TOPIC 3
ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
This topic has been developed in consultation with Dr Luke Faulkner, School
of Management, University of South Australia.
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Please note that the activities in this topic are designed to promote understanding of the
concept through reflection, discussion and relating theory to practical contexts in your
experience. They do not have right or wrong answers.
ACTIVITY 1
Discuss what the concept of culture means to each of you in a small group and note down
your main responses below.
It is quite likely that you included ideas about language, religion, customs or values related
to diverse geographical areas. However, on a more localised level organisations can also
have identifiable cultures. McShane and Travaglione (2003) describe organisational
culture as ‘the basic pattern of shared assumptions, values and beliefs considered to be
the correct way of thinking about, and acting on, problems and opportunities facing the
organisation’ (p. 534).
According to Kreitner and Kinicki (2004, pp. 118–19), the organisational culture is
influenced by societal culture because the people who work for an organisation bring
with them the assumptions, expectations, values, ethics and attitudes they have learned
from their societal cultures.
ACTIVITY 2
How do you think you have been influenced by your culture in the way that you think and
behave? For example, consider your ideas about work: punctuality, deferring to authority,
teamwork, and so on. Share these ideas with someone from another culture and compare
your perceptions.
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How societal culture influences
organisational culture
Kreitner and Kinicki (2004) maintain that ‘mixing of societal and organisational cultures
can produce interesting dynamics in multinational companies’ that have implications for
management (p. 119). However, when societal and organisational culture interact, there
is a danger of ethnocentrism, defined as the belief ‘that one’s native country, culture,
language, and behaviour are superior’ (p. 119). Kreitner and Kinicki (2004, p. 119) point
out that when ethnocentrism takes hold in a global company there is a real danger that
some cultural groups may be advantaged over others in reaching management positions.
Hofstede’s (1980) work compares individualistic cultures (such as Israel, Nigeria,
Canada and the United States) that tend to emphasise freedom of individual choice with
collectivist cultures (such as Egypt, Japan, China and France) that place a higher value on
the interests and goals of the community. These influences will affect how an organisation
operates within its societal culture. Sometimes values in organisational cultures can
experience problems when international relationships are formed. For example, imagine
what happens when a company in India has a policy to employ at least one of the children
of each employee out of a concern for family values and then a multinational company
takes over and has an anti-nepotism policy to instil the values of fairness or equity on the
basis of ability (Kreitner & Kinicki 2001, p. 70).
However, cultural stereotyping is at best hypothetical and potentially misleading and
deterministic (Crossman 2005) and few individuals conform to stereotypes because how
human beings think and act is influenced by a number of factors that have a complex
interrelationship.
ACTIVITY 3
Is your own organisation, or one you know well, influenced by any other culture? If so, note
down how you see more than one culture influencing the organisation.
Assumptions, beliefs, values
An organisational culture depends on the beliefs and assumptions that guide the thinking
and behaviour of employees, but beliefs and assumptions are sometimes difficult to
observe because they are often unconscious and taken for granted (Kreitner & Kinicki
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2001, p. 105, p. 106; McShane & Travaglione 2003, p. 534). McShane & Travaglione (2003)
describe assumptions as ‘the broad world views or theories in use that people rely on
to guide their perceptions and behaviours’ (p. 534). For example, in some organisational
cultures workers may feel very comfortable talking about changing practices, complaining
or making improvements, whereas in others it would be considered destructive or
politically unwise (McShane & Travaglione 2003, p. 534). Beliefs in organisational
culture are concerned with how individuals perceive reality as it is at a particular time,
whereas values ‘are more stable’ and persistent. These values help people to determine
what behaviours and attitudes are acceptable or unacceptable (McShane & Travaglione
2003, p. 534).
However, what people say they value (espoused values) and what they actually do value
(enacted values) may be quite different (Argyris & Schön cited in McShane & Travaglione
2003, p. 535). Espoused values represent those preferred and publicly communicated by
an organisation but may not be how employees actually feel. In contrast, enacted values
refer to those values that employees show in the way they actually behave (Kreitner &
Kinicki 2004, p. 83). Imagine then, how important it is for there to be a good fit between
the values of a job applicant and the organisation (McShane & Travaglione 2003, p. 550).
ACTIVITY 4
Identify an espoused value in your own organisational culture. It may be something like
the motto ‘The customer is always right’, for example. What evidence do you see in policy
or behaviour that supports the view that the ‘espoused value’ is also a ‘value-in-use’ or
enacted value?
1. Write down an example of an espoused value you identified.
2. Write down examples of how the above espoused value is evidenced and becomes a
value-in-use. For example, mission statements, policy documents, web pages.
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3. Discuss the implications of what happens when you cannot find evidence that an
espoused value is also a value-in-use or enacted value.
There are many different kinds of cultural values. Some companies might be aggressive
and others employee-friendly or entrepreneurial (McShane & Travaglione 2003, p. 535).
Kreitner and Kinicki (2004) identify three types of organisational culture: a constructive
culture, a passive-defensive culture and an aggressive-defensive culture (p. 75).
A constructive culture encourages employees to work together on projects in ways
that allow individuals to grow and develop. It is a culture that focuses on self-actualisation
and humanistic approaches. Interestingly, job satisfaction and a desire to stay in a
company correlates with a constructive culture (Kreitner & Kinicki 2004, p. 87).
A passive-defensive culture tends to lead individuals to relate to one another in
ways that do not threaten an individual’s job security, and therefore demonstrates high
levels of conventional, dependent behaviour where individuals seek approval and do not
take risks. Employees in these kinds of organisations tend to be less satisfied with their
jobs and more inclined to seek opportunities to leave (Kreitner & Kinicki 2004, p. 87).
