14: Org Culture

According to John Coleman (2013), the six components of culture are: Vision, Values, Practices, People, Narrative, & Place. Here is a favorite quotes from this article:

• "The benefits of a strong corporate culture are both intuitive and supported by social science. According to James L. Heskett, culture “can account for 20-30% of the differential in corporate performance when compared with ‘culturally unremarkable’ competitors.” And HBR writers have offered advice on navigating different geographic cultures, selecting jobs based on culture,changing cultures, and offering feedback across cultures, among other topics."

A Few Big Ideas (The nature of management, 2015)

1. Management often gets a bad rap, because leadership sounds much more interesting and positive, but it's management that defines an organization's culture usually. It's how the goals set by the leaders is accomplished that translates into culture.

   • Just a quick reminder: Management is a process designed to achieve an organization’s objectives by using its resources effectively and efficiently in a changing environment.

   • Effectively means having the intended result.

   • Efficiently means accomplishing the objectives with a minimum of resources.

2. Culture (Assumptions + Behavior) = Results

   • The assumptions and beliefs of employees drive behavior.

   • The collective behavior of employees determines results.

   • The results measure performance and indicate if strategic business objectives have been achieved.

References & Attributions

The inclusive workplace. (2015). In B. A. Brown (Course Materials), LDRV 401: Leadership in diverse environments. University of Arizona.

The nature of management. (2015). In R. C. Wittman (Course Materials), LDRV 404: Budgeting and Financial Management. University of Arizona.