2021年1月23日发(作者：学校用品)
Three
Organizational Culture and the Environment The Constraints

1. INTRODUCTION.
Managers
must
be
aware
that
organizational
culture
and
organizational
environments
will influence both the way an organization is managed as well as its effectiveness. In
this chapter, both organizational culture and organizational environment are explored in
order to understand the complexities involved with each.

MANAGER: OMNIPOTENT OR SYMBOLIC?
Two positions on the role that managers play in an organization’s su
ccess or failure have
been proposed.
The
omnipotent view of management
says that managers are directly responsible for
the
success
or
failure
of
an
organization.

This
view
of
managers
as
omnipotent
is
consistent with the stereotypical picture of the take-charge executive who can overcome
any obstacle in carrying out the organization’s objectives. When organizations perform
poorly, someone must be held accountable. Ac
cording to this view, that “someone”
has
been management.
The
symbolic
view
of
management

takes
the
view
that
much
of
an
organization’s
success or failure is due to external forces outside managers’ control.
managers
do
affect
greatly
are
symbolic
outcomes.2.
Organizational
results
are
influenced
by
factors
outside
the
control
of
managers:
economy,
market
changes,
governmental
policies,
competitors’
actions,
the
state
of
the
particular
industry,
the
control
of
proprietary technology, and decisions made by previous manager in the organization. 3.
The
manager’s
role
is
seen
as
creating

meaning
out
of
randomness,
confusion,
and
ambiguity. 4. According to the symbolic view, the actual part that management plays in
the success or failure of an organization is minimal.
Reality suggests a synthesis. In reality, managers are neither helpless nor all
powerful.
Instead,
it’s
more
logical
to
look
at
the
manager
operating
within
constraints imposed by the organization’s culture and environment. (See
Exhibit

3.1
.)


3.
THE ORGANIZATION’S CULTURE.


Just as individuals have a personality, so, too, do organizations. We refer to an
organiza
tion’s personality as its culture.

A.
Organizational
culture

is
a
system
of
shared
meaning
and
beliefs
within an organization that determines, in large degree, how employees
act. This definition implies:
1.
Individuals
perceive
the
organizational
culture
on
the
basis
of
what they see, hear, or experience within the organization
2.
Organizational
culture
is
shared
by
individuals
within
the
organization.
3.

Organizational culture is a descriptive term. It describes rather than
evaluates.
4.
Seven
dimensions
of
an
organization’s
culture
have
been
proposed (see
Exhibit

3.2
):

1
B.
Innovation
and
risk
taking
(the
degree
to
which
employees
are
encouraged
to
be
innovative
and
take
risks)
b.
Attention
to
detail
(the
degree
to
which
employees
are
expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to
detail)
c.
Outcome
orientation
(the
degree
to
which
managers
focus
on
results
or
outcomes
rather
than
on
the
techniques
and
processes
used
to
achieve
those
outcomes)
d.
People
orientation
(the
degree
to
which
management
decisions
take
into
consideration
the
effect
on
people
within the organization)
e.
Team
orientation
(the
degree
to
which
work
activities
are organized around teams rather than individuals)
f.
Aggressiveness
(the
degree
to
which
people
are
aggressive
and
competitive
rather
than
easygoing
and
cooperative)
g.
Stability
(the
degree
to
which
organizational
activities
emphasize
maintaining
the
status
quo
in
contrast
to
growth)
5.
Exhibit

3.3

describes
how
the
cultural
dimensions
can
be
combined to create significantly different organizations.
Strong vs. Weak Cultures.
1.

Strong cultures
are possessed by those organizations in which
the key values are intensely held and widely shared.
2.
Whether an organization’s cultur
e is strong, weak, or somewhere
in
between
will
depend
on
organizational
factors
such
as
size,
age, employee turnover rate, and intensity of original culture.
3.
A culture will have increasing impact on what managers do as it
becomes stronger.
4.
Most
orga
nizations
have
moderate
to
strong
cultures.
There’s
high
agreement
on
what’s
important,
what
defines
“good”
employee behavior, and so forth.
5.
Studies
of
organizational
culture
have
shown
various
results.
One
found
that
employees
in
firms
with
strong
cultures
were
more committed to their firm than employees in firms with weak
cultures.
Organizations
with
strong
cultures
also
used
their
recruitment efforts and socialization practices to build employee
commitment. And an increasing body of research
suggests
that
strong
cultures
are
associated
with
high
organizational
performance.
a.


C.

