ORGANIZATIONALCULTURE

Submitted by-

Aastha Grover (4728)Aayushi Garg (4732)Priyanka Sethi (4737)

Rijul Batra (4691)BBS-1C

Shaheed sukhdev college of business studiesUniversity of delhi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Mrs. Poonam

Verma, without whose able guidance and support,

this project would have only been a vision.

We would also like to thank Axis Bank, Model Town

Branch and Cox & Kings for their valuable support

in providing us with all the necessary help to carry

out our study.

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INDEX

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Organizational Culture

Organizational culture, or corporate culture, comprises the attitudes, experiences,

beliefs and values of an organization. It has been defined as "the specific collection of

values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that

control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the

organization. It refers to a system of shared meaning held by members that

distinguishes the organization from other organizations. Organizational values are

beliefs and ideas about what kinds of goals members of an organization should

pursue and ideas about the appropriate kinds or standards of behavior organizational

members should use to achieve these goals. From organizational values develop

organizational norms, guidelines or expectations that prescribe appropriate kinds of

behavior by employees in particular situations and control the behavior of

organizational members towards one another".

It is basically used to refer to a system of shared meaning. In every organization,

there are systems or patterns of values, symbols, rituals, myths and practices that

have evolved over time. These shared values determine as to how the managers see

and how they respond to their world. When confronted with a problem, the

organization’s culture restricts what the manager can do by suggesting the correct

way-“the way we do things here”- to conceptualize, define, analyze and solve the

problem. For example, the president of Honeywell Information Systems recognized

the constraining role that culture was playing in his efforts to get his managers to be

less authoritarian. He noted that organization’s culture would have to become more

democratic if it was going to succeed in the marketplace.

Senior management may try to determine a corporate culture. They may wish to

impose corporate values and standards of behavior that specifically reflect the

objectives of the organization. In addition, there will also be an extant internal culture

within the workforce. Work-groups within the organization have their own behavioral

quirks and interactions which, to an extent, affect the whole system. Task culture can

be imported. For example, computer technicians will have expertise, language and

behaviors gained independently of the organization, but their presence can influence

the culture of the organization as a whole.

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Though we currently have no definite method for measuring an organization’s

culture, preliminary research suggests that culture can be analyzed by assessing how

an organization rates on ten characteristics. They have been identified as follows:

1. Individual Initiative The degree to of responsibility, freedom and independence that individuals have.

2. Innovation & Risk Taking The degree to which employees are encouraged to be aggressive, innovative and

risk seeking. 3. Direction The degree to which the organization creates clear objectives and performance

expectations.

4. Integration The degree to which units within the organization are encouraged to operate in a

coordinated manner.

5. Management Support The degree to which the managers provide communication, assistance, and

support to their subordinates.

6. Control The number of rules and regulation and the amount of supervision that is used to

oversee and control employee behavior.

7. Identity The degree to which members identify with the organization as a whole rather

than with their particular work groups or field of professional expertise.

8. Reward System The degree to which reward allocations are based on employee performance

criteria in contrast to seniority, favoritism, and so on.

9. Conflict Tolerance The degree to which employees are encouraged to air conflicts and criticism

openly.

10. Communication Pattern The degree to which organizational communications are restricted to the formal

hierarchy of authority.

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The following table demonstrates how these characteristics can be mixed to create highly diverse organizations.

Table1

ORGANIZATION A ORGANIZATION B

Both the organizations are manufacturing firms. There are extensive rules and Here, however, there are fewer regulations that the employees rules & regulations. Employees are required to follow. Every are seen as hard working & employee has specific objectives trustworthy, so supervision is to achieve in his/her job. loose. Employees are Mangers supervise employees encouraged to solve problems closely. People are allowed little themselves but feel free to discretion in doing their jobs. consult their superiors when Employees are instructed to bring they need assistance. Top any unusual problem to their management downplays supervisors. All employees are authority differences. Employees required to communicate through are also encouraged to develop formal channels. Because manage- their unique specialized skills. ment has no confidence in the Interpersonal & interdepartment honesty of its employees, it differences are seen as natural imposes tight controls. Managers occurrences. Managers are & employees alike tend to be evaluated not only on their hired by the organization early in department’s performance but their careers & rotated into & out also on how well their of various departments on a regular department coordinates activities basis. They are generalists rather with other departments. than specialists. Effort, loyalty, co- Promotions & other rewards go operation, and avoidance of errors to the employees who make the are highly valued and rewarded. greatest contribution to the organization, even when those employees have strange ideas, unusual personal mannerisms, or unconventional work habits.

Although organizational cultures have common properties, sub cultures cannot be over looked. A Dominant Culture expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organization’s members. It is this macro concept that gives an organization its distinct personality.

Subcultures tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common problems, situations or experience that members face. It will include the core values of the dominant cultures plus additional values unique to each individual.General Motors has been universally described as a cold, formal, risk-aversive firm. It was that way in the 1930’s and it is basically the same today. Hewlett-Packard is an informal, loosely structured and highly humanistic organization. Both these organizations have been essentially successful over the years.Culture constrains choices by conveying to managers which practices are acceptable in their organization and which are not.

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Elements of Organizational Culture

G. Johnson described a cultural web, identifying a number of elements that can be used to describe or influence Organizational Culture:

The Paradigm : What the organization is about; what it does; its mission; its values.

Control Systems : The processes in place to monitor what is going on. Role

cultures would have vast rulebooks. There would be more reliance on individualism in a power culture.

Organizational Structures : Reporting lines, hierarchies, and the way that work flows through the business.

Power Structures : Who makes the decisions, how widely spread is power, and on what is power based?

Symbols : These include organizational logos and designs, but also extend to symbols of power such as parking spaces and executive washrooms.

Rituals and Routines : Management meetings, board reports and so on may become more habitual than necessary.

Stories and Myths : build up about people and events, and convey a message about what is valued within the organization.

These elements may overlap. Power structures may depend on control systems, which may exploit the very rituals that generate stories which may not be true.

