On the other hand, a negative organizational culture is characterized by “high levels of mistrust, poor communication and strong resistance to the unknown” (Sopow, 2006, p. 15). This unhealthy environment usually produces fear in employees, therefore reducing a sense of job safety and stability. A negative organizational culture contains “very centralized reporting lines, little sharing of authority and asymmetrical top-down communication more intent on “telling” than sharing or listening” (Sopow, 2006, p. 15).
An organization’s culture can be hard to measure. Cameron and Freeman created a framework of organizational culture types based on the research of several others. According to their framework, “each culture type is characterized by a particular set of shared beliefs, style of leadership, set of shared values that act as a bond or glue for members, and strategic emphases in pursuit of effectiveness” (Lund, 2003).
The four types determined by Cameron and Freeman’s framework are clan, adhocracy, hierarchy, and market. The clan type of organizational culture is based on cohesiveness, participation, teamwork, and sense of family. The style of leader is mentor/facilitator. The type of bonding is through loyalty and tradition. The strategic emphasis is focused on human resources and building commitment and morale (Lund, 2003).
The adhocracy type of culture is based on creativity and adaptability. The leader style necessary is the entrepreneur or risk taker. The type of bonding is through flexibility and risk. Strategy focuses on growth and innovation (Lund, 2003).
The hierarchy type of organizational culture is based on order, rules, and regulations. The leader style associated with this type is coordinator/administrator. Bonding occurs through rules, policies, and procedures. Strategy is focused on stability and predictability (Lund, 2003).
The market type of culture is based on competitiveness and goal achievement, and therefore requires a decisive leadership style. Bonding occurs through goal orientation, production, and competition. Strategy is focused on having a competitive advantage, and dominating the market (Lund, 2003).
An organization tends to have a dominant type, but may also have traits of the other types. Business performance varies through the four types with market being the best, followed by adhocracy, clan, and then hierarchy. Managers should be aware of their dominant culture type in their organization to discover their strengths and weaknesses. Managers must also consider that there are traits of more than one of the four culture types that may be in conflict with one another. Realizing this will help in creating a more effective strategy. When dealing with mergers and acquisitions, managers should not only worry about the finances involved, but the “cultural compatibility” of the two companies. Finally to remain competitive, companies should ensure good relations with their employees (Lund, 2003).
A major implication for organizational cultures today is technology. Organizational culture and new technologies emerging into the workplace have impacted relationships within the organizations and the performance of the workers. According to Montano and Dillon (2005), as technology changes, the relationships change between social and technical subsystems of the organization. As a result, the individual-organization and individual-group relationships within an organization also change (p. 228).
Nohria and Eccles (1992) argue that relationships between individuals are hindered by communication technologies because not all social cues are transmitted, and that technology can strengthen the role of individuals in organizations (p. 229).
Montana and Dillon (2005) describe convenience “as the degree to which technology makes communication easier between individuals and their groups or individuals and the organization.”
Technology removes barriers to developing and maintaining individual organization and individual-group relationships because individuals are more comfortable contacting representatives of the organization and group members, respectively. Also, individuals can more easily and more frequently communicate with representatives of the organization and group members. In this sense, all of the technologies, other than the telephone, facilitate greater strength in individual-organization and individual-group relationships than does non-technology-mediated communication. This observation holds equally for both the individual-organization and individual-group relationship (Montana and Dillon, 2005, p. 236).
The effective implementation of new technologies is influences by the attributes of the innovation, the perception of top managers regarding their strategic role in optimizing performance and the strategies adopted in changing the elements of the culture of the organization to facilitate their adoption (Sankar, 1988, p.11).
Sankar (1988) found that “managers must ensure that the performance of these technologies is not hindered by the culture and systems of the adopting organizations.”
Some researchers believe that turnover can be lower in weaker organizational cultures than in stronger cultures. “In strong cultures, individuals whose personal belief system is in direct conflict will quickly discover their contrary values and leave the organization, citing this conflict as a primary reason. In weak cultures, individuals will have a more difficult time identifying cultural values and may in fact have the opportunity to mold cultural values themselves; in this vein, levels of turnover will be lower and the ability to recognized person-organization fit as a possible turnover antecedent will be difficult” (DelCampo, 2006, p. 467).
