Classroom Presentations
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Presentation Format
This is an outline of what I expect in the presentations. I will not determine what your theory
has to be. However, if you theory has been presented many times, I hope you will find
something new to present.
You are welcome to do the presentation on the theory you described in one of your papers.
That way you don’t have to work up a new theory. (You can if you want to.)
Presentations will be limited to 3 minutes. With the number of students in the class, this will
still take up a lot of our time.
There is no requirement that slides be included. It can be just you talking!
Presentation Structure:
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Grading will be very simple.
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Can I understand the basics of the theory from your presentation?
Does your reason for applying the theory represent an appropriate application?
Does your future change follow from you reason for applying the theory?
Not getting to a component is equivalent to getting it wrong.
Not Directly Graded but Important
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You are presenting to the Board of Directors. They have given you two minutes of their time to tell
them about a theory you want to use in your organization going forward.
You must describe the theory at a very general level.
You must tell the Board why you think applying this theory is useful.
You must say what you believe will improve after the theory has been implemented.
Since this is the Board, they don’t want to be bogged down in detail, just the 30,000 foot view.
Did your presentation add to the general understanding of this theory in the context of class.
What will happen.
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Up to 6 people will be signed up to present each night.
Presentations will occur at the start of class and after the break ( ½ each time)
Except for the first night, there will be a mix of classroom and distance presentations.
I will stop the presentation at 3 minutes even if you are just saying your final words.
Corporate Culture
Transition – Living Systems Model
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Individual (personality, values & attitudes)
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Group (personality, values & attitudes)
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Organization (personality, values & attitudes)
Culture Exercise
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You are about to go on a job interview. Do you
know the things you want/need from the
organization you are about to join.
Do you know the organization’s cultural statement?
What needs to be there for you to be comfortable?
Create 3 questions you would ask on an interview to
help establish whether the actual culture is
consistent with the stated culture.
Pair up with neighbor and ask your culture
questions. (If you are the person answering, just use
your own company for the response.)
Did you get any more information?
Organizational culture

Set of key characteristics that the
organization
values that
distinguishes
the organization
from other
organizations
Culture’s Functions
Boundary-defining
role
Conveys a sense of identity
Facilitates the generation of commitment
Enhances social system stability
Sense-making and control mechanism
How a Culture Begins

