Artifacts and Levels of Organizational Culture PDF

TH2010 Artifacts and Levels of Organizational Culture Culture is constantly created and changed as groups of people socially interact with one another, and allow cohesion between two (2) or more people (i.e., two companies, or customer and service provider) from distinct organizations, working as...

TH2010 Artifacts and Levels of Organizational Culture Culture is constantly created and changed as groups of people socially interact with one another, and allow cohesion between two (2) or more people (i.e., two companies, or customer and service provider) from distinct organizations, working as a connecting factor. This cohesion is known as inter-organizational culture. Likewise, the higher the frequency and degree of communication in the relationships, the higher the probability of cultural integration; the more cultural comprehension among the partners, the more relationship quality. Relationships are not chosen; they are built (Larentis, Antonello, & Slongo, 2019). Inter-organizational relationships, and organizational cultures rely on trust, commitment, communication, learning, ways to perceive and cope with reality, and shared meanings and symbols. Therefore, organizational cultures involved can be changed through specific systems of meanings and symbols because of inter- organizational relationships. Nonetheless, cultural changes do not necessarily include a redefinition of the organization’s core values and meanings. Artifacts of Organizational Culture There are five (5) artifacts of organizational culture that help employees learn the culture (Lussier & Hendon, 2018): Heroes, such as founders Steve Jobs of Apple, Sam Walton of Walmart, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Elon Musk of Tesla, and others who have made outstanding contributions to their organizations. Stories, often about founders and others who have made extraordinary efforts. These include stories about Sam Walton visiting every Walmart store yearly, or someone driving through a blizzard to deliver a product or service. Public statements and speeches can also be considered stories. Figure 1. Culture Artifacts and Levels of Culture Slogans, such as at McDonald’s Q, S, C, V (or Source: Human resource management: Functions, applications, quality, service, cleanliness, and value). and skill development (3rd Ed.), 2018 Symbols, such as plaques, pens, jackets, or a pink Cadillac at the cosmetics firm Mary Kay. Ceremonies, such as recognition or awards night for employees, brands, and Jollibee Food Corporation branches. Three Levels of Culture The three (3) levels of culture include behavior, values and beliefs, and assumptions. Level 1: Behavior. Behavior includes the observable things that people do and say, or the actions employees take. Artifacts result from behavior and include written and spoken language, dress, material objects, and the organization’s physical layout. Heroes, stories, slogans, symbols, and ceremonies are all part of the behavior-level culture. The behavior level is also called the visible level. Values, beliefs, and assumptions are considered the invisible level, as you cannot observe them. Level 2: Values and beliefs. Values represent how people believe they ought to behave, and beliefs represent “if, then” statements like “If I do X, then Y will happen.” Values and beliefs provide the operating principles that guide decision making and shape the behaviors that result in level-1 culture. Values and beliefs cannot be observed directly; we can only infer what they value and believe in people’s behavior. 04 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 1 of 3  TH2010 Although organizations use heroes, stories, symbols, and ceremonies to convey important values and beliefs, slogans are critical to level-2 culture. A slogan expresses key values. Slogans are part of organizational mission statements, while a philosophy (e.g., FedEx’s philosophy of people-service-profit) is a formal statement of values and beliefs. Level 3: Assumptions. Assumptions are values and beliefs that are so deeply ingrained that they are considered unquestionably true. Because assumptions are shared, they are rarely discussed. They serve as an automatic pilot to guide behavior. People often feel threatened when assumptions are challenged. If you question employees about why they do something or suggest a change, they often respond with statements like, “That’s the way it’s always been done.” Assumptions are often the most stable and enduring part of the culture and are difficult to change. Notice that behavior is at the top of the diagram in Figure 1. Assumptions, values, and beliefs affect behavior, not the other way around; in other words, cause and effect work from the bottom up. Because organizational culture is based at least partly on assumptions, values, and beliefs, it is a powerful force in controlling how people act within its boundaries. For instance, if the culture says that we value hard work and productivity, an individual on one of the teams fails to do their part, work hard, and be productive, then the other team members are quite likely to pressure that individual to conform to the culture or leave the organization. Since assumptions, values, and beliefs are so strong, shirking individuals will most likely change their actions to conform to those that the culture values. Elements of Organizational Culture Initial Elements Initial elements are aspects that sustain and allow the beginning of the development of an inter-organizational culture. Shared symbols refer to any physical phenomenon to which people assign a name, meaning, or value. Shared symbols and meanings are those common cultural