Group 2 CHAPTER 15: ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Just as individuals have personalities, so do organizations.
The origin of culture as an independent variable affecting an employee’s attitudes and behavior can be traced back more than 50 years to the notion of institutionalization. When an organization becomes institutionalized, it takes on a life of its own, apart from its founders or any of its members. In addition, it becomes valued for itself, not merely for the goods or services it produces. Institutionalization operates to produce common understandings among members about what is appropriate and meaningful behavior.
It’s best to describe Organizational culture as a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations. Organizational culture may be characterized according to seven primary characteristics: innovation and risk taking, attention to detail, outcome orientation, people orientation, team orientation, aggressiveness, and stability.
A dominant culture expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organization’s members. Subcultures tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common problems, situations, or experiences that members face. These subcultures are likely to be defined by departmental designations and geographic separations.
In a strong culture, the organization’s core values are both intensely held and widely shared. A strong culture can substitute for formalization, which also creates predictability, orderliness, and consistency.
Culture performs many functions. It acts as a boundary-defining role; it conveys a sense of identity for organizational members; it facilitates the generation of commitment to something larger than one’s individual self-interest; it enhances the stability of the social system; it provides appropriate standards for how employees should