Culture is a Descriptive Term

Organizational Culture is concerned with how employees perceive the characteristics of an organization’s culture and not whether or not they like it. That is, it is a descriptive term. This is important because it differentiates this concept from that of job satisfaction.In contrast, job satisfaction seeks to measure affective responsiveness of work environment. It is concerned with how employees feel about the organization’s expectations, reward practices, and the like. Although the two terms undoubtedly have overlapping characteristics, keep in mind that the term organizational culture is descriptive, while job satisfaction is evaluative.

Strong v/s. Weak Culture

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Strong culture is said to exist where staff respond to stimulus because of their alignment to organizational values.Conversely, there is weak culture where there is little alignment with organizational values and control must be exercised through extensive procedures and bureaucracy.

Where culture is strong—people do things because they believe it is the right thing to do—there is a risk of another phenomenon, Groupthink. "Groupthink" was described by Irving L. Janis. He defined it as "...a quick and easy way to refer to a mode of thinking that people engage when they are deeply involved in a cohesive ingroup, when members' strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternatives of action." This is a state where people, even if they have different ideas, do not challenge organizational thinking, and therefore there is a reduced capacity for innovative thoughts. This could occur, for example, where there is heavy reliance on a central charismatic figure in the organization, or where there is an evangelical belief in the organization’s values, or also in groups where a friendly climate is at the base of their identity (avoidance of conflict). In fact groupthink is very common, it happens all the time, in almost every group. Members that are defiant are often turned down or seen as a negative influence by the rest of the group, because they bring conflict, through reliance on established procedures.Innovative organizations need individuals who are prepared to challenge the status quo—be it groupthink or bureaucracy, and also need procedures to implement new ideas effectively.

Whether an organization’s culture is strong or weak or somewhere in between depends on factors such as the size of the organization, how long it has been around, how much turnover there has been among the employees, and the intensity with which the culture was originated.

Organizational Culture Versus National Culture

The research indicates that national culture has great impact on employees rather than their organization’s culture. German employees at IBM facility in Munich, therefore, will be more influenced by German culture rather than IBM’s culture.The preceding conclusion i.e., national culture is much more influential in shaping employee behavior than organization’s culture, has to be qualified to reflect the self-selection that goes on at the hiring stage. A British multinational corporation, for example, is likely to be less concerned with hiring the “typical Italian” for its Italian operations than in hiring an Italian who fits with the corporation’s way of doing things. We should expect, therefore, that the employee selection process will be used by multinationals to find and hire job applicants who are good fit with their organization’s dominant culture, even if such applicants are somewhat a typical for members of their country.

Classification Schemes Several methods have been used to classify organizational culture. Some are described below:

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I. GEERT HOFSTEDE

II. Geert Hofstede demonstrated that there are national and regional cultural groupings that affect the behavior of organizations. Hofstede identified five dimensions of culture in his study of national influences:

Power Distance - The degree to which a society expects there to be differences in the levels of power. A high score suggests that there is an expectation that some individuals wield larger amounts of power than others. A low score reflects the view that all people should have equal rights.

Uncertainty Avoidance - reflects the extent to which a society accepts uncertainty and risk.

Individualism vs. Collectivism - individualism is contrasted with collectivism, and refers to the extent to which people are expected to stand up for themselves, or alternatively act predominantly as a member of the group or organization. However, recent researches have shown that high individualism may not necessarily mean low collectivism, and vice versa. Research indicates that the two concepts are actually unrelated. Some people and cultures might have both high individualism and high collectivism, for example. Someone who highly values duty to his or her group does not necessarily give a low priority to personal freedom and self-sufficiency.

Masculinity vs. Femininity - refers to the value placed on traditionally male or female values. Male values for example include competitiveness, assertiveness, ambition, and the accumulation of wealth and material possessions.

Long vs. short term orientation - describes a society's "time horizon," or the importance attached to the future versus the past and present. In long term oriented societies, thrift and perseverance are valued more; in short term oriented societies, respect for tradition and reciprocation of gifts and favors are valued more. Eastern nations tend to score especially high here, with Western nations scoring low and the less developed nations very low; China scored highest and Pakistan lowest.

Deal and Kennedy

Deal and Kennedy defined organizational culture as the way things get done around here. They measured organizations in respect of:

Feedback - quick feedback means an instant response. This could be in monetary terms, but could also be seen in other ways, such as the impact of a great save in a soccer match. Risk - represents the degree of uncertainty in the organization’s activities. Using these parameters, they were able to suggest four classifications of organizational culture

The Tough-Guy Macho Culture - Feedback is quick and the rewards are high. This often applies to fast moving financial activities such as brokerage, but could also apply to a police force, or athletes competing in team sports. This can be a very stressful culture in which to operate.

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The Work Hard/Play Hard Culture is characterized by few risks being taken, all with rapid feedback. This is typical in large organizations, which strive for high quality customer service. It is often characterized by team meetings, jargon and buzzwords.

The Bet your Company Culture , where big stakes decisions are taken, but it may be years before the results are known. Typically, these might involve development or exploration projects, which take years to come to fruition, such as oil prospecting or military aviation.

The Process Culture occurs in organizations where there is little or no feedback. People become bogged down with how things are done not with what is to be achieved. This is often associated with bureaucracies.

CHARLES HANDY

Charles Handy(1985) popularized a method of looking at culture which some scholars have used to link organizational structure to Organizational Culture. He describes:

Power Culture which concentrates power among a few. Control radiates from the center like a web. Power Cultures have few rules and little bureaucracy; swift decisions can ensue.

In a Role Culture, people have clearly delegated authorities within a highly

defined structure. Typically, these organizations form hierarchical bureaucracies. Power derives from a person's position and little scope exists for expert power.

By contrast, in a Task Culture, teams are formed to solve particular problems. Power derives from expertise as long as a team requires expertise. These cultures often feature the multiple reporting lines of a matrix structure.

Person Culture exists where all individuals believe themselves superior to the organization. Survival can become difficult for such organizations, since the concept of an organization suggests that a group of like-minded individuals pursue the organizational goals. Some professional partnerships can operate as person cultures, because each partner brings a particular expertise and clientele to the firm.

