Organizational Context: Design and Culture |  |
Chapter SummaryOrganization theory is presented from the perspective of systems, information processing, contingency, ecological, and learning approaches. Systems theory emphasizes the impact of the external environment. The information processing approach emphasizes the importance of information flows in an organization to cope with internal differentiation and external environmental uncertainty. Contingency theory gives specific attention
to adapting to the environment by relating it to organization structure and design. The ecological theory assumes environmental determinism; there is a natural selection and
replacement of organizations. The most recent theoretical foundation for the learning organization draws on systems theory and emphasizes the importance of not only adaptive learning but also generative learning, leading to creativity, innovation, and staying ahead of change.
Modern organization designs are a marked departure from the classical models. The horizontal, network, and virtual organization designs have emerged to better meet the needs for flexibility and change in the new environment.
The second half of this chapter on the organization context is concerned with organizational
culture. It is a pattern of basic assumptions that are taught to new personnel as the correct way to perceive, think, and act on a day-to-day basis. Some of the important characteristics of organizational culture are observed behavioral regularities,
norms, dominant values, philosophy, rules, and organizational climate. Although everyone in an organization will share the organization’s culture, not all may do so to the same degree. There can be a dominant culture, but also a number of subcultures. A
dominant culture is a set of core values that are shared by a majority of the organization’s members. A subculture is a set of values shared by a small percentage of the organization’s members.
A culture typically is created by a founder or top-level manager who forms a core group that shares a common vision. This group acts in concert to create the cultural values,
norms, and climate necessary to carry on this vision. In maintaining this culture, enterprises typically carry out several steps such as the following: careful selection of entry-level candidates; on-the-job experiences to familiarize the personnel with the organization’s culture; mastery of one’s job; meticulous attention to measuring operational results and to rewarding individual performance; careful adherence to the organization’s
most important values; a reinforcing of organizational stories and folklore; and, finally, recognition and promotion of individuals who have done their jobs well and who can serve as role models to new personnel in the organization.
In some cases organizations find that they must change their culture in order to remain competitive and even survive in their environment. The cultural change process at IBM demonstrates how this may be successfully accomplished. |
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education