Ultimate source of an organization’s
culture is its founders
Johnson & Johnson
Our Credo
We believe our first responsibility is to the
doctors, nurses and patients,
to mothers and fathers and all others
who use our products and services.
In meeting their needs everything we do
must be of high quality.
We must constantly strive to reduce our
costs
in order to maintain reasonable prices.
Customers' orders must be serviced
promptly and accurately.
Our suppliers and distributors must
have an opportunity
to make a fair profit.
Johnson & Johnson
Our Credo
We are responsible to our employees,
the men and women who work with us
throughout the world.
Everyone must be considered as an individual.
We must respect their dignity and recognize their
merit.
They must have a sense of security in their jobs.
Compensation must be fair and adequate,
and working conditions clean, orderly and safe.
We must be mindful of ways to help our
employees fulfill
their family responsibilities.
Employees must feel free to make suggestions
and complaints.
There must be equal opportunity for employment,
development
and advancement for those qualified.
We must provide competent management,
and their actions must be just and ethical.
Johnson & Johnson
Our Credo
We are responsible to the communities in which we live and
work
and to the world community as well.
We must be good citizens – support good works and
charities
and bear our fair share of taxes.
We must encourage civic improvements and better health
and education.
We must maintain in good order
the property we are privileged to use,
protecting the environment and natural resources.
Our final responsibility is to our stockholders.
Business must make a sound profit.
We must experiment with new ideas.
Research must be carried on, innovative programs
developed
and mistakes paid for.
New equipment must be purchased, new facilities provided
and new products launched.
Reserves must be created to provide for adverse times.
When we operate according to these principles,
the stockholders should realize a fair return.
Corporate Culture
How we work sets us apart. We encourage hands-on
innovation, involving those closest to a project in decision
making. Teams organize around opportunities and leaders
emerge.
Our founder, Bill Gore created a flat lattice organization. There
are no chains of command nor pre-determined channels of
communication. Instead, we communicate directly with each
other and are accountable to fellow members of our multidisciplined teams.
How does all this happen? Associates (not employees) are hired
for general work areas. With the guidance of their sponsors
(not bosses) and a growing understanding of opportunities
and team objectives, associates commit to projects that
match their skills. All of this takes place in an environment
that combines freedom with cooperation and autonomy with
synergy.
Corporate Culture
.
Everyone can quickly earn the credibility to define and drive projects.
Sponsors help associates chart a course in the organization that
will offer personal fulfillment while maximizing their contribution to
the enterprise. Leaders may be appointed, but are defined by
'followership.' More often, leaders emerge naturally by
demonstrating special knowledge, skill, or experience that
advances a business objective.
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Associates adhere to four basic guiding principles articulated by Bill
Gore:
Fairness to each other and everyone with whom we come in contact
Freedom to encourage, help, and allow other associates to grow in
knowledge, skill, and scope of responsibility
The ability to make one's own commitments and keep them
Consultation with other associates before undertaking actions that could
impact the reputation of the company
National culture
is…
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the unwritten rules of the social game
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the collective programming of the mind
that distinguishes the members of one
group from those of another
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the way you were brought up
like your nose
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Copied from http://www.info.wau.nl/people/gertjan/presentations.htm
Hofstede’s data for
country culture
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Geert Hofstede, data collection ‘68-’72
Opinion survey with IBM, all levels, n > 100.000
Factor analysis of > 150 questions
e.g. ‘How important is it to you to work with people who cooperate well with one another?’
 central to factor individualism (+) / collectivism (-)
(next to time for personal and family life
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and to factor masculinity (-) / femininity (+)
(next to earnings, advancement)
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Replicated often, and confirmed
Copied from http://www.info.wau.nl/people/gertjan/presentations.htm
The five big issues of culture
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identity
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hierarchy
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Warriors vs. maidens / mothers? Or unisex?
truth
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Are all people equal? Or born with a rank?
gender
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Am I a unique individual? Or a group member?
Are strange things dangerous? Or interesting?
virtue
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Live for today? Or for later?
Copied from http://www.info.wau.nl/people/gertjan/presentations.htm
Organizational culture?
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If national culture is like your nose,
organizational culture is like your hair-do:
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instilled at workplace
changed through hiring and firing
shared perception of common practices
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important as social glue for the organization
NOT necessarily shared values
MORE THAN strategy, propaganda, rhetoric
Pioneering leaders have strong imprint
Copied from http://www.info.wau.nl/people/gertjan/presentations.htm
Mission
Stability
Innovation and
risk taking
Attention to
Detail
Characteristics
of
Organizational
Culture
Team
Orientation
People
Orientation
Outcome
Orientation
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Organizational culture is concerned with
how employees perceive the relative
characteristics, not whether they like them
Denison Organizational Cultural Survey
Involvement
Building Human Capability,
Ownership, and Responsibility
Empowerment ~ Team Orientation ~
Capability Development
Involvement
Empowerment
 Individuals
•
100%
•
75%
•
50%
•
25%
have the authority,
initiative, and ability to
manage their own work.
 Information
 Decisions
is widely shared.
are made at the
level where the best
information is available.
Involvement
Team Orientation
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•
100%
•
75%
•
50%
•
25%
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Cooperation and collaboration
across functional roles are
actively encouraged.
Horizontal control vs. hierarchy
is emphasized.
Teams are seen as primary
building blocks.
Involvement
Capability Development