EDGAR SCHEIN

Edgar Schein, an MIT Sloan School of Management professor, defines organizational culture as "the residue of success" within an organization. According to Schein, culture is the most difficult organizational attribute to change, outlasting organizational products, services, founders and leadership and all other physical attributes of the organization. His organizational model illuminates culture from the standpoint of the observer, described by three cognitive levels of organizational culture.

At the first and most cursory level of Schein's model is organizational attributes that can be seen, felt and heard by the uninitiated observer. Included are the facilities, offices, furnishings, visible awards and recognition, the way that its members dress, and how each person visibly interacts with each other and with organizational outsiders.

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The next level deals with the professed culture of an organization's members. At this level, company slogans, mission statements and other operational creeds are often expressed, and local and personal values are widely expressed within the organization. Organizational behavior at this level usually can be studied by interviewing the organization's membership and using questionnaires to gather attitudes about organizational membership.

At the third and deepest level, the organization's tacit assumptions are found. These are the elements of culture that are unseen and not cognitively identified in everyday interactions between organizational members. Additionally, these are the elements of culture which are often taboo to discuss inside the organization. Many of these 'unspoken rules' exist without the conscious knowledge of the membership. Those with sufficient experience to understand this deepest level of organizational culture usually become acclimatized to its attributes over time, thus reinforcing the invisibility of their existence. Surveys and casual interviews with organizational members cannot draw out these attributes--rather much more in-depth means is required to first identify then understand organizational culture at this level. Notably, culture at this level is the underlying and driving element often missed by organizational behaviorists.

Using Schein's model, understanding paradoxical organizational behaviors becomes more apparent. For instance, an organization can profess highly aesthetic and moral standards at the second level of Schein's model while simultaneously displaying curiously opposing behavior at the third and deepest level of culture. Superficially, organizational rewards can imply one organizational norm but at the deepest level imply something completely different. This insight offers an understanding of the difficulty that organizational newcomers have in assimilating organizational culture and why it takes time to become acclimatized. It also explains why organizational change agents usually fail to achieve their goals: underlying tacit cultural norms are generally not understood before would-be change agents begin their actions. Merely understanding culture at the deepest level may be insufficient to institute cultural change because the dynamics of interpersonal relationships (often under threatening conditions) are added to the dynamics of organizational culture while attempts are made to institute desired change.

Organizational Culture Evolution

Arthur F Carmazzi states that the dynamics of organizational culture are an “evolutionary” process that can change and evolve with the proper Psychology of Leadership.

Foundations of Culture Evolution

At each level of Organizational Evolution, people will be working, acting, thinking, and feeling at different levels of personal commitment. Carmazzi’s Directive Communication psychology classifies these levels commitment as:

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1. The level of Individual

People rely on personal skill and the direction from Leaders. When working on the plane of “SKILL” people work at the level of “Individual”. They work because it is required and use and develop their skill because it maintains the security related to their job.

2. The Level of Group

People have an emotional connection to their work. This has further developed their attitude for success. They thrive on an environment of personal growth and others who have the same Attitude. When working on the plane of “ATTITUDE”, people work at the level “Group”. They take on additional tasks and even apply more effort to their job. Unlike those working at the level of Individual, they do not need to be told what to do, only to be guided to a direction.

3. The Level of Organization

The Pinnacle of greatness comes when individuals see their work as their purpose. People see a greater purpose to the work they do, something greater than the individual, or the group. The organization is the vehicle to doing and becoming something greater than themselves. When working on the plane of “SELF ACTUALIZATION”, people work at the level of “Organization”. At this level of commitment, an individual will do for the organization the same he would do for himself. The individual and the organization (and all its components and people) are one.

Insights on Evolving Corporate Culture

According to Carmazzi, each culture affects the effectiveness and “level of commitment” of the people within that culture. And that perpetuates the psychology that creates the culture in the first place. In order to break the cycle and evolve a culture and the commitment of those in it, leaders need to understand their role in the psychological dynamics behind the culture and make adjustments that will move it to the next level. Carmazzi has stated 5 levels of Organizational Culture.

1. The Blame culture This culture cultivates distrust and fear, people blame each other to avoid being reprimanded or put down, this results in no new ideas or personal initiative because people don’t want to risk being wrong. The majority of commitment here is at the level of “Individual”

2. Multi-directional culture This culture cultivates minimized cross-department communication and cooperation. Loyalty is only to specific groups (departments). Each department becomes a clique and is often critical of other departments which in turn create lots of gossip. The lack

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of cooperation and “Multi-Direction is manifested in the organizations inefficiency. The majority of

personal commitment in this culture borders on the level of Individual and level of Group.

3. Live and let live culture This culture is Complacency, it manifests Mental Stagnation and Low Creativity. People here have little future vision and have given up their passion. There is Average cooperation and communication and things do work, but they do not grow. People have developed their personal relationships and decided who to stay away from, there is not much left to learn. Personal commitment here is mixed between the level of Individual and level of Group.

4. Brand Congruent Culture People in this culture believe in the product or service of the organization, they feel good about what their company is trying to achieve and cooperate to achieve it. People here are passionate and seem to have similar goals in the organization. They use personal resources to actively solve problems and while they don’t always accept the actions of management or others around them, they see their job as important. Almost everyone in this culture is operating at the level of Group.

5. Leadership Enriched Culture People view the organization as an extension of themselves; they feel good about what they personally achieve through the organization and have exceptional Cooperation. Individual goals are aligned with the goals of the organization and people will do what it takes to make things happen. In this culture, Leaders do not develop followers, but develop other leaders. Almost everyone in this culture is operating at the level of Organization.

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Culture Maintenance

Once an organizational culture has evolved to a higher level, the challenge lies in maintaining it. To continuously develop an organization’s people -as well as new staff, there are practices within the organization that act to maintain it by giving employees a similar set of experiences. Three forces play a very important role in sustaining culture: selection practices, the actions of top management, and socialization methods.

