Showing papers on "Organizational culture published in 1986"
TL;DR: In this article, three attributes that a firm's culture must have to generate sustained competitive advantages are isolated, and the normative implications of the analysis are discussed, and it is shown that firms that do not have these attributes can engage in activities that will modify their cultures and generate sustained superior financial performance because their modified cultures typically will be neither rare nor imperfectly imitable.
Abstract: Three attributes that a firm's culture must have to generate sustained competitive advantages are isolated. Previous findings suggest that the cultures of some firms have these attributes; thus, these cultures are a source of such advantages. The normative implications of the analysis are discussed. Firms that do not have the required cultures cannot engage in activities that will modify their cultures and generate sustained superior financial performance because their modified cultures typically will be neither rare nor imperfectly imitable. Firms that have cultures with the required attributes can obtain sustained superior financial performance from their cultures.
3,653 citations
TL;DR: This paper integrated important motivational and situational factors from organizational behavior theory and research into a model which describes how trainees' attributes and attitudes may influence the effectiveness of training. But they focused on the level of ability necessary to learn program content.
Abstract: Studies of the influence of trainees' characteristics on training effectiveness have focused on the level of ability necessary to learn program content. Motivational and environmental influences of training effectiveness have received little attention. This analysis integrates important motivational and situational factors from organizational behavior theory and research into a model which describes how trainees' attributes and attitudes may influence the effectiveness of training.
1,215 citations
TL;DR: A virtuous circle from the collective experience of success through stabilized values to cohesion and efficiency sustains the continuity of culture, but if the alternatives allowed for by the culture are unsuited to new problems, then the virtuous circle becomes a vicious circle impeding change as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The primary strategy of an organization is the maintenance of its cultural identity in terms of prevailing values. A virtuous circle from the collective experience of success through stabilized values to cohesion and efficiency sustains the continuity of culture. But if the alternatives allowed for by the culture are unsuited to new problems, then the virtuous circle becomes a vicious circle impeding change. The result may be apparent cultural change, cultural revolution or cultural incrementalism.
481 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1986
TL;DR: The Importance of Management for Education Models of Educational Management Formal Models Collegial Models Political Models Subjective Models Ambiguity Models Cultural Models Conclusion as discussed by the authors The importance of management for education
Abstract: The Importance of Management for Education Models of Educational Management Formal Models Collegial Models Political Models Subjective Models Ambiguity Models Cultural Models Conclusion
423 citations
TL;DR: In this article, it is argued that the attempted manipulation of a corporation's culture is simply an addition to other forms of control which companies have tried to implement, however, corporate culture elicits sentiment and emotion, and contains possibilities to ensnare workers in a hegemonic system.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine the present U.S. use of the concept of ‘corporate culture’ using the sociology of Emile Durkheim as a conceptual framework. Durkheim was concerned with understanding where potential sources of morality might reside in a rapidly changing, increasingly differentiated society. Proponents of corporate culture do not rely specifically on Durkheim's work but essentially answer his question by suggesting that the corporation is the appropriate site for moral order. In this paper it is argued that the attempted manipulation of a corporation's culture is simply an addition to other forms of control which companies have tried to implement. More than other forms of control, however, corporate culture elicits sentiment and emotion, and contains possibilities to ensnare workers in a hegemonic system. On the other hand, strengthening corporate cultures in the U.S.A may also lead to increased worker homogenization and activism.
296 citations
TL;DR: In a previous paper as discussed by the authors, the links between executive personality and the strategic and organizational orientations of troubled firms were examined, and it was argued that the personality of the top executive could influence strategy only in centralized firms; now, it is believed that this can happen even in decentralized organizations.
Abstract: In a previous paper, the links between executive personality and the strategic and organizational orientations of troubled firms were examined. In the present paper, original typologies of neurotic styles and corporate pathology are used, but the two are related using the concept of organizational culture which provides a useful vehicle for linking personality with strategy. In the previous paper it was argued that the personality of the top executive could influence strategy only in centralized firms; now, it is believed that through culture this can happen even in decentralized organizations. Several sets of hypotheses are generated to formalize this position.
261 citations
TL;DR: The current popularity of corporate culture has raised some important issues. Does culture have an impact? How deep seated is culture? Can culture be changed? Corporate culture is not merely a passing fad but represents a fundamental shift in our effort to understand the complex, multifaceted organizations of today.
Abstract: The current popularity of corporate culture has raised some important issues. Does culture have an impact? How deep seated is culture? Can culture be changed? Corporate culture is not merely a passing fad but represents a fundamental shift in our effort to understand the complex, multifaceted organizations of today. However, it cannot be approached as a quick fix solution to a complex and changing problem. Culture needs to be managed along with all the other elements of management theory, such as strategy, structure, reward systems, skills and human resource management, if a company is to devise an integrated program for improving its performance.
