Measuring organizational cultures: A qualitative and quantitative study across twenty cases.
01 Jun 1990-Administrative Science Quarterly (The Johnson Graduate School, Cornell University)-Vol. 35, Iss: 2, pp 286-316
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the results of a study on organizational cultures in twenty units from ten different organizations in Denmark and the Netherlands, which came from in-depth interviews of selected informants and a questionnaire survey of a stratified random sample of organizational members.
Abstract: Geert Hofstede University of Limburg Bram Neuijen University of Groningen Denise Davat Ohayv Institute for Research on intercultural Cooperation Geert Sanders University of Groningen This paper presents the results of a study on organizational cultures in twenty units from ten different organizations in Denmark and the Netherlands. Data came from in-depth interviews of selected informants and a questionnaire survey of a stratified random sample of organizational members. Data on task, structure, and control characteristics of each unit were collected separately. Quantitative measures of the cultures of the twenty units, aggregated at the unit level, showed that a targe part of the differences among these twenty units could be explained by six factors, related to established concepts from organizational sociology, that measured the organizational cultures on six independent dimensions. The organizational culture differences found resided mainly at the levei of practices as perceived by members. Scores of the units on the six dimensions were partly explainable from organizational idiosyncrasies but were also significantly correlated with a variety of task, structural, and control-system characteristics of the units.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed and validated an instrument for assessing person-organization fit, the Organizational Culture Profile (OCP), which was used to assess the dimensionality of individual preferences for organizational cultures and the existence of these cultures are interpretable.
Abstract: This article brings together three current themes in organizational behavior: (1) a renewed interest in assessing person-situation interactional constructs, (2) the quantitative assessment of organizational culture, and (3) the application of “Q-sort,” or template-matching, approaches to assessing person-situation interactions. Using longitudinal data from accountants and M.B.A. students and cross-sectional data from employees of government agencies and public accounting firms, we developed and validated an instrument for assessing person-organization fit, the Organizational Culture Profile (OCP). Results suggest that the dimensionality of individual preferences for organizational cultures and the existence of these cultures are interpretable. Further, person-organization fit predicts job satisfaction and organizational commitment a year after fit was measured and actual turnover after two years. This evidence attests to the importance of understanding the fit between individuals' preferences and organiza...
4,275 citations
TL;DR: The Hofstede model of six dimensions of national cultures: power distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, individualism/collectivism, Masculinity/Femininity, Long/ Short Term Orientation, and Indulgence/Restraint as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: This article describes briefly the Hofstede model of six dimensions of national cultures: Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism/Collectivism, Masculinity/Femininity, Long/ Short Term Orientation, and Indulgence/Restraint. It shows the conceptual and research efforts that preceded it and led up to it, and once it had become a paradigm for comparing cultures, research efforts that followed and built on it. The article stresses that dimensions depend on the level of aggregation; it describes the six entirely different dimensions found in the Hofstede et al. (2010) research into organizational cultures. It warns against confusion with value differences at the individual level. It concludes with a look ahead in what the study of dimensions of national cultures and the position of countries on them may still bring. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol2/iss1/8
3,375 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe a trip around the world, where both local management practices and theories are explained from the different contexts and histories of the places visited: Germany, Japan, France, Holland, the countries of the overseas Chinese, South-East Asia, Africa, Russia, and finally mainland China.
Abstract: Executive Overview Management as the word is presently used is an American invention. In other parts of the world not only the practices but the entire concept of management may differ, and the theories needed to understand it, may deviate considerably from what is considered normal and desirable in the USA. The reader is invited on a trip around the world, and both local management practices and theories are explained from the different contexts and histories of the places visited: Germany, Japan, France, Holland, the countries of the overseas Chinese, South-East Asia, Africa, Russia, and finally mainland China. A model in which worldwide differences in national cultures are categorized according to five independent dimensions helps in explaining the differences in management found; although the situation in each country or region has unique characteristics that no model can account for. One practical application of the model is in demonstrating the relative position of the U.S. versus other parts of the...
2,588 citations
Book•
02 Nov 1990TL;DR: The article proposes an integration of climate and culture thinking and research and concludes with practical implications for the management of effective contemporary organizations.
Abstract: Organizational climate and organizational culture theory and research are reviewed. The article is first framed with definitions of the constructs, and preliminary thoughts on their interrelationships are noted. Organizational climate is briefly defined as the meanings people attach to interrelated bundles of experiences they have at work. Organizational culture is briefly defined as the basic assumptions about the world and the values that guide life in organizations. A brief history of climate research is presented, followed by the major accomplishments in research on the topic with regard to levels issues, the foci of climate research, and studies of climate strength. A brief overview of the more recent study of organizational culture is then introduced, followed by samples of important thinking and research on the roles of leadership and national culture in understanding organizational culture and performance and culture as a moderator variable in research in organizational behavior. The final section of the article proposes an integration of climate and culture thinking and research and concludes with practical implications for the management of effective contemporary organizations. Throughout, recommendations are made for additional thinking and research.
2,406 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the plausibility of systematically causal national cultures is questioned, and the assumptions which underlie Hofstede's claim to have uncovered the secrets of entire national cultures are described and challenged.
Abstract: Geert Hofstede’s legendary national culture research is critiqued. Crucial assumptions which underlie his claim to have uncovered the secrets of entire national cultures are described and challenged. The plausibility of systematically causal national cultures is questioned.