1. Selection

The explicit goal of the selection process is to identify and hire individuals who have knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the jobs within the organization successfully. Typically, more than one candidate will be identified who meets any given job requirements. When that point is reached, it would be naïve to ignore that the final decision as to who is hired will be significantly influenced by the decision maker’s judgement of how well the candidates will fit into the organization. This attempt to ensure a proper match, results in the hiring of people who have values essentially consistent with those of the organization. Also the candidates can self select themselves out of the applicant pool in case there is a conflict between organizational values and theirs.

2. Top Management

The actions of top management have a major impact on the organization’s culture. Through what they say, how they behave, senior executives establish norms that filter down through the organization as to whether risk taking is desirable; how much freedom managers should give their employees; what is appropriate dress; what actions will pay off in terms of pay raises, promotions, and other rewards; and the like.

3. Socialization

Socialization refers to the process that adapts employees to the organization’s culture. Since the new employees are unfamiliar with the organization, they are potentially likely to disturb the beliefs and customs that are in place. Thus, socialization becomes important.

E.g. All new employees at Starbucks, the large coffee chain, go through 24- hours of training. Classes are offered on everything necessary to turn the new employees into brewing consultants. They learn the Starbucks philosophy, the company jargon and even help customers make decisions about beans, grind, and espresso machines. The result is employees who understand Starbucks’ culture & who project an enthusiastic and knowledgeable interface with customers.

Socialization can be conceptualized as a process made up of three stages:

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i. Pre arrival Stage : the period of learning in the socialization process that occurs before a new employee joins the organization.

ii. Encounter Stage : the stage in which the employee sees what the organization is really like and confronts the possibility that expectations and reality may diverge. Where expectations and reality differ, the new employee must undergo that will detach him from the previous assumptions and replace them with another set that the organization deems desirable.

iii. Metamorphosis Stage : the stage in which a new employee changes and adjusts to the job, work group, and the organization.

A SOCIALIZATION MODEL

Organizational culture and change

Pre arrival+

Encounter+

Metamorphosis

Productivity Commitment Turnover

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STRATEGIES FOR CHANGING AN ORGANIZATION'S CULTURE

When one wants to change an aspect of the culture of an organization one has to keep in consideration that this is a long term project. Corporate culture is something that is very hard to change and employees need time to get used to the new way of organizing. For companies with a very strong and specific culture it will be even harder to change.Cummings & Worley give the following six guidelines for cultural change.

1. Formulate a clear strategic vision.

In order to make a cultural change effective a clear vision of the firm’s new strategy, shared values and behaviors is needed. This vision provides the intention and direction for the culture change.

2. Display Top-management commitment.

It is very important to keep in mind that culture change must be managed from the top of the organization, as willingness to change of the senior management is an important indicator.

3. Model culture change at the highest level.

In order to show that the management team is in favor of the change, the change has to be notable at first at this level. The behavior of the management needs to symbolize the kinds of values and behaviors that should be realized in the rest of the company.

4. Modify the organization to support organizational change

The fourth step is to modify the organization to support organizational change.

5. Select and socialize newcomers and terminate deviants

A way to implement a culture is to connect it to organizational membership, people can be selected and terminate in terms of their fit with the new culture.

6. Develop ethical and legal sensitivity

Changes in culture can lead to tensions between organizational and individual interests, which can result in ethical and legal problems for practitioners. This is particularly relevant for changes in employee integrity, control, equitable treatment and job security.

THE FOUR COMPONENTS OF EVERY ORGANIZATION

Organizations are comprised of four major components:

i. Physical (the visible aspects of the organization)ii. Infrastructure (the systems and processes for directing and managing work)iii. Behavioral (the daily actions and reactions of employees), and

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iv. Cultural (the underlying assumptions, values, beliefs and norms that shape daily behavior).

While implementing change at the "higher" levels is possible, as the following graphic suggests, the durability of the change is short-lived without change at the underlying cultural level.

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ResearchReport

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Research Report Having undertaken a project on Organizational Culture, we thought the best possible learning could come through industry visits. We tried to narrow down our perspective by comparing organizational cultures between a bank and a travel & tourism agency. As such, we undertook our research at Axis Bank, Model Town and Cox & Kings, Connaught Place.

Through the medium of questionnaires and interviews with the employees, we acquired valuable insights into the cultures and strict business philosophies these organizations propound.

Our broad areas of research were:

Need Domination To study the applicability of Maslaw’s Need Hierarchy in the current scenario and thus, the graduation to ERG theory.

Influence of External Factors on Organizational Behavior An organization does not exist in vacuum. External Factors play a very important role in determining its success story.

Motivation Factors In this regard, an implicit reference to intrinsic and extrinsic factors has been made. The applicability of Porter-Lawler theory could be challenged.

Preference for the Culture Based on different parameters, the preference of the employees for a particular type of culture was assessed in order to determine the Person-Culture Fit.

Importance of Recreation Facilities in the Work Setting An analysis on the importance of recreation needs was included to determine the sensitivity of the management towards the social needs of its employees.

Cautious from? The need to include such a question was felt in order to find out what exactly makes the employees work-Is it expectations from superiors or competition from peers? This could again be directed towards intrinsic and extrinsic motivation plus the degree of authority or freedom employees expect.

Satisfaction Level The effectiveness of an organization depends upon the level of satisfaction

of its employees. Thus, questions to determine the satisfaction levels of

the employees and their suggestions for improving the work environment formed an important part of our study.

The following pages contain the sample questionnaire and interviews that facilitated our research on organizational culture.

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Questionnaire Name-_____________________

Position-____________________ How long have you been working for this company? _________________

Rank from 1-4 in order of preference from most important (1) to least important (4)

1).The needs you value the most Growth Needs Esteem Needs Relatedness/Social Needs Existence Needs

2). Importance of External Factors in the work environment influencing your performance.

Superior Subordinates Recreation Facilities Authority

3).The thing you appreciate more- Consistent Performance Achievement Recognition Reward

Tick the appropriate option –

4). How do you perceive your current organization’s culture? A collective belief that in turn shape behavior Based on a foundation of historical continuity Based in part on emotions which are particularly conspicuous when change is

threatened. Cultures are more probabilistic than deterministic.

