Part 6 Creation and maintenance of Organizational Culture

R. L. Kirby PhD
copyright 2001

Should we be teaching the caterpillar to walk faster or waiting for the butterfly to emerge? Hari Das tells the story of the Western manager who forced the issue. Mr. Heyman, a manager in a Chinese organization, was not enjoying the constant frustration of dealing with an obstinate (cultural) style of finger pointing and refusal to accept responsibility. In China buck passing was rampant due to strict division of labor / tasks and attitudes of Its not my job. Someone else should do it. After a pump went un-fixed for ages, Heyman thought of the Monk story. In a monastery garden a monk goes each day to fetch water from the stream, but one day a fellow monk asks to help to carry it difficult due to the method (stick across the shoulders) workable but tough to coordinate. Then a third monk demands to help too and it all breaks down. Heyman bought three cheap ceramic monk figurines and sat his management team down; reminded them of the legend then smashed one monk figure and said forcefully, We are going to become a two-monk factory! It seems they got the message and culture changes could begin. In the above case, the Chinese staff had very firm, very traditional role expectations; each man knew exactly what others views were of how he should act. It was (is?) a form of cultural parochialism seeing the world through ones own eyes, with no care for, or recognition of, others differences. We know the limitations of the study of Organizational behavior; it is, basically, a North American discipline and it might be seen by global citizens as arrogant, as The One Right Way. This is hardly surprising since the vast majority of management schools are in the USA, which trains its own professors, and has until relatively recently done research focused mainly on American companies. Here we must acknowledge the key differences between International cultures, as researched by Hofstede and others, and the examination of internal organizational culture which may, we also acknowledge, contain aspects of intercultural diversity to a greater extent than ever before. Heymans dramatic action is certainly not the first time staff members, or even more so, new recruits, have been exposed to unusual or even bizarre experiences during orientation to organizational norms. A strong culture is characterized by both the intensity, and wide acceptance, of its norms (O'Reilly, 1989). Intensity refers to the amount of approval or disapproval that staff members express about such norms. It has been argued that strong cultures lead to increased member identification, commitment, cooperation and greater consistency in decision-making and performance, but a strong organizational culture might be both an asset and a liability, depending on whether the culture meets the needs of its members, or the organization, as it operates in its business environment. In addition, as Fox and Tan point out, students of organizational culture should be wary of assuming that cultures are strong, based on little evidence. For example, one could easily mistake what appears to be a lack of a strong culture within a unit or a department for the lack of a

THE CREATION and MAINTENANCE OF CULTURE

Part 6 Creation and maintenance of Organizational Culture

R. L. Kirby PhD
copyright 2001

coherent culture. On the other hand, multiple subcultures can exist within organizations (e.g. different units), but this would not necessarily imply a weak culture. Thus, Saffold (1988) has suggested that instead of asking how an organization's generalized culture affects performance, it may often be more accurate to study how its multiple subcultures interact to influence outcomes. There are numerous articles that explain how to develop a "strong" organizational culture (Ouchi, 1981; Peters & Waterman, 1981, and an old 1961- but classic work The Boys in White, by Becker, Geer, Hughes and Strauss, about the socialization of male physicians). Famous strong culture organizations such as the US Marine Corps, the British SAS, and even certain traditional Universities have engaged their juniors in experiences to upend their life orientation and instill a set of expectations that seem ridiculously impossible (Kirby, PhD Dissertation, 1990). On at least one occasion Harvard University freshmen were taken aback when they were given a test during their first week of class, even though they had been warned this would happen and had been given readings through the Summer to prepare they just could not believe that the University would actually do it. Hazing might be one activity that comes quickly to mind, but that, and initiation rites, have a negative connotation. Examples of more purposeful orientation activities include: required attention to the smallest detail, of extremes of physical stamina, personal discipline, and conformity even including the shaving of the head, an historical act of depersonalization and, in olden times, of public shame. Are we all subject to organizational socialization? Of course we are; which of the views you have of your organization are your very own and which are then ones you just go along with because everyone else accepts them? We all change to fit in to at least some extent with our work environment, including the many facets of:

bservable aspects: architecture, rituals, rules, language, and stories. The Oakley firm (sunglasses and consumer products) headquarters, for example, resembles a science fiction space battle cruiser from a movie set, to reflect the companys view that business is war, and thus encourage an aggressive competitiveness in its staff members. Gothic cathedrals were built in great vertical lines to symbolize the connection up to Heaven. In some religious ceremonies, items such as incense burners, goblets, the Holy Book, and elements such as fire and water were given special significance by priests and shamans centuries ago, to maintain a tangible aspect to spiritual thought. Ownership or access to these items almost guaranteed a closed society whose members thus came into contact with the mysteries of the Creator. Naturally such ownership brought great power to the priests, who used their power to read to sustain their elite status in the community. According to the story of Father Brebeuf, Hurons believed that Brebeufs missionaries had planted a piece of black cloth in the ground and had thus stopped crop growth, causing famine (although English agents may well have planted the idea to cause Indians to hate the French).

