1. Organizational Culture.
Organizational Culture

2. ExtendMedia’s Corporate Culture
ExtendMedia’s corporate culture emphasizes creativity, egalitarianism, teamwork, and “casual cool”. The Toronto- based digital media company’s culture is apparent from office design, social interaction, and the dress code of ExtendMedia founder Keith Kocho (shown).
Edward Gajdel Photography

3. Organizational Culture Defined
The basic pattern of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs considered to be the correct way of thinking about and acting on problems and opportunities facing the organization.
Edward Gajdel Photography

4. Elements of Organizational Culture
Physical Structures
Rituals/ Ceremonies
Stories
Language
Beliefs
Values
Assumptions
Artifacts of
Organizational
Culture
Organizational
Culture

5. RIM’s Cultural Content
Research in Motion (RIM), the Kitchener, Ontario pioneer in wireless digital assistants, has a strong organizational culture. Founders Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie (shown) describe the content of RIM’s culture as intense, creative, fun, inclusive, and collegial.
Kitchener-Waterloo Record

6. Meaning of Cultural Content
Cultural content refers to the relative ordering of beliefs, values, and assumptions.
Example: RIM values intensity whereas Q-Media values thrift.
An organization emphasizes only a handful of the hundreds of cultural values.
Kitchener-Waterloo Record

7. Organizational Subcultures
Located throughout the organization
Can support or oppose (countercultures) firm’s dominant culture
Two functions of countercultures:
provide surveillance and evaluation
source of emerging values
Kitchener-Waterloo Record

8. Artifacts: Organizational Stories
Social prescriptions of desired behaviour
Demonstrate that organizational objectives are attainable
Most effective stories:
Describe real people
Assumed to be true
Known throughout the organization
Are prescriptive

9. Artifacts: Rituals and Ceremonies
programmed routines
(eg., conducting meetings)
Ceremonies
planned activities for an audience
(eg., award ceremonies)

10. Artifacts: Organizational Language
Words used to address people, describe clients, etc.
Leaders use phrases and metaphors as cultural symbols
eg. General Electric’s “grocery store”
Language also found in subcultures
eg. Whirlpool’s “PowerPoint culture”

11. Artifacts: Physical Structures/Space
Oakely, Inc.’s protective and competitive corporate culture is apparent in its building design and workspace. The building looks like a vault to protect its cherished product designs (eyewear, footwear, apparel and watches).
Courtesy of Oakely, Inc.
Courtesy of Oakely, Inc.

12. Benefits of Strong Corporate Cultures
Social Control
Strong
Organizational
Culture
Social Glue
Aids Sense-Making

13. Problems with Strong Cultures
Culture content might be incompatible with the organization’s environment.
Strong cultures focus attention on one mental model.
Strong cultures suppress dissenting values from subcultures.

14. Bicultural Audit Part of “due diligence” in merger
Minimizes risk of cultural collision by diagnosing companies before merger
Three steps in bicultural audit:
1. Collect artifacts
2. Analyze data for cultural conflict/compatibility
3. Recommend solutions

15. Merging Organizational Cultures
Assimilation
Acquired company embraces acquiring firm’s culture
Deculturation
Acquiring firm imposes its culture on unwilling acquired firm
Integration
Both cultures combined into a new composite culture
Separation
Merging companies remain separate with their own culture

16. Strengthening Organizational Culture
Founders and leaders
Strengthening
Organizational
Culture
Selection
and
socialization
Culturally
consistent
rewards
Managing the
cultural
network
Stable
workforce