5). In what kind of an organizational culture you prefer to work The organization promotes from within and highly values seniority There is stable environment in which employees can develop and exercise

their skills The skills of the employees are highly prized There exists an organizational culture with a commitment to decentralization

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6). How often do you indulge in recreational activities?

_______________________

7).What alerts you more – meeting your superior’s expectations or competition from peers?

____________________

8).What counts more – experience or exposure?

_______________________

9). Overall, how satisfied are you with working for the company? Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied

10).The best part about working for this company is The management upholds the values it propounds All my needs are satisfied and taken care of The management entrusts me by giving me challenging jobs and there is

openness to suggestions from all All employees are treated equally and the management is fair

Others ________________________________________

11).What areas of the company do you feel need improvement?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Interview

The following questions were posed before the employees and the management. The

interview was done with a purpose to identify different cultural perceptions of the

organization across time, geographic location, business units, staff groups, or for

comparison with a benchmark organization. It also provided us a useful means to

interact with the people working in the organization and assess their take on different

issues.

Q1. What is the USP of your company/ one thing that makes your company different

from others?

Q2. What kind of rewards and punishments does the company give to shape

behavior and make employees conform to its values and norms?

Q3. What kind of recreational activities does the organization promote?

Q4. When dealing with a customer making an unrealistic demand, what

belief or attitude governs your behavior?

ResearchResults

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Q1) The needs you value the most: Growth, Esteem, Social or Existence Needs.

ANALYSIS:

Comparision of needs

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INTERPRETATION

At axis bank, the employees rank their growth needs holding prime importance as their existence needs are being met appropriately by the organization. The esteem and social needs are almost equally important while the existence needs take a back seat.

CONCLUSION

Maslaw’s need hierarchy theory holds good here as well. As the existence needs of the employees are met, they move up the level of hierarchy. For an employee, who has joined the organization lately,

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satisfaction of social needs hold more significance than the contentment of esteem needs, for an employee who has been working with the organization for quite some time.

The ERG Theory plays quite a pivotal role. The employees seek to satisfy a number of needs at the same time.

Q2) What is the relative importance of External Factors in the work environment influencing your performance i.e. Superiors, Subordinates, Recreational Facilities and Authority?

ANALYSIS:

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Relative importance of..

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ConsistentPerformance

Achievement

Recognition

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INTERPRETATION

For more than 40% of the people, superior’s expectations and the recreational activities hold equal importance for effective performance. For people who are the higher in the chain of hierarchy, authority is of utmost importance while for others, it is the influence of their peers and colleagues which drives their behavior.

CONCLUSION

There is a mix and match of all the factors influencing the behavior of an employee. No factor affects employee’s behavior in isolation. The main driving factors influencing work performance are recreational opportunities and the influence of the superiors over the subordinates. The organization uses decentralization to allow discretion in some matters, while saving on time.

Q3) What is the thing you appreciate more- consistence performance, achievement, recognition or rewards?

ANALYSIS

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Relative importance of..

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ConsistentPerformance

Achievement

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INTERPRETATION

Consistent performance is the most appreciated by the employees while recognition is also a key motivator that influences the employees to work hard. For more than 70% of the respondents, achievement of rewards was least important.

CONCLUSION

The employees believe that a good and consistent performance can get them a sense of achievement and hence recognition and rewards. Thus it is performance that matters and also the recognition of work by superiors by drives them to perform more consistently.

Q4) How do you perceive your current organization’s culture?

ANALYSIS:

A majority of the population perceives their organization culture to be a stable environment in which employees can develop and exercise their skills.

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INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION:

An appropriate organizational culture encourages the development of an entrepreneurial orientation among employees and an ability to change the culture as necessary.

Organizations operate in all areas through people and it is their contribution which determines success. Their skills and knowledge need to be cultivated and then leveraged to create competitive advantage.

The organization sees to it that its employees are highly skilled and will stay in the organization while working their way up the ranks.

Q5) In what kind of an organizational culture you prefer to work?

ANALYSIS:

An organization where there is a stable environment in which employees can develop and exercise their skills is the culture which is preferred by more than 85% of the employees. Only 15% are in favor of a culture which has high commitment to decentralization.

INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION:

An organization that addresses the need for skill development goes down well with the employees. More than anything else, they look forward to a culture that provides them autonomy and freedom to hone their skills and prepare themselves for higher ranks.

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Such an organization will be more effective in terms of delivering its goals and satisfying its employees because at no point of time will there be an employee crunch. Any position can be provided for from within the organization if the employees are encouraged to hone their existing skills and explore newer avenues.

Q6) How often do you indulge in recreational activities?

ANALYSIS:

The employees indulge in recreational activities quite often, namely, every week.

INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION:

The organization is catering well to the social needs of the employees through the medium of weekend parties. Axis Bank even comes up with contests solely for the employees to reward them time and again.

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Q7) What alerts you more – meeting your superior’s expectations or competition from peers?

ANALYSIS

Superior's Expectations or Competition from peers?

Meeting superior'sexpectations

Competition from peers

INTERPRETATION

For all the employees, meeting expectations of their superiors was the most important. This reflects clearly on the values, the skill set of the employees and the management of Axis Bank.

CONCLUSION

There is lack of competition spirit among the employees. They strive to perform better in order to meet the expectations of their superiors. The work environment is extremely cohesive.

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Q8) What counts more – experience or exposure?

ANALYSIS

Experience or Exposure?

Experience72%

Exposure14%

Both14%

Experience

Exposure

Both

INTERPRETATION

A majority of the employees said that exposure matters more to them while only 14% employees believed that its experience that counts more. 14% of the employees gave equal weightage to both experience and exposure.

CONCLUSION

It is exposure i.e. the changes and challenges faced by an individual that hone his skills better and make him better as an employee.

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Q9) Overall, how satisfied are you with working for the company?

ANALYSIS

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Satisfaction level

Employee Satisfaction

Very Satisfied

Satisfied

Dissatisfied

Very Dissatisfied

INTERPRETATION

Most of the people are satisfied working for the organization. There are 20% who are very satisfied. However there were 9% of the employees who felt dissatisfied for working for the organization.