Part 6 Creation and maintenance of Organizational Culture

R. L. Kirby PhD
copyright 2001

Those religious ceremonies used to be carried on in Latin, which peasants did not speak; Latin expressions and definitions are still used in law courts today. Other professions use language that is special in that is technical in one form or another, such as law, medicine, psychology, not only to ensure precision of expression, but also to sustain the position of power. Acronyms are used in Government; alphanumerical codes are used by management communicators to identify incident types or levels of hazard. Not only do objects symbolize powerfully; even small events carry big messages. For example an executive who plays golf in the afternoon might not think much of it but it passes a clear message to the overworked officer passing by in a cruiser. The writer knows of an executive who makes a point of picking up litter on company premises. The ex- President of Intel used to arrive at the office parking lot just a minute or two before starting time and sprint across the lot to get in on time. During the reign of Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, employees were expected to wear dark suits usually blue; white shirts, and to avoid drinking alcohol or fraternizing with the opposite sex in public. That might have represented company values appropriately when IBMs sold mainframes but when they got into PCs, where the pervasive culture was informal, it was not appropriate in the message it sent. Earlier we saw that Max Weber was the early designer of bureaucratic organizational forms. That was not all for which we remember him. He had done, by the 1930s, a rigorous exploration of a major social cultural influence that we refer to commonly today: The Protestant work ethic, which paved the way for the industrialization of Western society. Hard work was seen as a way of glorifying God; the resulting profit is, then, Gods blessing. In recent years, our work ethic has changed almost completely from a religious exaltation of work to the emphasis on work as a persons central life interests for satisfying social needs. One of the concomitant problems with modern managers is their lack of Emotional Intelligence, as those in control seek to remain in control and hold on the power. Glasser has written on this in his book The Control Theory Manager, and Daniel Goleman has written two books recently on the benefits of empathy and sensitivity in dealing with interpersonal problems (Emotional Intelligence). Michael Lombardo, at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina, has done decades of work on similar themes, including classic studies on why executives are de-railed almost never due to technical incompetence but 95% of the time it is because they just cannot get along with other people. Modern workers, especially professionals, do not need to worry too much about their basic needs of pay and working conditions. However, they are concerned that their mid-level needs of support on the job, belongingness, and high level need for growth opportunity are addressed by their managers many of whom are still internally centered on retaining power and look after only basic needs. Many of these old style managers rely on bureaucratic control and ignore the more subtle issues behind problems of motivation and quality work, stress and the management of change.

Part 6 Creation and maintenance of Organizational Culture

R. L. Kirby PhD
copyright 2001

The observable aspects listed above are, however, really manifestations of the nobservable: norms, beliefs, values, ideology, and assumptions, shared perceptions of organizational members. If consistency of behavior, values and commitment is sought, then organizations will encourage large groups to share experiences and bond with model people, to access and use existing infrastructures, wear uniforms with pride, and develop team sharing as a norm. In other words, a mutual shaping goes on with quality, or shared, frequently occurring events, people get to think like the people they work with (Rentsch).

To review: Organizational Culture: Is a set of broad unwritten rules that tell us what to do; Is a binding force that orients and directs behaviors so there is consistency; Is learned and shared so it has a compelling influence; Describes organization realities that are hard to measure but are critical in running an organization, notably in contributing to strategy; and a strong culture reduces the need for formal infrastructures. Organizational Culture anchors good decisions, yet it gives us latitude to change and interpret a situation for our action independent of formal rules, yet still in accordance with norms, expectations and values. In some cases, behavioral norms emerge because the organizational members share certain values that cause them to have expectations as to which behaviors are appropriate and which are not. There are other situations, however, where norms are not the result of shared values among organizational members; rather, they are determined by organizational rules and practices. How do we maintain and reinforce culture? We establish: Criteria for hiring people who fit the culture Criteria for removing people who deviate from the norm What managers should pay attention to, manage, control, and measure Observational norms for how managers should react in a crisis Methods of coaching and training staff that reinforce values Rites, ceremonies, stories (war stories)