chapter 3 social system and organizational culture
TRANSCRIPT
Social System and
Organizational Culture Human Behavior and Organization Class
Prof. Melvin Vitug Moraga
Lecture Objectives
1 2 3
Understand the operation of a social system
Examine social cultures and their impact
Discuss the role and role conflict in organizations
4
Explain organizational culture and its
effect
What is a Social System?
complex set of interacting
human relationships
all parts are mutually
interdependent
engages in exchanges with
its environment (open system)
Social Equilibrium
When all interdependent parts are in
dynamic working balance
† a single event can throw a system out of
balance
† when in disequilibrium, the parts work
against each other
† over time, the basic character changes
little
American automobile
manufacturers
† design † quality † cost
International automakers
† Toyota † Honda † Mazda † Nissan
Cross-functional Teams
problem: product design, factory engineering, sales and marketting
† Speeding product dev’t † Cost reduction by 20%
result: more productive equilibrium
Functional and Dysfunctional Effects
Functional effects…
† creativity
† productive employees
† quality improvements To elicit functional
behaviors, provide
clear expectations
and promises of
reward
Functional and Dysfunctional
Effects (cont’n)
Dysfunctional effects…
† lower productivity (hard)
† lower satisfaction (soft)
† lower commitment (soft)
Psychological and Economic Contracts (cont’n)
The psychological contract builds upon
the concept of exchange theory
† to remain attracted to the relationship,
both parties must have a net positive ratio
† the contract is continually examined
and revised
Social Culture
Acting in accordance with the expectations
of others
† human-created beliefs, customs,
knowledge, and practices
† distinctive social cultures can exist
within a single nation
Social Culture (cont’n)
Managers must understand and
appreciate the backgrounds and
beliefs of work unit members
† one-culture dependency may
create intellectual blinders
Cultural Diversity
Job-related diversity
Non-Job-Related diversity
† Type of work † Rank † Physical proximity † Group affiliation
† Culture † Ethnicity † Socio-economics † Sex
Cultural Diversity (cont’n)
Discrimination and Prejudice
† Discrimination is generally an action
† Prejudice is an attitude
† Either may exist without the other
The law prohibits…
† Actions, not feelings
† Any action that has discriminatory results,
regardless of intentions
Cultural Diversity (cont’n)
Valuing Diversity
† Prejudicial stereotypes
† Differences must be recognized,
acknowledged, appreciated, and used to
collective advantage
Cultural Diversity (cont’n)
Valuing Diversity
† Organizations are under political,
economic, social, and technical pressures
to change
† Actively managing diversity provides a
competitive advantage
Social Cultural Values
The Work Ethic
† Group differences
† Gradual decline
Social Responsibility
† Costs and benefits
† Strive for balance
† Social, economic, and technical values
Role
A pattern of expected
actions
† Facilitates interaction
† Multiple roles
Mentors
A role model who guides another employee
† Stronger employee loyalty
† Faster movement up learning
curve
† Better succession planning
† Increased accomplishments
† Gradual decline
Mentors (cont’n)
Assigning mentors can result in…
† Resentment
† Abuse of power
† Unwillingness to serve
Role Conflict
Others have different perceptions or
expectations of a person’s role
† Boundary roles
† Role ambiguity
S t a t u s
Social rank of a person in a group
† status systems
† status anxiety
† status deprivation
† status relationships
† status symbols
Status (cont’n)
Significance of status
† Influences transfers and jobs employees
take
† Helps determine informal leaders
† Motivates those seeking to advance
† Some societal backlash
Organizational Culture
Complex social system of laws, values,
customs
† Behavior = Interaction between personal
characteristics and the environment
† Shared norms
Organizational Culture (cont’n)
Benefits of Organizational Culture
† Provides organizational identity
† Source of stability, continuity, security
† Provides context
† Typically identifies and rewards high-
producing and creative individuals (role
models)
Organizational Culture (cont’n)
Benefits of Organizational Culture
† Provides organizational identity
† Source of stability, continuity, security
† Provides context
† Typically identifies and rewards high-
producing and creative individuals (role
models)
Characteristics of Organizational
Culture (cont’n)
distinctive stable implicit
symbolic integrated reflection
of top management
subcultures varying strength
No single type of culture is best
Measuring Organizational Culture
Difficult at best..
† Examination of stories, symbols, rituals,
and ceremonies
† Interviews and open-ended questionnaires
† Examination of corporate philosophy
statements
† Become a member of the organization and
observe
Communicating and Changing Culture
Difficult at best..
† Formal communication channels
† Informal means
† Unintentional ways
† Storytelling
Communicating and Changing Culture
People are more willing to adapt and learn
when they want to…
† Please others
† Gain approval
† Learn about their work environment
Case: The Kaisa Construction Company Kaisa Construction company is a small company in Manila. Over half its revenue is
derived from the installation of underground water and power line, so much of its
workers is seasonal and turnover among its employees is high.
Federico Marasigan, a college student, had been employed by Kaisa as a backhoe
operator for the last three summers. On his return to work for the fourth summer,
Marasigan was assigned the second newest of the company’s five backhoes. The
owener reasoned that Marasigan had nine months of work seniority, so according to
strict seniority, he should have the second backhoe. The action required the present
operator of the backhoe, Pedro Manansala, a regular employee who had been with
the company seven months, to be reassigned to an older machine. Manansala was
strongly dissatisfied with this; he felt that as a regular employee he should have
retained the newer machine instead of having to give it to a temporary employee.
The other employee soon fell into camps, one supporting Manansala and one
supporting Marasigan. Job conflict arose, and each group seemed to deligth in causing
work problems for the other group. In less thant a month Manansala left the company.
QUESTIONS: 1. Discuss this case in terms of the social system, equilibrium, the
psychological contract, role , status, and status symbols.