2,389 citations
Cites background from "Measuring organizational cultures: ..."
...Hofstede, and many of his devotees, make much of the scale of the IBM survey – 117,000 questionnaires administered in 66 countries (Hofstede, 1980a: 54, 1983: 77, 1998a: 480; Hofstede et al., 1990: 287, for instance)....
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...(Hofstede, 1991: 182; see also Hofstede et al., 1990: 312; Hofstede & Peterson, 2000: 405) Hofstede’s supposition of continuity – the notion that national and occupational cultures are permanent and completed consequences of early ‘socialization’ – has few supporters....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine common new-industry responses to planning needs, such as the transfer of technical staff to the sales force and assignment of user needs research to research and development staff.
Abstract: Examines how organizations identify and respond to conditions of stability and change and classifies responses as appropriate or dysfunctional. Using case study and historical survey approaches, the authors formulate conclusions about organizations themselves, individual organization members, and sub-organizational combinations of members. These three perspectives correspond to the organization's goals, individual career aspirations, and internal politicking. Technical progress and development of new organizational forms proceed in tandem; advancement in either field augurs movement in the other field. The inventor requires a suitable milieu and new technology enables further sophisticated forms of organization. Matching the rise of modern industrial concerns, technological research and development has been increasingly professionalized and financially supported by large corporations and government. Firms in (then) newly created industries, such as electronics, face a unique difficulty. Unlike counterparts in established fields, new firms in these industries must respond to rapidly changing market conditions without the benefit of a management experienced in the exigencies of that sector. The authors examine common new-industry responses to planning needs. These include the transfer of technical staff to the sales force and assignment of user needs research to research and development staff. Two important organizational approaches are identified. The mechanistic approach, suitable for stable industries, is marked by precise definition of member function and is highly hierarchical. The organic approach is more appropriate to industries undergoing change and is characterized by fluid definitions of function and interactions that are equally lateral as they are vertical. (CAR)
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"Measuring organizational cultures: ..." refers background in this paper
...Organizational Cultaras dimension independent of the four others (Hofstede and Bond, 1988; Bond and Mai, 1989)....
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4,163 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1984
TL;DR: In this article, the authors studied 43 successful American companies to discover the secrets of the art of American management, including a bias for action-preferring to do something, anything, rather than performing endless analyses and convening committees, staying close to the customer learning and catering to the client's preferences, autonomy and entrepreneurship, productivity through people, making all employees aware that best efforts are vital and that they will have part of the rewards of the firm's success, hands-on, value driven, and stick to the knitting.
Abstract: The authors studied 43 successful American companies to discover the secrets of the art of American management. The firms were in various categories, including high-technology companies, consumer goods companies, general industrial goods companies of interest, service companies, project management companies, and resource-based companies. To choose the companies, six measures of long-term superiority (three are measures of growth and long-term wealth creation over a 20-year period, and three are measures of return on capital and sales) were selected and imposed: compound asset growth, compound equity growth, average ratio of market value to book value, average return on equity, and average return on sales. The superior companies had eight attributes characterizing their distinction. Each attribute is discussed in detail, with examples and anecdotes from the firms involved. The attributes are: (1) a bias for action-preferring to do something, anything, rather than performing endless analyses and convening committees; (2) staying close to the customer-learning and catering to the client's preferences; (3) autonomy and entrepreneurship--dividing the corporation into companies and encouraging independent and competitive thought within them; (4) productivity through people--making all employees aware that best efforts are vital and that they will have part of the rewards of the firm's success; (5) hands-on, value driven--insisting that higher-ups keep in contact with the company's essential business; (6) stick to the knitting--staying with the business the firm knows best; (7) simple form, lean staff-administrative layers are few, with few staff members at the top; and (8) simultaneous loose-tight properties--a climate combining dedication to the firm's central values along with tolerance for all employees who accept those values. The rational model of management is discussed, along with its history and implications in corporate functioning. A chapter on human motivation discusses some of the contradictions of human nature that are relevant to management and describes how they can be dealt with to everyone's benefit.
4,117 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1961
TL;DR: In this article, the third edition of the Third Edition, the authors present a survey of the state of the art in MANAGEMENT CONDUCT, focusing on the following:
Abstract: PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION 1. INTRODUCTION PART ONE: THE EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES 2. THE ORGANIZATION OF INNOVATION 3. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY, AND THE SCOTTISH COUNCIL'S SCHEME 4. THE MARKET CONTEXT PART TWO: ORGANIZATION AND CHANGE 5. MANAGEMENT STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS 6. MECHANISITIC AND ORGANIC SYSTEMS OF MANAGEMENT 7. WORKING ORGANIZATION, POLITICAL SYSTEM, AND AND STATUS STRUCTURE WITHIN THE CONCERN 8. THE LABORATORY AND THE WORKSHOP 9. INDUSTRIAL SCIENTISTS AND MANAGERS: PROBLEMS OF POWER AND STATUS PART THREE: DIRECTION AND THE SHAPING OF MANAGEMENT CONDUCT: 10. THE MEN AT THE TOP 11. THE SHAPING OF WORK RELATIONSHIPS 12. THE CODES OF PRACTICE IN MANAGEMENT CONDUCT REFERENCES INDEX.
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