•
100%
•
75%
•
50%
•
25%
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“Bench Strength” is constantly
improving.
Investment into the
development of
employees’ skills is ongoing.
Capability of people is viewed
as a competitive advantage.
Consistency
Defining the Values and Systems
that are the Basis of a Strong Culture
Core Values ~ Agreement ~
Coordination & Integration
Consistency
Core Values
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•
100%
•
75%
•
50%
•
25%
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Managers “Practice what they
Preach.”
Organizational members
share a set of values which
create a strong sense of
identity.
An ethical code exists and
guides the organization’s
behavior.
Consistency
Agreement

•
100%
•
75%
•
50%
•
25%
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“Win-Win” Solutions are
Achieved.
The Organization has a
“Strong” Culture.
Reaching consensus is
easy, even on difficult
issues.
Consistency
•
100%
•
75%
•
50%
•
25%
Coordination & Integration
 People from different
organizational units share a
common perspective.
 Coordinating projects across
functional units is easy.
 The business approach
throughout the organization is
very consistent and
predictable.
Adaptability
Translating the Demands of the
Business Environment into Action.
Creating Change ~ Customer Focus ~
Organizational Learning
Adaptability
Creating Change

•
100%
•
75%
•
50%
•
25%
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Continuous internal
improvement exists.
Different organizational units
cooperate to create change.
Responding well to
competitors and the external
business environment is a
priority.
Adaptability
Customer Focus

•
100%
•
75%
•
50%
•
25%
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Customer input directly
influences decisions.
Interests of the final customer
seldom get ignored.
Anticipating future needs of
the customer is highly
valued.
Adaptability
Organizational Learning

•
100%
•
75%
•
50%
•
25%
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Failure is seen as a “learning
opportunity.”
Innovation and risk-taking
are encouraged and
rewarded.
It is clear that the “right hand
knows what the left hand is
doing” in the organization.
Mission
Defining a Meaningful
Long-Term Direction for the Organization
Vision ~ Strategic Direction & Intent ~
Goals & Objectives
Mission
Vision
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•
100%
•
75%
•
50%
•
25%
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Leaders in this organization
have a long-term
orientation.
Organizational members
have a shared view of a
desired future state.
The organization’s vision
creates excitement and
motivation for employees.
Mission
Strategic Direction & Intent

