cooperation Consideration Agreement Fairness Social equality Values: Creativity Experimentation Risk-taking Autonomy Responsiveness External focus Internal focus Bureaucratic Culture Achievement Culture Values: Economy Formality Rationality Order Obedience Values: Competitiveness Perfectionism Aggressiveness Diligence Personal initiative Stability
Ethics The code of moral principles and values that governs the behavior of a person or group with respect to what is right and wrong
Values-Based Leadership A relationship between leaders and followers that is based on shared, strongly internalized values that are advocated and acted upon by the leader
Code of Ethics and Chief Ethics Officer Code of Ethics: a formal statement of the company’s ethical values Chief Ethics Officer: A high-level company executive who oversees all aspects of ethics