256 citations
220 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of recent writings was the basis for defining 14 aspects of organizational culture and a questionnaire developed to capture these aspects was completed by those working in a diverse collection of business organizations.
Abstract: Reliable procedures for the measurement of organizational culture are necessary if the ideas developed in popular and scholarly literature are to be tested. A review of recent writings was the basis for defining 14 aspects of organizational culture. A questionnaire developed to capture these aspects was completed by those working in a diverse collection of business organizations. Industry and organizational position had a strong association with perceived work context, work values, and work beliefs. One industrial corporation, frequently cited as ‘excellent’, was not distinctive in terms of these measures. The results suggest that unless statements about organizational culture reflect differences related to industries and organizational, technical or task requirements, they are unlikely to be accurate.
214 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the underlying values of OD are compared to those that predominate in 40 countries, and specific OD interventions are then examined separately to determine their fit with the values of these countries.
Abstract: Organization development is one of many American management techniques utilized overseas. Based on an empirically derived model of culture, the underlying values of OD are compared to those that predominate in 40 countries. Specific OD interventions are then examined separately to determine their fit with the values of these countries. The results help explain why OD has encountered problems and provide guidelines for selecting and carrying out interventions in a culturally sensitive manner.
206 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, a cultural theory of organizations is developed, where a central role is played by information rejection, which can follow any of four different styles: risk absorption, networking, paradigm protection, or expulsion.
Abstract: Organizations show an essential cultural pluralism. Taking this into account, we aim at developing a cultural theory of organizations. A central role in this theory is played by information rejection, which can follow any of four different styles: risk absorption, networking, paradigm protection, or expulsion. These can be related to different types of organizational cultures, in particular to markets, hierarchies, and sects. Different kinds of information bias institutionalize different kinds of leadership.
TL;DR: In this paper, empirical literature is reviewed focusing on the environmental and organizational determinants of the formation of the firm; the liabilities of newness and smallness; the advantages of generalist and specialist strategies; the difficulties associated with organizational life-cycle transitions; and the competitive and demographic structures of industry.
Abstract: Organizational ecology has focused largely on theoretical and conceptual debates, with relatively little attention devoted to integrating emerging research. In this paper, empirical literature is reviewed focusing on the environmental and organizational determinants of the formation of the firm; the liabilities of newness and smallness; the advantages of generalist and specialist strategies; the difficulties associated with organizational life-cycle transitions; and the competitive and demographic structures of industry. This research not only contributes to the basic understanding of organizational demographics, but it also suggests some significant changes in how organizational processes are modeled.
TL;DR: In a study of senior American and Japanese executives, the Japanese showed a stronger commitment to this theory of action than the Americans did as discussed by the authors, and the implications for strategy-setting behavior in both cultures are discussed.
Abstract: Karl Weick, in The Social Psychology of Organizing, theorized in effect that organizational learning must be governed by a theory of action. Such a theory can be described in terms of variety amplification by senior managers and variety reduction by junior managers. In a study of senior American and Japanese executives, the Japanese showed a stronger commitment to this theory of action than the Americans did. Implications for strategy-setting behavior in both cultures are discussed.
TL;DR: Deshpande et al. as discussed by the authors developed a contingency model of strategic culture planning to ensure compatibility between culture and strategy, which is based on the work of the authors of this paper.
01 Aug 1986
TL;DR: In this article, the determinants of corporate entrepreneurship and its impact on performance were examined, and the results suggest that antecedents of CE vary based upon the compounding effect.
Abstract: The objective of this study was to examine the determinants of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and its impact on performance. The results suggest that (a) antecedents of CE vary based upon the comp...
TL;DR: McDonough and Leifer as discussed by the authors report the results of a study which suggest that this task may be accomplished by relying on a bounded delegation style of project leadership and a culture which emphasizes a business orientation.
01 Aug 1986
TL;DR: The authors examines the role of history as memory in organizations, and argues for the integration of institutional memory into the management process, and develops a conceptual model of the institutional memory in organizational systems.
Abstract: This paper examines the role of history as memory in organizations, and argues for the integration of institutional memory into the management process. The paper develops a conceptual model of inst...
Book•
01 Jun 1986
TL;DR: In this article, a research study about the organizational cultures of a number of textile manufacturing plants from both the public and the private sector in Ahmedabad, India was conducted, and the findings of the study for the plants under reference, for production organizations in general as well as for organization theory are discussed.
