Unit 2 Complete
Sergio Marchionne Undertakes Major Strategic and Cultural Change at Chrysler Group (p.86)
1. What are the observable artifacts, espoused values, and basic assumptions associated with Chrysler 's culture. Explain
Observable artifacts, espoused values, and basic assumptions are vital components of an organization’s culture. The culture of an organization will guide the processes associated with an organization, from product innovation to employee perceptions of the workplace. According to Chen and Corritore (2008), many factors of organizational culture affect organizational performance. To be successful, an organization’s members should have a clear vision of these factors and the company’s overall culture. The most observable cultural factor is observable artifacts. Observable artifacts are the cultural values of the company that can be seen or heard through stories, the work space design, pictures, signs, awards, etc. The next factor in an organizations culture is espoused values which are not as easily determined as the observable artifacts. Espoused values are the values created by the founder and spread to the remainder of the organization through management. The final factor in an organizations culture is basic assumptions. Basic assumptions are the unseen, unappreciated values that individuals believe about the company. Basic assumptions are the most difficult to change because changing basic assumptions requires a change of the mindset of individuals.
When Sergio Marchionne became CEO, he had to restore Chrysler’s culture. Chrysler had filed bankruptcy and was on the verge of failure when Marchionne took CEO position in 2009. Marchionne had to take extreme measures to change the old culture of Chrysler and align the new culture with his goals. Chrysler’s new culture is presented through new observable artifacts, espoused values, and basic assumptions. Chrysler’s most observable artifact is the story regarding Peter Fong matching rebates to the government
1. What are the observable artifacts, espoused values, and basic assumptions associated with Chrysler 's culture. Explain
Observable artifacts, espoused values, and basic assumptions are vital components of an organization’s culture. The culture of an organization will guide the processes associated with an organization, from product innovation to employee perceptions of the workplace. According to Chen and Corritore (2008), many factors of organizational culture affect organizational performance. To be successful, an organization’s members should have a clear vision of these factors and the company’s overall culture. The most observable cultural factor is observable artifacts. Observable artifacts are the cultural values of the company that can be seen or heard through stories, the work space design, pictures, signs, awards, etc. The next factor in an organizations culture is espoused values which are not as easily determined as the observable artifacts. Espoused values are the values created by the founder and spread to the remainder of the organization through management. The final factor in an organizations culture is basic assumptions. Basic assumptions are the unseen, unappreciated values that individuals believe about the company. Basic assumptions are the most difficult to change because changing basic assumptions requires a change of the mindset of individuals.
When Sergio Marchionne became CEO, he had to restore Chrysler’s culture. Chrysler had filed bankruptcy and was on the verge of failure when Marchionne took CEO position in 2009. Marchionne had to take extreme measures to change the old culture of Chrysler and align the new culture with his goals. Chrysler’s new culture is presented through new observable artifacts, espoused values, and basic assumptions. Chrysler’s most observable artifact is the story regarding Peter Fong matching rebates to the government
References: Chen, L., & Corritore, C. L. (2008). A theoretical model of nomadic culture: Assumptions, values, artifacts, and the impact on employee job satisfaction. Communications Of The Association For Information Systems, 22235-260. Chrysler. (n.d.). Facebook. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from https://www.facebook.com/Chrysler/info?ref=page_internal Chrysler History. (n.d.). In Chrysler Group LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from http://www.chrysler.com/en/this-is-chrysler/history/ Hartnell, C. A., Ou, A., & Kinicki, A. (2011). Organizational culture and organizational effectiveness: A meta-analytic investigation of the competing values framework 's theoretical suppositions. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 96(4), 677-694. doi:10.1037/a0021987 Khandelwal, K., & Mohendra, N. (2010). Espoused organizational values, vision, and corporate social responsibility: Does it matter to organizational members? Vikalpa: The Journal For Decision Makers, 35(3), 19-35. Kreitner, R. & Kinicki, A. (2013). Organizational behavior: The quest for people-centered organizations and ethical conduct. In Organizational Behavior (10th ed., p. 9-24). New York, NY: McGraw- Hill/Irwin. Alliance with Fiat. Pull from bankruptcy.