Organisational Culture
ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
-SWATI SISODIA swati.sisodia@nmims.edu
What is Organisational Culture
• The basic paTTern of shared values and assumpTions governing The way employees wiThin as organisaTion Think abouT and acT on problems and opporTuniTies
A system of meaning shared by the organization’s members Cultural values are collective beliefs, assumptions, and feelings about what things are good, normal, rational, valuable, etc.
Aspects of culture
Values Symbols
Customs
Language
Cultural Diversity
Why doesn’t McDonald’s sell hamburgers in India?
Coca-Cola’s name in China was first read as “Kekoukela”, meaning “Bite the wax tadpole” or “female horse stuffed with wax”, depending on the dialect.
Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent “kokou kole”, translating into “happiness in the mouth.”
Culture and the workplace (Hofstede)
Purpose: understanding of business situations across-cultures MUST understand own culture AND other culture(s)
Geert Hofstede – sampled 100,000 IBM employees 1963-1973 Compared employee attitudes and values across 40 countries
Isolated 4 dimensions summarizing culture: 1. 2. 3. 4. Power distance Individualism vs. collectivism Uncertainty avoidance Masculinity vs. feminity
Managerial Implications
Ethnocentrism vs Polycentrism Must a company adapt to local cultures or can corporate -- often home-country dominated -- culture prevail? Cross-cultural literacy essential Do some cultures offer a national competitive advantage over others?
Organisational Culture at people soft
PeopleSoft is one of the loopiest places on the planet. The Pleasanton, California, business management software company has mini golf tournaments in the hallways. Dress-down day is every day of the week. A white collar is usually a T-shirt. The gourmet coffee are free. Having fun is so ingrained. In other words, give the bagel delivery guy the same respect as the company president.
-SWATI SISODIA swati.sisodia@nmims.edu
What is Organisational Culture
• The basic paTTern of shared values and assumpTions governing The way employees wiThin as organisaTion Think abouT and acT on problems and opporTuniTies
A system of meaning shared by the organization’s members Cultural values are collective beliefs, assumptions, and feelings about what things are good, normal, rational, valuable, etc.
Aspects of culture
Values Symbols
Customs
Language
Cultural Diversity
Why doesn’t McDonald’s sell hamburgers in India?
Coca-Cola’s name in China was first read as “Kekoukela”, meaning “Bite the wax tadpole” or “female horse stuffed with wax”, depending on the dialect.
Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent “kokou kole”, translating into “happiness in the mouth.”
Culture and the workplace (Hofstede)
Purpose: understanding of business situations across-cultures MUST understand own culture AND other culture(s)
Geert Hofstede – sampled 100,000 IBM employees 1963-1973 Compared employee attitudes and values across 40 countries
Isolated 4 dimensions summarizing culture: 1. 2. 3. 4. Power distance Individualism vs. collectivism Uncertainty avoidance Masculinity vs. feminity
Managerial Implications
Ethnocentrism vs Polycentrism Must a company adapt to local cultures or can corporate -- often home-country dominated -- culture prevail? Cross-cultural literacy essential Do some cultures offer a national competitive advantage over others?
Organisational Culture at people soft
PeopleSoft is one of the loopiest places on the planet. The Pleasanton, California, business management software company has mini golf tournaments in the hallways. Dress-down day is every day of the week. A white collar is usually a T-shirt. The gourmet coffee are free. Having fun is so ingrained. In other words, give the bagel delivery guy the same respect as the company president.