week 14: Organizational culture

Employees form an overall subjective perception of the organization based on such factors as degree of risk tolerance, team emphasis, and support of people. This overall perception becomes, in effect, the organization’s culture or personality. These favorable or unfavorable perceptions then affect employee performance and satisfaction, with the impact being greater for stronger cultures. Just as people’s personalities tend to be stable over time, so too do strong cultures. This makes strong cultures difficult for managers to change. When a culture becomes mismatched to its environment, management will want to change it. However, as the Point-Counterpoint debate for this chapter demonstrates, changing an organization’s culture is a long and difficult process. The result, at least in the short term, is that managers should treat their organization’s culture as relatively fixed.

One of the more important managerial implications of organizational culture relates to selection decisions. Hiring individuals whose values do not align with those of the organization is likely to lead to employees who lack motivation and commitment and who are dissatisfied with their jobs and the organization. Not surprisingly, employee “misfits” have considerably higher turnover rates than individuals who perceive a good fit. We should also not overlook the influence socialization has on employee performance. An employee’s performance depends to a considerable degree on knowing what he should or should not do. Understanding the right way to do a job indicates proper socialization.

Furthermore, the appraisal of an individual’s performance includes how well the person fits into the organization. Can he or she get along with coworkers? Does he/she have acceptable work habits and demonstrate the right attitude? These qualities differ between jobs and organizations. For instance, on some jobs, employees will be evaluated more favorably if they are aggressive and outwardly indicate that they are ambitious. On another job, or on the same job in another organization, such an approach may be evaluated negatively. As a result, proper socialization becomes a significant factor in influencing both actual job performance and how it is perceived by others.

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