Starter Question

When you think of the U.S. Postal Service’s culture, what kinds of words come to mind?

Where do these impressions come from?

Do you think your impressions are accurate?

What has the potential to make them inaccurate?

Organizational Culture

Organizational culture is a system of shared meaning within an organization that is used to interpret events and guide behavior.

Culture provides the rules, norms, and values that shape the attitudes and behaviors of employees

Culture helps internal integration and external adaptation Culture is a means by which organizational members develop a collective

identity, relationships within the organization, and ways of working together

Espoused values are the beliefs, philosophies, and norms that a company explicitly states.

A mission is the purpose or reason for existence of the organization. A vision is an image of the future the organization seeks to create.

Measures of organizational culture include:-teamwork-conflict -climate-morale -information flow

-involvement -supervision -meetings. 

Culture Components

Observable artifacts are the manifestations of an organization’s culture that employees can easily see or talk about.

Symbols can be found throughout an organization, from its corporate logo to the images it places on its Web site to the uniforms its employees wear.

Physical structures are the organization’s buildings and office designs. Language reflects the jargon, slang, and slogans employees use Stories consist of anecdotes, accounts, legends, and myths that are passed

down in an organization. Rituals are the daily or weekly planned routines that occur Ceremonies are formal events, generally performed in front of an audience

of organizational members.

General Culture Types

Fragmented culture = employees are distant and disconnected from one another.

Mercenary culture = employees think alike, but are not friendly to one another.

Communal culture = employees

are friendly to one another, but

everyone thinks differently and

does his or her own thing.

Networked culture = employees

are friendly to one another and all

think alike.

Specific Culture Types

Customer service culture focuses on quality of service provided.

Safety culture centers on the safety of employees and offerings.

Diversity culture concentrates on fostering or taking advantage of a diverse group of employees.

Creativity culture focuses on fostering a creative atmosphere.

ACTIVITY: Provide an example of an organization of each type

Can organizations be of multiple types? LucasFilm example

Culture Strength

Culture strength exists when employees have high consensus and feel high intensity

High consensus is when employees agree with the way things are supposed to happen within the organization

High intensity is when employee behaviors are consistent with the organization’s expectations

Subcultures unite a subset of the organization’s employees.

Countercultures exist when a subcultures’ values do not match those of the organization.