•
100%
•
75%
•
50%
•
25%
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Meaningful purpose and
direction exists in the
organization.
The organization has a clear
strategy for the future.
Clarity exists around how
individual employees
contribute to the
organization’s strategy.
Mission
Goals & Objectives
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•
100%
•
75%
•
50%
•
25%
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Goals and objectives are
linked to the organization’s
vision and strategy.
Leaders set ambitious, but
realistic goals.
Continuously tracking
progress against stated
goals is the norm.
Denison’s Cultural Model
External Focus
Outcome
Orientation
Innovation and
risk taking
Flexible
Stable
Stability
Team
Orientation
People
Orientation
Attention to
Detail
Internal Focus
Denison Organizational Culture Survey
Denison
Organizational Culture Survey
Based On:
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15 Years of Research
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1,000 Organizations
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40,000 Individuals
Denison
Organizational Culture Survey
Correlates With:
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Profitability
Quality
Sales Growth
Innovation
Employee Satisfaction
Denison
Organizational Culture Survey
4 Cultural Traits
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Involvement
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Consistency
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Adaptability
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Mission
Denison’s 12 Indexes
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Empowerment
Creating
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Team Orientation
Customer
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Capability Development
Organizational
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Core Values
Vision
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Agreement
Strategic
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Coordination & Integration
Goals
Change
Focus
Learning
Direction & Intent
& Objectives
Correlations
Between Culture and Performance
Mission & Consistency
r
ROA, ROI, ROS
Consistency & Involvement
r
Quality, ROI, Employee
Satisfaction
r
Product Development,
Innovation
r
Revenue, Sales Growth,
Market Share
Involvement & Adaptability
Adaptability & Mission
r = Correlates With
Denison
Organizational Culture Survey
Denison Organizational Culture Survey and supporting materials are copyrighted by Daniel Denison and William Neale. Reproduced by permission of the copyright holder.
Strong Performing Companies
Composite of companies that had an average
ROI of 30 percent
Weak Performing Companies
Composite of companies that had an average
ROI of 9 percent
Hundred Year Old Manufacturing Company
 Still 1st in their industry but a company in decline
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1st time in 20 years they have not met financial goals
Being buffeted by competitors
New President is operationally focused
“We’re a team going down together”
Trying to hold on to past glories
Leading Retailer
 One of the fastest growing retailers in the world
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Strong sense of direction and purpose
Tremendous ability to anticipate customer needs
Customer service viewed as Achilles heel
Not very operationally strong
Telecommunications
 Considered the market leader in product and
service innovation
 Highest customer service ratings in the country
 Stock price has doubled in past 3 years
 Rapid increase in revenue growth during past 5 years
U.S. Government Agency
 Severe conflict between union and management
 Grievance rate increasing over past 10 years
 Quality and customer service described as inferior
 In red financially several times during past decade
 Management values tight controls on employees
 No employee development for 3 consecutive years
 Several reorganizations during past six years
 Threat of going out of business
Automotive Supplier
 Revenue doubled over past 3 years, projected to
double again over next 3 years
 Market position and share expanded rapidly around
the world
 Current and past CEO known as industry visionary
leaders
 Product quality a continuing problem
 Profitability has not kept pace with revenue growth
Leading Software Company
 Fastest growing of their size in industry
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Highest profitability
Highest revenue per employee
Most growth has come through acquisitions
Recently assigned a Vice President in charge
corporate culture development and business partner
relationships
Denison
Do Organizations Have Uniform Cultures?
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A dominant culture
expresses the core
values that are shared
by a majority of the
organization’s members
Do Organizations Have Uniform Cultures?
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Subcultures tend to
develop in large
organizations to reflect
common problems,
situations, or
experiences that
members face
A Socialization Model
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Show CBOC tenure data
Managing Cultural Change
Cultural change is most likely to take when the
following conditions exist  Dramatic crisis exists or is created
 Turnover in leadership
 Young and small organization
 Weak culture
Paradox of Diversity
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Two Conflicting Goals
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Employees accept the organization’s dominant
values
Encourage the acceptance of differences
Culture and Technology
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How does technology impact culture?
Does it make some things easier?
Does it make some things harder?
Is it a critical factor or only a secondary
issue?
Good to Great – Jim Collins
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“The evidence from our study does not support the idea that
technological change plays the principal role in the decline of
once- great companies (or the perpetual mediocrity of others).
Certainly, technology is important-you can’t remain a laggard and
hope to be great. But technology by itself is never a primary
cause of either greatness or decline.
We were quite surprised to find that fully 80 percent of the goodto-great executives we interviewed didn’t even mention
technology as one of the top five factors in the transition.
Furthermore, in the cases where they did mention technology, it
had a medial ranking of fourth whit only two executives of eightyfour interviewed ranking it number one.
Organizational Structure and
Human Resources
Ages of Man
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Infancy
Soldier (young adult
Lover (teenager)
Childhood
Justice (accomplished adult)
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elderly
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Senility & death
Why Create Structure?
Organization Structure defines how job tasks
are formally divided, grouped, and
coordinated
Work Specialization
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Division of labor
Describes the degree to which activities in
the organization are subdivided into separate
jobs
Departmentalization
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Basis by which jobs are grouped together
Function
Product
Geography
Process
Customer
Chain of Command
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Unbroken line of authority that extends from
the top of the organization to the lowest
echelon and clarifies who reports to whom

Span of control - determines the number of
levels and managers an organization has