In addition, it is sometimes difficult to implement change in an organization that has a strong culture. Part of the reason for this is unpredictability. Employees in a strong organizational culture have developed confidence that their policies, procedures and values are just fine the way they are. “To many, changing the culture means messing with tried-and-tested traditions and ignoring many years of positive lessons learned.” (Sopow, 2006, p. 16). Employees are satisfied with the current operating procedures and wonder why change is necessary. Many believe that it is more difficult to implement change into a positive organizational culture because the shared beliefs are stronger collectively than individually (Sopow, 2006, p. 16).
For change initiatives to succeed, it is important to hold focus groups or individual interviews with employees at all levels of the organizational structure. During these sessions, “the goal is to find out what long-established organizational behaviors and actions are giving people comfort in the workplace, which instill a sense of security and provide safe boundaries, and which continue to impede adaptability and positive change.” (Sopow, 2006, p. 16)
Cultural change may be necessary to the survival of some organizations. There are many tools that employers can use to encourage employees to work together towards a common goal and allow for a successful change. Culture is one of the cooperation tools that can be used (Christensen, 2006, p.72). Due to recent corporate scandals, a lack of trust has developed in the business community. “Corporate culture must include a commitment to embracing ethical values, not simply to avoid scandals but to regain the public’s trust” (Kranacher, 2006, p. 80). A recent study by the American Management Association found there were three reasons ethics are compromised in the workplace. The three reasons are “pressure to meet unrealistic deadlines,” “a desire to further one’s career,” “a desire to protect one’s livelihood” (Kranacher, 2006, p. 80).
Gaining employee input is critical if a company wishes to implement change successfully. Obtaining employee feedback can help senior-level managers discover actual employee perspectives. This will help give them an accurate glimpse of their organization’s culture. Rather than rely on intuition and experience, senior-level management can utilize employee’s opinions to come up with a more favorable change initiative that is congruent with the employees’ shared beliefs and values (Sopow, 2006).
Further Questions
When researching organizational culture, we found that most articles emphasized the advantages and disadvantages of a strong organizational culture. When any article would discuss weak cultures, it did so only briefly and vaguely. We believe that more research could be done on the advantages and disadvantages of a weak culture. This will help future SCSU students and managers decipher the difference between these two types of cultures.
In addition, we were not able to find many articles that discussed the success stories or failure stories of companies that have tried to change their organizational culture. We believe that more research could be done on actual change initiatives that have taken place within organizations in the past. Whether it be a story of success or failure, this additional research could be very beneficial to managers today. By researching the “do’s” and “don’ts” when changing an organization’s culture, companies can learn more about their current change initiatives and can gain an insight into whether or not it’s implementation will be successful
References
Christensen, C. M., Marx, M., (2006). The Tools of Cooperation and Change. Harvard Business Review, 84, 72. Retrieved November 13, 2006 from
DelCampo, R. G. (2006). The Influence of Culture Strength on Person-Organization Fit and Turnover. International Journal of Management, 23, 465-469. Retrieved November 4, 2006, from http://research.stcloudstate.edu/rqs.phtml?subject_id=65
Hatch, M. J., Schultz, M., (1997). Relations Between Organizational Culture, Identity and Image. European Journal of Marketing, 31, 356. Retrieved November 9, 2006, from
Kranacher, M. J., (2006). Creating an Ethical Culture. The CPA Journal, 76, 80. Retrieved November 13, 2006, from http://research.stcloudstate.edu/rqs.phtml?subject_id=65
Lund, D. B., (2006). Organizational Culture and Job Satisfaction. The Journal of Marketing, 18, 219. Retrieved November 9, 2006, from
“Majken Schultz.,” Copenhagen Business School. Retrieved November 25, 2006, from
http://ftmba.mba.dk/index.aspx?articleid=+209+209
Montano, B. R., Dillon, R., (2005). The Impact of Technology on Relationships within Organizations. Information Technology and Management, 6, 227. Retrieved November 1, 2006, from
Ravasi, D., Schultz, M., (2006). Responding to Organizational Identity Threats: Exploring the Role of Organizational Culture. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 433. Retrieved November 9, 2006, from
Sankar, Y. (1988). Organizational Culture and New Technologies. Journal of Systems Management, 39, 10. Retrieved November 1, 2006, from http://research.stcloudstate.edu/rqs.phtml?subject_id=65
Sopow, E. (2006). The impact of culture and climate on change programs. Strategic Communication Management, 10, 4-17. Retrieved November 4, 2006, from http://research.stcloudstate.edu/rqs.phtml?subject_id=65
