Organizational Culture. Socialization, and Mentoring

Chapter Two

Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

McGraw-Hill/IrwinOrganizational Behavior: Key Concepts, Skills & Best Practices, 3/e

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After reading the materials in this chapter, you should be able to:

• Discuss the layers and functions of organizational culture.• Describe the three general types of organizational culture

and their associated normative beliefs.• Summarize the methods used by organizations to embed

their cultures.• Describe the three phases in Feldman’s model of

organizational socialization.• Discuss the various socialization tactics used to socialize

employees.• Explain the four types of developmental networks derived

from a developmental network model of mentoring

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Organizational Culture

• Organizational culture - set of shared, taken-for-granted implicit

assumptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about and reacts to its various environments

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Organizational Culture Characteristics

• Passed on to new employees through the process of socialization

• Influences our behavior at work• Operates at different levels

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A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Organizational Culture

Figure 2-1

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Organizational Culture

• Shaped by four components:- Founder’s values- Industry and business environment- National culture- Senior leaders vision

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Layers of Organizational Culture

• Observable artifacts- Consist of the physical manifestation of an

organization’s culture- Acronyms, manner of dress, awards, myths

and stories, published lists of values, observable rituals and ceremonies, special parking spaces, and decorations

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Layers of Organizational Culture

• Espoused values - represent the explicitly stated values and

norms that are preferred by an organization

• Values - concepts or beliefs that pertain to desirable

end states, transcend situations, guide selection of behavior and are ordered by relative importance

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Question?

What represents the values and norms that actually are exhibited or converted into employee behavior?

A. Espoused valuesB. Valued behaviorC. Enacted valuesD. Basic assumptions

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Layers of Organizational Culture

• Enacted values - represent the values and norms that actually

are exhibited or converted into employee behavior

- Based on observable behavior

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Layers of Organizational Culture

• Basic assumptions- Constitute organizational values that have

become so taken for granted over time that they become assumptions that guide organizational behavior

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Four Functions of Organizational Culture

Figure 2-2

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Types of Organizational Culture

• Constructive• Passive-defensive• Aggressive-defensive

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Organizational Culture

• Normative beliefs - thoughts and beliefs

about expected behavior and modes of conduct

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Types of Organizational Culture

Constructive• Employees are encouraged to interact with others and to work on tasks and projects in ways that will assist them in satisfying their need to grow and develop

• Associated with achievement, self-actualizing, humanistic-encouraging, and affiliative

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Types of Organizational Culture

Passive-defensive• Overriding belief that employees must interact with others in ways that do not threaten their own job security

• Associated with approval, conventional, dependent, and avoidance

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Types of Organizational Culture

Aggressive-defensive• Encourages employees to approach tasks in forceful ways in order to protect their status and job security

• Associated with oppositional power, competitive, and perfectionistic

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Outcomes Associated with Organizational Culture

1. Significantly correlated with employee behavior and attitudes

2. Congruence between an individual’s values and the organization’s values was associated with organizational commitment, job satisfaction, intention to quit, and turnover

3. Did not predict financial performance4. Mergers frequently failed due to

incompatible cultures

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Embedding Organizational Culture

• Organizational members teach each other about the organization’s preferred values, beliefs, expectations, and behaviors

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Embedding Organizational Culture

1. Formal statements of organizational philosophy, mission, vision, values, and materials used for recruiting, selection and socialization

2. The design of physical space, work environments, and buildings

3. Slogans, language, acronyms, and sayings4. Deliberate role modeling, training programs, teaching

and coaching by managers and supervisors5. Explicit rewards, status symbols (e.g., titles),

and promotion criteria

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Embedding Organizational Culture

6. Stories, legends, and myths about key people and events

7. The organizational activities, processes, or outcomes that leaders pay attention to, measure, and control

8. Leader reactions to critical incidents and organizational crises

9. The workflow and organizational structure10. Organizational systems and procedures11. Organizational goals and the associated criteria used

for recruitment, selection, development, promotion, layoffs, and retirement of people

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Organizational Socialization

• Organizational Socialization - process by which a person learns the values,

norms, and required behaviors which permit him to participate as a member of the organization

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Phase 1: Anticipatory Socialization

• Occurs before an individual joins an organization

• Involves the information people learn about different careers, occupations, professions, and organizations

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Phase 2: Encounter

• Employees learn what the organization is really like and reconcile unmet expectations

• Onboarding – programs aimed at helping employees integrate, assimilate, and transition to new jobs

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Phase 3: Change and Acquisition

• Requires employees to master important tasks and roles and to adjust to their work group’s values and norms

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Practical Application of Socialization Research

1. Managers should avoid a haphazard approach to organizational socialization

2. Managers play a key role during the encounter phase

3. Organization can benefit by training new employees to use proactive socialization behaviors

4. Managers should pay attention to the socialization of diverse employees

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Question?

What is the process of forming and maintaining developmental relationships between a supervisor and a junior person?

A. Senior leadershipB. MentoringC. SocializationD. Orientation

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Mentoring

• Mentoring - the process of forming and maintaining

developmental relationships between a mentor and a junior person

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Functions of Mentoring

• Career Functions- Sponsorship- Exposure-and-visibility- Coaching- Protection- Challenging assignments

• Psychosocial Functions- Role modeling- Acceptance-and-confirmation- Counseling- Friendship

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Mentoring

• Diversity of developmental relationships reflects the variety of people within the network an individual uses for developmental assistance

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Mentoring

See Belle Rose Ragins’s article

abstract on barriers to mentoring at

Human Relations Online

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Mentoring

• Two sub-components- Number of different people is networked with- Various social systems from which the

networked relationships stem

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Developmental Networks Associated with Mentoring

Figure 2-4

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Mentoring

• Developmental relationship strength reflects the quality of relationships among the individual and those involved in his developmental network

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Personal and Organizational Implications

• Job and career satisfaction are likely to be influenced by the consistency between an individual’s career goals and the type of developmental network at his disposal

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Personal and Organizational Implications

• A developer’s willingness to provide career and psycho-social assistance is a function of the protégé’s ability, potential, and the quality of the interpersonal relationship

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Building an Effective Mentoring Network

1. Become the perfect protégé2. Engage in 360-degree networking3. Commit to assessing, building, and

adjusting the mentor network4. Develop diverse, synergistic connections5. Realize that change is inevitable and that

all good things come to an end

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Video – Pikes Place Fish Market

• In the accompanying video, “Pike Place Fish Market” (14:37) the culture of Seattle’s world famous Pike Place Fish Market is fun!