organizationalculture

Organizational Culture in Marketing Firms

http://journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/socialsciencediliman/article/view/2026

Lesson Objectives:

1. The Notion of Organizational Culture

2. The Relationship between Organizational Culture and Organizational Performance

3. Organizational Culture in Marketing Firms

4. Methodologies for Organizational Culture

5. Building a 'Culture of Character'

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1. Organizational Culture

Organizational culture is described as "the way we do things around here". Organizational culture develops as an ethos created and sustained by social processes, images, symbols, and rituals. Such patterns of belief and shared meaning, fragmented or integrated, and supported by variousoperating norms and rituals can exert a decisive influence on the overall ability of the organization to deal with the challenges that it faces.

- EXERCISE on Organizational Culture

Instructions: Divide the class into groups of four to six people. Each group member should then complete the Cultural Assessment Worksheet by him- or herself. It asks you to identify the artifacts, espoused values, and basic assumptions that are present at your current school: (Reread the material on layers of organizational culture). When everyone is done, meet as a group and share the information contained on your individual worksheets. Create a summary worksheet based on a consensus of the cultural characteristics contained at each level of culture. Strive to obtain a consensus opinion. Each group presents before the class what they wrote on the Cultural Assessment Worksheet.

Culture Assessment Worksheet

Artifacts (physical or visible manifestations of culture; they include jargon, heroes, stories, language, ritual, dress, material objects, mascots, physical arrangements, symbols, traditions,

and so forth)

Espoused Values (the stated values and norms preferred by the organization)

Basic Assumptions (taken-for

granted beliefs about the

organization that exist on an

unconscious level)

Classifications or "Typologies" of Culture:

There are various frameworks or "Typologies" of organizational culture. The framework used by Quinn & Rohrbaugh (1983), adapted by Deshpande, Farley & Webster (1993) which I used for my study, is:

2. Role of Culture in Corporate Performance

The impact of corporate culture on the design and management of organizations has been a recurring theme in contemporary writing about business, particularly so because of the rising tide of global competition. Such impact of culture on organizational performance has held out a tantalizing promise: that culture may be key to enhancing financial performance (Martin, 1992). Supposedly, articulating the “right” set of cultural values will: create excitement, high morale, and intense commitment to a company and its objectives; clarify the behaviors expected of employees; galvanize their potential productivity; and, through these activities, ultimately improve the financial performance of the organization. A number of organizational researchers have established or supported the hypothesis that successful companies tend to possess specific cultural traits...

3. Marketing Firms

The impact of culture on performance depends, based on research, on other factors that serve as "mediating variables". E.g., a study finds that overall firm performance will be influenced by how well the marketing organization’s cultural orientation (i.e., market, adhocracy, hierarchy, or clan) complements alternative business strategies (i.e., Prospector, Analyzer, Low-Cost Defender, Differentiated Defender) (Slater, Olson & Finnegan, 2011).

Some studies have focused on how organizational culture, market orientation, and innovativeness affect the performance of firms competing in business-to-business markets.

Findings indicate that artifacts play a crucial role in determining behavior within organizations. Results also indicate that a market-oriented culture influences financial performance indirectly through market performance and that this relationship is stronger in highly dynamic markets.

4. Methodologies

A methodology I've used is surveying corporate managers using a survey instrument (questionnaire)... [SEE BELOW]

5. A 'Culture of Character' in place of mere 'Culture of Compliance'

Sauser (2008) has distinguished among four types of organizational culture with respect to their stance toward ethical behavior in business: 1) culture of defiance, 2) culture of compliance, 3) culture of neglect, and 4) culture of character.

This latter ‘culture of character’ is the organizational culture that encourages good qualities and values such as honesty, integrity, respect, transparency, kindness, fairness, compassion, obedience to the rule of law, etc. Value statements and codes of ethical conduct are used as a benchmark for judging both organizational policies and every individual’s conduct. It is a culture that insists on integrity's importance for organizational performance (Sauser, 2013).

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Questions?

email: aliza.racelis@up.edu.ph

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With a Chinese Fulbrigher at the Fulbright Welcome Reception, October 15th, Kimmel Center, New York University

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