CONCLUSION

The organization offers a good culture and environment to its employees to working as the most of the employees are satisfied. The ones who are dissatisfied are working only because the organization satisfies their existence needs, while their growth and social needs remain unattended.

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Q10) What is the best part about working for this company?

ANALYSIS

The reactions to this question were mixed. The management entrusts the employees by giving them challenging jobs and there is openness to suggestions from all. All employees are treated equally and the management is fair. The management upholds the values it propounds. Also mentioned by an employee are the ESOP’s offered to the employees.

INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION

The organization has a dynamic culture. On the whole the culture satisfies the diverse needs of all the employees.

Q11) Which areas of the company do you feel need improvement?

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ANALYSIS

Though satisfied, the employees offered various suggestions to improve the organization. They emphasized upon developing better interpersonal relationship.

More training should be given to the employees and there should be continuous exposure to new way of doing things i.e. by using innovation and lateral thinking so that performance can be improved.

A small percentage even stressed upon the fact that there should be more transparency in gender based work allocation and less reshuffling.

9% were disappointed over the fact that they had to work at the 11th hour. Any last minute work had to be delivered.

INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION

Though the bank adheres to its policies and values of customer satisfaction, it must be a little more sensitive towards the needs of its employees.

Implementation of the suggestions offered by the employees will work wonders in further reducing the already low attrition rates and enhancing employee commitment.

Interview Analysis

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Q1. What is the USP of your company/ one thing that makes your company different from others?

RESULT

The USP of Axis bank lies in their core value of customer satisfaction. Every product is designed and provided for keeping in mind the needs of different customers in order to suit every purse, purpose and personality. Axis Bank boasts of the fact that it fills the gap between the high end banks and the low end banks. The philosophy propounded by the bank while dealing with customers is “Smile, it enhances your face value”.

Q2. What kind of rewards and punishments does the company give to shape behavior and make employees conform to its values and norms?

RESULT

Based on performance, a number of incentives are offered to the employees. The name of the employee is highlighted in the mails which are sent to every employee right from the branch head to the VP of the company.

Apart from this, promotions are based solely on the basis of performance. There is scope for promotion even within 2 years, based on the performance in the last years.Punishments are seldom given and are restricted only to non performers, particularly employees who are not matching the expectations continuously for a period of 3 to 6 months. Such employees are not sacked but transferred to remote areas.

Axis Bank is well using the Carrot n’ Stick Policy. The bank ensures rewards (carrots) for high performers while it uses the ‘Stick’ to set straight the non-performers.Q3. What kind of recreational activities does the organization

promote?

RESULT

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The organization is catering well to the social needs of the employees through the medium of weekend parties. Axis Bank even comes up with contests solely for the employees to reward them time and again.

With the heavy banking service provided to customers, the bank is exploring avenues to cater to the recreational needs as much as possible.

Q4. When dealing with a customer making an unrealistic demand, what belief or attitude governs your behavior?

RESULT

The company is driven by a mix of customer satisfaction and profit maximization values. The mangers weigh the cost of delivering the desired level of service with the returns expected. If the returns are higher they deliver the services. Rightly concluded by the Operations Manger, “Banking is Our Business, after all!”

Q1) The needs you value the most: Growth, Esteem, Social or Existence Needs.

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ANALYSIS:

Comparision of needs

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First Second Third Fourth

Rank

Per

cen

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f em

plo

yees

Growth

Esteem

Social

Existence

INTERPRETATION

There is low preference for existence needs, because people are not working solely for their daily bread, instead they strive for growth. It is observed that those who are at a higher position in the hierarchial order have a desire to satisfy esteem needs. The social needs hold equal importance as growth needs.

CONCLUSION

As concluded by Malsow, we see the applicability of the need hierarchy theory. The satisfaction of lower level needs i.e. the existence needs leads the path for the fulfillment of higher level needs i.e. growth and esteem needs. However the social needs do not fit in the hierarchy, as a person whether craving for existence or growth or esteem needs, wishes to accomplish his social needs always. Truly, human being is a social animal.

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Q2) What is the relative importance of External Factors in the work environment influencing your performance i.e. Superiors, Subordinates, Recreational Facilities and Authority.

ANALYSIS:

Importance of external factors on performance

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First Second Third Fourth

Rank

Per

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Superiors

Subordinates

Recreation Facilities

Authority

INTERPRETATION

At COX & KINGS, meeting the expectation of the superior is of utmost importance for every employee. While for a manager or an employee at higher position, authority is of primary importance. The support of subordinates and co-workers, for accomplishment of tasks lies on an equal footing. The importance of recreational activities is rated low and the significance of authority for the employees is almost negligible.

CONCLUSION

COX & KINGS is a highly centralized organization whereby the authority and discretion rests mainly with the top management. Employee’s performance is based on the prescribed norms and work procedures. Therefore, we see the dominance of, the impact of superiors, on work performance and least influence of authority, because of centralization. Since there aren’t many recreational opportunities available, their influence is also less.

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Q3) What is the thing you appreciate more- consistence performance, achievement, recognition or rewards?

ANALYSIS:

Relative importance of..

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Rank

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Consistent Performance

Achievement

Recognition

Reward

INTERPRETATION

Achievement is what matters for 67% of the respondents. What follows next is consistent performance and recognition. Rewards are of least importance to all.

CONCLUSION

According to Porter Lawler theory, it is performance which leads to satisfaction. But for the employees at COX & KINGS achievement is what matters. Consistent performance would automatically lead to achievement but ultimately it is achievement which matter, which would then be followed by recognition and rewards.

The Pinnacle of greatness comes when individuals see their work as their purpose. Now this is called ‘Selfless Service’!!

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Q4) How do you perceive your current organization’s culture?

ANALYSIS: COX & KINGS is the best brand for over 249 years and been operational since 1758. There is a collective belief that in turns shape behavior. Everything is governed and pre-described by the management. Every product is designed and provided for keeping in mind the needs of different customers in order to suit every purse, purpose and personality. Therefore culture is more deterministic than probabilistic.