elements on which relationships start developing. They ease contact, improve interaction quality, and expand the sharing of ideas, as service providers and customers have, to some degree, similar perspectives to understand the world and the businesses. Openness to new ideas increases the chance to better understand the counterpart, despite different values between the service providers and customers, because humbleness and interest in learning with the other are present. Hence, it allows more openness to diversity because members from different organizations realize the richness of solutions when interactions occur between them and the importance of being open to different perspectives and interpretations of the world. Frequency and quality of interactions allow deeper knowledge of the counterpart, and understand that values, world visions, and means to solve problems are similar and different. When combined with shared meanings and symbols, the frequency becomes more effective and more valued by their counterparts. Once articulated with openness to new ideas, we will have more chances to deal with constructive conflict because the focus is on solving the problem and satisfying market needs. In this case, quality on how people interact and solve problems together enables better means to give attention to others, because of reliability in actions increases. Problems are solved more collaboratively once people know how the counterpart can help, which allows the existence of a network of symbols and meanings across organizational boundaries. Shared meanings and symbols, openness to new ideas, and frequency and quality of interactions allow an inter-organizational culture to start its development. This occurs because parties have felt safe and have shown optimism about the relationship’s future, developed through these interactions, which have led to more similar new perspectives to understand the world. 04 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 2 of 3  TH2010 Intermediate Elements Inter-organizational relationships depend fundamentally on people and their ideologies, practices, prejudices, expectations, capabilities, meanings, and contexts. Trust formation, commitment, and learning will allow sharing symbols and meanings between individuals from different organizations. These elements are intermediate because they depend on the beginning of a relationship and the initial inter- organizational culture elements. However, when this first moment passes, initial and intermediate elements interact with one another. To establish trust, a proper environment is needed. Trust serves as the core element for both organizations building on an inter-organizational culture or relationship. The existence of trust assumes one’s belief about one’s counterpart’s honesty and benevolence; it increases the disposition to share information and the safeness to invest in the relationship and decreases opportunism. Trust has been related to information given, actions executed, and people involved in the relationship. Commitment is about the company’s permanent will to continue the relationship with another, without measuring efforts to maintain it. There is a commitment related to actions, results, and people beyond conflicts and delivering promises. Concerning learning, we have identified learning processes and learning results. Informal learning processes prevailed, related to experiences, collective activities, and search for better performance. both customers’ and service providers’ members learn from one another, mainly about market practices and consumer behavior. Another relevant aspect is learning about management systems and concepts, which depend on time and members’ experience, due to their level of complexity. This is particularly useful in today’s business world, where e-commerce is already becoming a necessity. Resultant Elements When organizations decide to work together, they decide that will impact them in the long term, even in unsuccessful relationship situations. For those who perceive the importance of relationships for their strategies and processes, the inter-organizational relationship will result in organizational culture changes under different perspectives. Cooperation is the result of trust and commitment. Cooperation is evident with those involved in the relationship assembled to discuss and solve problems. They cooperate to cope with situations that require help from both parties or solve problems in ways that consider both the service provider and customer. Need for change must be expected for the organization to continuously grow and improve. It allows better problem-solving across organizations because conversations and discussions inside organizations occur under a different atmosphere and perspective than external ones from partners or contacts. When people involved in relationships begin to understand their partners’ actions, under the influence of leaders who support and guide these interactions, they perceive similarities in their mindsets and become aware of the partnership and their role in developing it. This process promotes trust, commitment, and learning, which will contribute to better cooperation, increase in similar meanings and symbols, and a better work environment. References: Larentis, F., Antonello, C. S., and Slongo, L. A. (2019). Inter-organizational culture: Linking relationship marketing with organizational behavior. Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Lussier, R., and Hendon, J. (2018). Human resource management: Functions, applications, and skill development (3rd Ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. 04 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 3 of 3