The original source of an organization’s culture is usually a reflection of the
vision
or
mission
of
the
organization’s
founders.
It
results
from
the
interaction between the foun
ders’ biases and assumptions and what the first
employees subsequently learned from their own experiences.
D. How an Organization’s Culture Continues.


2
Once a culture is in place, practices help maintain it.
Hiring practices reflect the culture in terms of fit.
Actions of top executives.
Employees
adapt
to
an
organization’s
culture
through
socialization
—where
new
employees
learn
the
organization’s
way of doing things.
5.

Exhibit

3.4

summarizes
how
an
organization’s
culture
is
established and maintained.
E. How Employees Learn Culture.
1.

Culture
is
transmitted
principally
through
stories,
rituals,
material symbols, and language.
2.
Organizational
stories
are
one
way
that
employees
learn
the
culture. These stories typically involve a narrative of significant
events or people.
3.
Rituals
are
repetitive
sequences
of
activities
that
express
and
reinforce the key values of the organization, what goals are most
important,
which
people
are
important,
and
which
are
expendable.
4.
The use of material symbols is another way in which employees
learn
the
culture,
learn
the
degree
of
equality
desired
by
top
management,
and
find
out
who
is
important
and
the
kinds
of
behavior that are expected and appropriate.
5.
Finally, language is often used to identify members of a culture.
Learning this language indicates members’ willingness to accept
and
preserve
the
culture.
This
special
lingo
acts
as
a
common
denominator that unites members of a given culture.
F.


How Culture Affects Managers.
Because the organizational culture

establishes constraints on what managers can and cannot do, it’s

1.

2.

3.

4.

particularly relevant.
The
link
between
corporate
values
and
managerial
behavior
is
fairly straightforward.
2.
The culture conveys to managers what is appropriate behavior.
3.
A
n organization’s culture, particularly a strong one, constrains a
manager’s decision
-making options in all managerial functions.
(See
Exhibit

3.5
.)
4.

CURRENT ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ISSUES FACING MANAGERS.
Four current cultural issues managers should consider:
A.

Creating an Ethical Culture. (See
Exhibit

3.6
for suggestions on how
managers can create a more ethical culture).
1.

Content and strength of an
organization’s
culture
influence
its
ethical climate and ethical behavior of its members.
2.
Strong
organizational
culture
will
exert
more
influence
on
employees than a weak one.
3.
An
organizational
culture
most
likely
to
shape
high
ethical
standards is one that’s big in risk tolerance, low to moderate in
aggressiveness, and focuses on means as well as outcomes.
B.

Creating an Innovative Culture
1.

What
does
an
innovative
culture
look
like?

Swedish
researcher
Goran Ekvall provides these characteristics:
1.

3
a. Challenge and involvement
b. Freedom
c. Trust and openness
d. Idea time
e. Playfulness/humor
f. Conflict resolution
g. Debates
h. Risk-taking
B.

Creating a Customer-Responsive Culture
1. What does a customer-responsive culture look like? Research shows
the
following
six
characteristics
that
are
routinely
present:
(see
Exhibit

3.7

for
managerial
actions
to
make
their
cultures
more
customer responsive).
a. Type of employee
b. Few rigid rules, procedures, and regulations
c. Widespread use of empowerment
d. Good listening skills
e. Role clarity
f.

Employees who are conscientious in desire to please
customers
B.

Spirituality and Organizational Culture
1.
Workplace spirituality
is the recognition that people have an inner
life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work that takes
place in the context of community.
2.
Five cultural characteristics evident in spiritual organizations
a. Strong sense of purposes
b. Focus on individual development
c. Trust and openness
d. Employee empowerment
e. Toleration of employee expression


5.

THE ENVIRONMENT.
The impact of the
external environment
on a m
anager’s actions and behaviors
cannot be overemphasized. There are forces in the environment that play a major
role in shaping man
agers’ endeavors.

A.
The
environment

is
defined
as
outside
institutions
and
forces
outside
the organization that potentially
affect an organization’s performance.

1.
The
specific
environment

is
that
part
of
the
environment
that
includes
the
constituencies
that
are
directly
relevant
to
the
achievement of an organiza
tion’s goals.

a.
The
specific
environment
is
unique
and
changes
with
conditions.
b.
It
also
varies
depending
on
the
niche
the
organization
serves with respect to the range of products or services it
offers and the markets it serves.
c.
The
main
constituencies
include
customers,
suppliers,
competitors, and pressure groups.

4