INTERPRETATION

Cox & Kings is the longest established travel company in the world with an organization culture based on a foundation of historical continuity.

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Q5) In what kind of an organizational culture you prefer to work?

ANALYSIS:

An organization where there is a stable environment in which employees can develop and exercise their skills is the culture which is preferred by more than 50% of the employees.

INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION

Accordingly, we classify and define different organizational cultures as:

Academy CultureEmployees are highly skilled and tend to stay in the organization, while working their way up the ranks. The organization provides a stable environment in which employees can development and exercises their skills. Examples are universities, hospitals, large corporations, etc.

Baseball Team CultureEmployees are "free agents" who have highly prized skills. They are in high demand and can rather easily get jobs elsewhere. This type of culture exists in fast-paced, high-risk organizations, such as investment banking, advertising, etc.

Club CultureThe most important requirement for employees in this culture is to fit into the group. Usually employees start at the bottom and stay with the organization. The organization promotes from within and highly values seniority. Examples are the military, some law firms, etc.

Fortress CultureEmployees don't know if they'll be laid off or not. These organizations often undergo massive reorganization. There are many opportunities for those with timely, specialized skills. Examples are savings and loans, large car companies, etc.

Q6) How often do you indulge in recreational activities?

ANALYSIS:

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‘Occasionally’ and ‘never’ were the responses which were common with all. Employees at Cox and Kings are not encouraged to indulge in recreational activities. Nearly 80% of the people said that it’s only on occasions that they take up recreational activities like get-togethers and informal meetings. And for the rest 20% it wasn’t even occasionally.

INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION

Since recreational opportunities are limited or almost insignificant for the workers, there impact is less. Yet, people are very satisfied working at COX & KINGS. On questioning the HR Manager, we discovered that Cox & Kings offered rewards and incentives based solely on performance. These incentives include vacations and holiday packages, which in turn act as recreational opportunities for the employees. Therefore, ultimately it is the performance, driven by achievement of goals and targets, which governs employee’s behavior.

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Q7) What alerts you more – meeting your superior’s expectations or competition from peers?

ANALYSIS:

What alerts employees..??

Other44%

Personal skills33%

Meeting targets11%

Competition from peers11%

Meeting superior's expectations

45%

Meeting superior's expectations Competition from peers

Meetig target Personal skills

INTERPRETATION

For more than 57% of the people, meeting superior’s expectations was the guiding force for effective performance. On the other hand, there was not even a single respondent for whom competition from peers was an alerting factor. Though these were not mentioned in the question but for some, meeting the targets was a vigilant force. While for others, it was personal skills that mattered.

CONCLUSION

The organization has a stable work environment with no sense of competition or rivalry among the employees. Employees learn culture by interacting with other employees. Superior’s expectations to achieve the targets are important for achievement of goals.

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Q8) What counts more – experience or exposure?

ANALYSIS:

Experience or Exposure?

Experience44%

Exposure56%

Experience

Exposure

INTERPRETATION

Experience and exposure both are equally important for work. 55% said exposure to different situations is more important, whereas for the remaining 45% it was experience which reckons more.

CONCLUSION

Experience comes through exposure, hence they both go along.

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Q9) Overall, how satisfied are you with working for the company?

ANALYSIS

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nta

ge

of

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es

1

Satisfaction level

Employee satisfaction

Very Satisfied

Satisfied

Dissatisfied

Very Dissatisfied

INTERPRETATION

Respondents answers ranged from satisfied to very satisfied. There were no traits of low satisfaction or dissatisfaction in the organization.

CONCLUSION

Cox & Kings has been able to recognize the needs of its employees and serve them well. No wonder, the company has low attrition rates!! Why, with employees working for as long as 27 years!

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Q10) What is the best part about working for this company?

ANALYSIS

Majority of the respondents felt that practical applicability of the Equity Theory is the best part about working for COX & KINGS, while there were others who felt that their satisfaction came from the fact that there esteem needs were met by facing challenging job assignments.

CONCLUSION

A work environment based on trust, understanding, and equitable treatment met to all and a system that is open to suggestions goes down well in enhancing the loyalty to the organization.

Q11) Which areas of the company do u feel need improvement?

Since the employees are already satisfied and all their needs are taken care of, majority of the people came with a “NO COMMENTS & NO SUGGESTIONS” answer. However, a few of them also suggested that the HR department needs a little more improvement.

Interview Analysis

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Q1. What is the USP of your company/ one thing that makes your company different from others?

RESULT

Cox & Kings is India’s market leader in destination management, with substantial competitive advantage in this business segment.

India is one of the largest potential outbound tour markets in Asia. In 1995, Cox & Kings began full-fledged in house tour operating activity by designing its own brochure product under exclusive arrangements with direct suppliers and local agents across the globe. Cox & Kings has been undertaking path-breaking initiatives to reach out to the travelers through innovative products.

It is a brand image for about 250 years, which offers different services under one umbrella i.e. packages, tickets, travels, accommodations etc.

Q2. What kind of rewards and punishments does the company give to shape behavior and make employees conform to its values and norms?

RESULT

Rewards are prescribed the HR department on the basis of performance. There is slow growth of the employees, but the incentives and cash rewards are many and on yearly basis. There are yearly appraisals and promotion opportunities based on work performance. When an employee does not abide by the norms or shows an unsatisfactory behavior consistently, punishments are imposed. There is a 3-6 months prohibition period, where the performance of the employee is under surveillance. If the employee continues to show negative behavior or poor performance, he may not be promoted and even suspended or terminated as per orders from the Head Office.

Q3. What kind of recreational activities does the organization promote?

RESULT

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The informal Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions act as recreational opportunities for the employees. There in once in six months out of Delhi tour for the employees along with occasionally put up carnivals. The management organizes parties for all occasions. The operational department organizes monthly get-togethers and informal sessions.

Q4. When dealing with a customer making an unrealistic demand, what belief or attitude governs your behavior?

RESULT

Customer is the KING. We cater to all their needs, through our well diversified products. In case of an unrealistic demand, every employee has the right to say no with a smile. All the employees and management work under the framework of policies provided by the Head Office.