Abstract: This paper reports on a research study about the organizational cultures of a number of textile manufacturing plants from both the public and the private sector in Ahmedabad, India. These plants were shown to vary along one aspect of their work-group behaviour, namely the rate of ‘loitering’ among loomshed workers. The concept of ‘culture’ is defined in terms of the shared beliefs, values, norms and traditions within the organizations. Methods of observation and informal open-ended interviews were used to identify elements and/or dimensions of organizational culture, which were subsequently measured through structured interviews with loomshed workers. The study shows a definite relationship between ‘culture’ and ‘loitering’; however, the critical elements of culture influencing loitering behaviour vary from public to private sector plants. The implications of the findings of the study for the plants under reference, for production organizations in general as well as for organization theory are discussed.
Book•
01 Jan 1986
TL;DR: In this paper, an introduction to organizational behaviour personality and attitudes perception and attribution learning and reinforcement work motivation motivating performance - goal setting and reward systems work stress group and team Behaviour power and political behaviour leadership - foundations leadership - contemporary developments conflict and negotiation interpersonal communication decision making in organizations job design organization design organizational culture organizational change creativity individual and group problem solving management of diversity international cross cultural management values and ethics career planning and development integrative exercises and cases
Abstract: Introduction to organizational behaviour personality and attitudes perception and attribution learning and reinforcement work motivation motivating performance - goal setting and reward systems work stress group and team Behaviour power and political behaviour leadership - foundations leadership - contemporary developments conflict and negotiation interpersonal communication decision making in organizations job design organization design organizational culture organizational change creativity individual and group problem solving management of diversity international cross cultural management values and ethics career planning and development integrative exercises and cases
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of sagas and myths on organizational cultures is discussed and a diagnostic culture audits and culture gap profiles are devised to guide the actions of managers and executives.
Abstract: establishing organizational cultures, and the impact of sagas and myths on structure.3 Consultants have watched their carefully designed interventions founder on unspoken assumptions. They have devised diagnostic culture audits and culture-gap profiles to guide their actions.4 Bureaucrats and executives act as tribal leaders; they tell stories, repeat myths, and stage rites and ceremonials.5
TL;DR: An analytic framework which relates cultural variables to structural and techno-econo mic factors, both inside and outside the organization, is derived from the methods employed by cultural anthropologists to generate a functional theory as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: An analytic framework which relates cultural variables to structural and technoecono mic factors, both inside and outside the organization, is derived from the methods employed by cultural anthropologists to generate a functional theory. The framework divides variables into two classes — social and organization, and along three different subsystems — technoeconomic, structural, and cultural. Useful in reconciling previously inconsistent or incompatible theories of organization, the framework is offered as a coordination device to integrate the results of divergent approaches to organizational culture studies.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on a more general relationship between organizational life and the cultural context of organizing, and propose to concentrate further research efforts on the complex relationships between organizational control and culture.
Abstract: The concept of ‘organizational culture’ proves to be fruitless when applied to organizations in socialist economies. Instead, this paper focuses on a more general relationship between organizational life and the cultural context of organizing.
Three examples illustrate the proposed approach. In the first, the Polish ‘propaganda of success’, used in the years 1970–80 by the ruling elite, is analyzed as a case of the use of ideology to manage the meaning shared by participants in economic life. In the second, the battle between the government and the Solidarity movement is interpreted as a battle over meanings. In both examples, the successful management of meaning demands the fit between ideology and national culture. The third example, contrasting Polish and American myths about the origins of organizational effectiveness, shows how everyday organizational life is embedded in the historical and cultural context of a given country.
The paper ends with a proposal to concentrate further research efforts on the complex relationships between organizational control and culture.
TL;DR: A recent boom in the concern with corporate culture is itself a telling cultural phenomenon as mentioned in this paper, which is a response to the prolonged economic recession that began in 1973; the challenge of intense foreign competition, in particular from Japan; the loss of American superiority in technological implementation; and above all the spectre of economic decline confronting the United States.
Abstract: THE RECENT BOOM in the concern with corporate culture is itself a telling cultural phenomenon. It is a response to the prolonged economic recession that began in 1973; the challenge of intense foreign competition, in particular from Japan; the loss of American superiority in technological implementation; and, above all, the spectre of economic decline confronting the United States. The problems of American industry provoked widespread dissatisfaction with conventional managerial practices and strategies. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the preoccupation with Japanese management. The recognition of the role of values in Japan's economic success inspired new awareness of the cultural dimension of economic life. The advent of postindustrial society revealed that industrial models of organization are historical constructs rather than inevitable structures. Corporate culture has also attracted
Journal Article•