An aggressive-defensive culture encourages employees to get the job done in
forceful ways that rely on power, competition and status. Employees in these kinds
of organisations are also more inclined to seek employment opportunities elsewhere
(Kreitner & Kinicki 2001, p. 87).
ACTIVITY 5
Think of the organisation you work for or one that is familiar to you. Does it appear to be
a constructive, passive-defensive or an aggressive-defensive culture? What evidence assisted
you in coming to that conclusion?
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Organisational subcultures
The ways of thinking shared by most employees can be referred to as the dominant
culture, but organisations also have subcultures that might relate to different groups or
geographical locations in which people work (Sackmann cited in McShane & Travaglione
2003, p. 535). Some of these subcultures may support the dominant culture, whereas
others may be directly opposed to them. These are called ‘countercultures’ because they
are ‘counter’ or ‘against’ the organisation’s core values (McShane & Travaglione 2003,
p. 536). Although subcultures and countercultures can create conflict and dissension in
an organisation, they are important because they can encourage innovation and highlight
unethical behaviour. Furthermore, subcultures and countercultures are able to keep
organisations sensitive to the needs and changing values of a community (McShane &
Travaglione 2003, p. 535).
ACTIVITY 6
Are there any countercultures existing in an organisation you know? How are their values
different from those of the dominant culture? Complete the table below. Are you in the
counterculture group? Why? Why not?
DOMINANT CULTURAL VALUES
COUNTERCULTURAL VALUES
How cultures are embedded into
organisations
Schein (cited in Kreitner & Kinicki 2004, pp. 94–5) suggests that cultures are embedded
in organisations in a number of ways including:
• formal statements of organisational philosophy, mission, vision, values, materials
used for recruitment, selection and socialisation (orientation for new people);
• the design of the physical space;
• use of slogans such as ‘whatever it takes’;
• deliberate role modelling and training programs, coaching by managers and
supervisors;
• rewards and promotion criteria;
• stories and legends; and
• leader reactions to critical incidents or crises.
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ACTIVITY 7
1. Think about a time when you joined a new organisation as an employee or perhaps
when you enrolled in a university. How did the organisation teach you about its
culture? List the ways:
2. How do the ways the organisation taught you about its culture compare to the dot
points cited earlier?
Cultural artefacts
An organisational culture can be observed through cultural artefacts such as how people
are greeted, the physical aspects of the working environment or how workers are
rewarded, the way people dress, myths and stories, language, publications about values,
rituals and ceremonies, decorations or even special parking places! (Kreitner & Kinicki
2004, p. 82; McShane & Travaglione 2003, pp. 536–7).
In terms of the physical size and shape of a building, a multistorey office with the CEO
on the top floor may tell us that the organisation upholds hierarchical and bureaucratic
values. On the other hand, one that has work units spreading out from a central open plan
area could indicate a culture that encourages teamwork. The kinds of desks, tables and
what people put on the walls are also indicators of organisational culture. For example,
minimalist décor may suggest a frugal culture (McShane & Travaglione 2003).
ACTIVITY 8
1. Describe the physical surroundings of your organisation or one you are familiar with.
What does the building look like architecturally? How are work spaces and offices
arranged? Do management and other employees all eat in the same area? Are offices
open with glass walls or are individuals working within them hidden from view? Note
down your observations.
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2. Compare your own observations with another student. After discussion, note down
the similarities and differences between these artefacts and explain what you think
they tell you about the differences between each organisational culture?
Stories and legends about past events in an organisation’s history are a powerful way of
indicating the kind of culture it has. For example, the Four Seasons Hotel prides itself
on the fact that when Rod Stewart asked them to find a bagpipe player at midnight, they
were able to deliver (McShane & Travaglione 2003, p. 537). Rituals occur as part of the
daily routines in the organisation that ‘dramatise’ the organisational culture and include
how visitors are greeted, how senior executives make contact with subordinates or how
long people take for lunch. In contrast, ceremonies are planned activities such as the
rewarding of employees publicly or celebrating the winning of a major contract (McShane
& Travaglione 2003, p. 538).
ACTIVITY 9
1. Give an example of a story/legend that has circulated in your organisation and analyse
what you think it communicates about the culture.
2. How are achievements celebrated in your organisation or one you know? What
happens when people fail? How is that addressed?
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ACTIVITY 10
Go onto the website of an organisation and note down any information that tells you
something about the kind of culture the organisation has. Briefly present your findings to
other students. Use the space below to make notes.
Suggested assessment
Research essay (1500 words)
Please research and write a fully referenced research essay based on the question below.
You are required to use information from a variety of sources such as books and journals
to support your arguments (see Chapters 1 and 2 for advice on reading and notetaking). Carefully follow the guidelines for writing an essay provided in Chapter 3, and
the information on academic conventions in Chapter 4. When proofreading your essay,
please follow the guidelines for self-editing provided in Chapter 5 and the referencing
guidelines provided in Appendix 1 or 2 (depending on your own style preference).
Explain how different kinds of artefacts provide evidence for identifying the culture
of an organisation. You will need to refer to a range of phenomena such as physical
aspects of the working environment (architecture and interior design), documents
(mission statements and web pages), observations of language use, stories and
legends and the manner of dress.
See Appendix 3 for marking criteria.
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References
Crossman, J 2005, ‘Work and learning: the implications for transnational distance learners’,
International Education Journal, vol. 6, no. 1.
Hofstede, G 1980, Culture’s consequences: international differences in work related values,
Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA.
Kreitner, R & Kinicki, A 2001, Organizational behaviour, 5th edn, McGraw-Hill, Sydney.
Kreitner, R & Kinicki, A 2004, Organizational behaviour, 6th edn, McGraw-Hill, Sydney.
McShane, S & Travaglione, T 2003, Organisational behaviour on the Pacific rim, McGraw-Hill,
Sydney.