Trend in recent years has been toward
larger spans of control

Wide spans are consistent with efforts by
companies to reduce costs, cut overhead,
speed up decision making, increase
flexibility, get closer to customers, and
empower employees
Contrasting Spans of Control
Common Organizational Designs
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Simple structure
Bureaucracy
Matrix structure
Simple Structure
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Low degree of departmentalization
Wide spans of control
Little formalization
Difficult to maintain in anything other than
small organizations
Bureaucracy
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Highly routine operating tasks achieved
through specialization
Formalized rules and regulations
Tasks that are grouped into functional
departments
Bureaucracy
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Centralized authority
Narrow spans of control
Decision making that follows the chain of
command
Formalization

Degree to which jobs
within the
organization are
standardized

Job analysis

Union Organizations
– Why do unions
prefer standardized
jobs?
Matrix Structure
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Combines two forms of departmentalization—
functional and product
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Management responsibilities must be carefully
agreed to.
Management job descriptions must clarify
responsibility
Methods must be in place to establish how
information will be gathered and reported.
New Options
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The Team Structure
The Virtual Organization
The Boundaryless Organization
<Position Title Goes Here>
(Focus is on _________________)
Intent: (General descripton of position
The Work/Tasks:
Interacts With:
• Who person contacts
Key Measures:
• Measures
• Tasks
Skills/Attributes:
• Experience component of job
Decision Rights:
• Decisions person can make alone
Key Enablers:
• Support required
Manager, Business Administration
(Focus is on Internal Business Operations)
Intent: The Manager, Business Administration is responsible for ensuring the smooth operation of all internal, day-to-day aspects of Niagara Institute’s business
including: finance and budgeting; invoicing and payables; facilities and supplier management; technology; contract administration; and Human Resource
operations including Union relationship management. The Manager, Business Administration frees up the other functional leaders so they can focus on the work
of their functions.
Interacts With:
The Work/Tasks:
• All NI staff
• Manages all aspects of the NI’s financial activities;
financial analysis and tracking
• Suppliers
• Liaises with CBoC’s key operational departments
as required: Finance, HR, Technology, etc.
• CBoC counterparts
• Union officials
• Auditors
• Taxation and other compliance
officials
Skills/Attributes:
• Financial Management knowledge and skill
• Knowledge of technology
• Negotiation skills
• Solid understanding of NI’s business and its
critical success factors
• Process improvement
• Effective communicator; persuasive
• Good interpersonal skills
• Knowledge of HR operating practices
• Excellent Administrative skills
• Manages NI’s overall facilities requirements for
NI’s own needs and to support program delivery
• Contract Administration - Manages supplier
contracts; ensures customer contract are in place
to support work
Key Measures:
• % over or under budget (for NI’s operations)
• Invoicing, receivables and payables managed
within targeted time lines (cash flow
management)
• Employee satisfaction with: technology
capability; efficiency and ease of use of
internal business processes
• Supplier contracts are current and
competitive
• Ensures appropriate HR processes are in place
• Customer contracts held for all work started
• Manages the Union relationship and contract
negotiations
• Compliance issues addressed in a timely
fashion ( e.g. – up-to-date)
• Ensures technology infrastructure is operational
and appropriate to support business needs
• Quality of union relationship; contract is
current
• Acts as the officer in charge for all business
compliance issues
Decision Rights:
Key Enablers:
• What is in budget or out of budget, once
budget established and agreed by the
Management Team
• Budget required to effect changes in
technology platform to support business
needs
• Appropriate technology to support business
operations
• Access to information ( from the three
operating areas)
• Union contract issues
• Clear understanding of the boundaries within
which to negotiate
• Internal process changes (as relates to NI’s
internal business operations – not customer
processes)
• Supplier contract issues (e.g. – as relates to
facilities management)
• Access to CBoC resources and support from
them in key departments: finance, HR,
technology
• Client focused financial tracking system
Mechanistic versus Organic Structures
Strategy and Structure

How do different structures produce
different outcomes?
Innovation Strategy
 Cost-Minimization Strategy
 Imitation Strategy
 Marketing/ Sales Strategy
 Globalization Strategy

Organizational Structure and Employee
Behavior



Work Specialization
Span of Control
Centralization
Job Opening and you are interviewing



