Week Four: Organizational Culture

Objectives for Week Four Memos of Understanding Describe Organizational Culture and its Elements Consider the Purpose of Culture How Do Managers Use and Create Culture?

Memorandum of Understanding Challenges of defining project Unanticipated issues or concerns Setting expectations Building effective client-group relations Timeline and deadlines

Definition of Culture “A pattern of shared basic beliefs and assumptions taught to new members as a guide to perceiving, thinking, and behaving.” -Schein

Levels of Organizational Culture Artifacts Values Underlying Beliefs/Assumptions

Startup.com: Observing the Formation of Organizational Culture

Steps Organizations Take When Responding to Environmental Uncertainty Positions & Departments Boundary-Spanning Planning & Forecasting Political Activity Interorganizational Linkages

Comparing Models of Adaptation Population ecology, Resource dependency, Institutional isomorphism How do each of these models define success and effectiveness? What is missing from each model’s notion of success and effectiveness?

Startup.com Questions What does the leadership do to create culture? What kind of culture do they create? Artifacts? Values? Assumptions? How might the initial splintering of the founders affect culture?

Startup.com Questions What does the interaction with the EZGOV manager reflect about GovWorks culture? How does GovWorks respond to the EZGOV launch? What does GovWorks response to the EZGOV launch reflect about its culture? How does GovWorks handle the crisis of its weakness in the market?

Startup.com Questions Evaluate Kaleil’s management style. What words would you use to describe Kaleil’s relationship to the company? How much of the “mistakes” we identify are a problem of inexperience? How much of GovWorks cultural, leadership, and structural characteristics were a product of its surrounding environment? How will the recent changes in the environment identified by Brooks affect organizational culture?

Key Points Regarding Organizational Culture Culture = powerful determinant of organizational behavior and performance Socially constructed Evolutionary Same event can have different meanings for different individuals/organizations

Functions of Culture Defines boundary Gives sense of identity Generates commitment Enhances stability Sensemaking Control mechanism Dealing with external entities & actors

Key Questions About Culture What are the implications of an ineffective organizational culture? How do you build a more effective organizational culture? How do you fix cultural deficiencies? Can you manage culture?

Leadership and Culture Managing v. Leading Transactional leaders – Encourage performance along existing goals – Cultural maintenance Transformational leaders – Pursue new and/or more ambitious goals – Cultural innovation Risk-taking Culture

Khademian on Culture, Leadership, and the Environment “Public managers as leaders can be influential in the development and change of culture, but they must look for, understand, and work with the environmental factors that influence and interact with the culture they seek to manage.” p. 36

Khademian on Cultural Change “Culture evolves from efforts to conduct a public task with specific resources and skills in complex environments.” p. 43

Khademian on Cultural Change Tasks, resources, skills = commitments Commitments = roots of culture Change = trial and error – Monitor – Reward – Institutionalize

Khademian on Cultural Change How would Khademian instruct us to study the roots of culture at GovWorks?

Khademian on Cultural Change How would Khademian instruct us to study the roots of culture at GovWorks? – Primary tasks – Primary resources – Environment – How is work done – what are the commitments?

Khademian on Cultural Change How would Khademian instruct us to study the roots of culture at GovWorks? – Primary tasks – Primary resources – Environment – How is work done – what are the commitments? Are we changing culture or work processes? Is there a difference?

Linking Culture to Other Aspects of the Course Management and leadership Environment and responses to the environment Inertial qualities of organizations Problem-solving and innovation Processes and technologies Origins and life cycles of organizations

Readings to Be Completed for Next Class Period Rainey, Chapter 8 Goold and Campbell - coursepack Case: Ellen Schall And The Department of Juvenile Justice – coursepack Short Paper Assignment # 1 due at beginning of class