AnalysisReport

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Comparison of Cultures at Axis Bank and Cox & Kings

Axis Bank was the first of the new private banks to have begun operations in 1994,

and with a span of just 14 years it has positioned itself as the 3rd most powerful

private bank after ICICI and HDFC.

On the other hand, Cox & Kings is the longest established travel company in the

world. Its distinguished history began in 1758 and has been operational for 249 long

years.

From our practical understanding if organization culture is to be described in one line,

then that would be “organizational culture is the personality of the organization”.

Like each individual differs in personality, and is a mix of different personality traits,

same is the case with organizations.

At Cox & Kings the culture as perceived by the employees was of historical

continuity, changing and adapting to the needs of the customers and environment

over time.

However, Axis bank has a culture where collective beliefs in turn shape behavior.

They are a form of a shared paradigm.

In Specific…At AXIS BANK, the majority of the employees were very satisfied while only a few

were dissatisfied. The management entrusts the employees and staff with decisional

powers and authority. That is to say, the organization is familiar with

decentralization. The management entrusts the employees with challenging job

assignments for contentment of their esteem needs. There is realistic allocation of

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resources (human and material) to support management, monitoring and

backstopping.

Since the banking sector is booming , the scope for growth and promotion is very

high. This, however, is solely based on performance and merit. The managerial staff

lays strong emphasis on maintaining inter-personal relationships.

The company aims for sales & profit maximization.

At COX & KINGS, we found that employees were very satisfied with the work

environment and management. All the decisional authority rests with the top

management. That is to say that the organization has not tasted decentralization.

There is clear definition of roles and responsibilities regarding overall project

management, accountability, implementation and achievement of results.

Achievement of goals which is followed by rewards and recreational opportunities

leads to satisfaction.

The managerial staff is well diversified in terms of religion and region, thus catering

and relating to the well diversified customer segments. Customer is the king, and all

the services are moulded according to the needs of customer.

The company aims for profit maximization through customer satisfaction.

BasisCox & Kings

Axis Bank

Need Domination Domination of growth needs at all levels of the

organization Satisfaction of Esteem needs very significant for

people at higher levels of hierarchy Social Needs require satisfaction at all levels,

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irrespective of one’s position in the organization

Influence of External Factors on Organizational Behavior

The influence of superiors has a major impact on the effectiveness of work on subordinates

Along with the influence of superiors, employees are highly social & rate the recreational opportunities equally important for effective work performance.

Motivation Factors Achievement Consistency in Performance

Need for Recreation Occasional Very Often

Alerting Factor Meeting the targets Superiors Expectations

Level Of Dissatisfaction 0% 14%

Reasons for satisfaction

Equity: All employees are treated equally and management is fair

Employees are given challenging jobs and there is openness to suggestions from all

Experience or Exposure? Experience and Exposure both are equally

important for effectiveness in performance and learning

Experience comes from exposure

Degree of dispersal of authority Highly centralized Relatively Decentralized

ConclusionsandFindings

Organizational culture is a complex system of organizational values, from which, develop organizational norms, guidelines or expectations that prescribe appropriate kinds of behavior by employees in particular situations and control the behavior of organizational members towards one another.

Organizational Culture covers a vast area of research. It stems from the shared values within the organization and extends right uptil the customers outside the organization. We wish to conclude on the basis of indices like:

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Organizational Culture Analysis Critical Incident Analysis Culture Gap Analysis

Having carried out a detailed analysis and a comparison of the organizational culture in the two organizations, we derived the following conclusions: ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ANALYSIS

Key values and behaviors are assessed for work units and the overall organization.Results show which values are held by your various work units and how strongly those values are held. Relationships between work values and organization outcomes are identified. Action planning follows the Organizational Culture Analysis to produce a high performance culture for your organization.

In the light of the given substrates i.e. Axis Bank and Cox & Kings, the values emphasized and reiterated are strongly upheld.

Both the organizations are service based and seek to provide quality service Attention to details is their top priority. They have especially designed products to suit the needs of every customer.

Low price policy is another common feature to both these organizations.Encouraging social activities, Axis Bank ensures success through teamwork, integrity and people.

Both companies fair well on the Organizational Culture Analysis dimension.

CRITICAL INCIDENT ANALYSIS

Critical events in your organization's day-to-day operations are captured, as offered by your employees, customers, or other stakeholders.

These methods produce categories of organizational values and effectiveness ratings based on the nature of incidents occurring in those categories.

For example, Customer Service may be one of your resulting categories. However, if the stories offered here are mostly negative, the effectiveness rating will be low.

Therefore, Customer Service will show up as a key value, but one that needs improvement. The incidents provide concrete data for improving behaviors related to customer service. 

With respect to Axis Bank, the Critical Incident Analysis dimension is well applied. The insights provided into the services rendered by the bank bear testimony to the fact.

In case of a customer making any unreasonable demand, the bank may, for once refuse the customer. But if an agreement means huge business, the bank can overlook the unsound demand. For Axis Bank, Banking is Business.An incident cited to us about the PMS (Portfolio Management Service) provided by the bank, clearly indicates that the bank is mindful of it’s customers needs and seeks to deliver value satisfaction.

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As for Cox & Kings, the company holds strongly onto its values. Customer satisfaction is the crux for all their activities. As such, the level of customer complaints that Cox & Kings receives is very low.

In order to satisfy the customer, the company goes out of its way. Complaint about any guide leads to expulsion of the guide. Any complaints about the facilities at a hotel or resort might even end their term with Cox & Kings.

Critical Incident Analysis ends on a positive high for Cox and Kings with Axis Bank trailing behind very closely.

CULTURE GAP ANALYSIS

Culture Gap Analysis examines not only the actual values being put into practice, but also the desired values of the work unit and organization.

Both the organizations score low on this dimension. Both Axis Bank and Cox & Kings, adhere to the values they propound. The desired values are equal to the practiced values.

Bibliography

The Organizational Culture Perspective. Chicago: Dorsey Press.

BTNet.com

Organizational Culture and Identity: Unity & Division at work by

M. Parker

AxisBank.com

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Cox&Kings.com

Google.com

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