Use previous job description
Generate one question you would ask of the
interviewee
Develop the kind of answer you would like to
hear.
Employee Selection


Interview is the most widely used selection
tool
Results tend to have a disproportionate
amount of influence on the selection decision
Employee Selection


The unstructured interview has been proven
to be an ineffective selection device
The data gathered from such interviews are
typically biased and unrelated to future job
performance
Behavior Description Interviewing




Best Predictor of Future Behavior is Past
Behavior
It is possible to ask questions that elicit
descriptions of behavior.
When asking such questions, you have to
have follow ups planned but you cannot ask
them in a rote manner.
Inference is critical here. This is a very
difficult task to do from the details.
• Contract Administration - Manages supplier
contracts; ensures customer contract are in
place to support work
• Can you tell me about a time when you had
responsibility for managing suppliers for an
organization?
• What decisions could you make about suppliers?
• How did your differentiate between suppliers
• Did you have a difficult supplier you had to deal with?
If yes, tell me about it.
Written Tests





Intelligence
Aptitude
Ability
Interests
Integrity
Performance Simulation Tests


Work samples
Assessment centers
Training
Interpersonal
Skills
Diversity
Training
Basic
Literacy
Skills
Problem
Solving
Skills
Technical
Skills
Ethics
Training
Training vs Learning




Formal training – What is
the transfer of training?
Informal training – Job
shadowing, requesting help,
partnering
On-the-job training – A
method for development
while doing the work
Off-the-job training –
Schools, MBAs, etc.
Career Development

Organization’s responsibility is to build
employee self-reliance and to help
employees maintain their marketability
through continual learning
High Potentials



What is a high potential?
How are they identified?
How are they developed?
McCall – High Flyers

Eleven Dimensions of Early Identification of Global Executives
 Seeks opportunity to learn
 Acts with Integrity
 Adapts to cultural differences
 Is committed to making a difference
 Seeks broad business knowledge
 Brings out the best in people
 Is insightful: sees things from new angles
 Has the courage to take risks
 Seeks and uses feedback
 Learns from mistakes
 Is open to criticism
McCall, Morgan W. High Flyers: developing the next generation of leaders
Harvard Business School Press, 1998.
Organization’s Responsibility




Clearly communicating the organization’s
goals and future strategies
Creating growth opportunities
Offering financial assistance
Providing the time for employees to learn
Employee’s Responsibility




Know yourself
Manage your reputation
Build and maintain network contacts
Keep current
Employee’s Responsibility



Balance your specialist and generalist
competencies
Document your achievements
Keep your options open
Avoiding Negative Influences in
Performance Appraisal


Objectives employees seek are clear
Criteria for measuring objectives are clear
and known in advance
Avoiding Negative Influences in
Performance Appraisal


Efforts made within employee capability are
measured as satisfactory
Performance as requested will lead to
rewards valued by employee
Criteria Evaluated



Individual Task Outcomes
Behaviors
Traits
Who Should Evaluate?





Immediate Superior
Peers
Self-evaluation
Immediate subordinates
360° feedback
Performance Appraisal Methods





Written Essays
Critical Incidents
Graphic Rating Scales
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales
Multi-person Comparisons
Improving Performance Appraisals


Emphasize behaviors
rather than traits
Document performance
behaviors in a diary
Improving Performance Appraisals




Use multiple evaluators
Evaluate selectively
Train evaluators
Provide employees due process
Performance Feedback

Manager’s reluctance




Uncomfortable discussing performance
weaknesses
Employees become defensive
Employees’ inflated assessment of own
performance
Training in conducting constructive feedback
Team Performance Appraisals


Tie the team’s results to the organization’s
goals
Begin with the team’s customers and
associated work processes
Team Performance Appraisals


Measure both team and individual
performance
Train the team to create its own
measures
Performance Appraisal
in Global Context


Caution required in generalizing across
cultures
Many cultures are not particularly
concerned with
performance
appraisal