Context, Culture and

Context
Competence

The keys to Organizational

Effectiveness
 Objectives are To:
Define the interrelationships between
organizational context, culture and
competence
Provide operational definitions
Examine the influences on employee
behavior
Create interactive learning
 Systems Thinking:
Context, Culture, and Competence
1. A system is a whole that
consists of parts but
Context
cannot be divided into
independent parts
2. Every part affects the
behavior of the whole
3. Any subgroup of the
parts displays the same
properties
ti as the
th partst
Culture Competence
4. The whole system has
emergent properties that
can not be predicted by
looking at the individual
parts
 Questions for the Audience
Raise your hand IF:
When
When you leave work do you sometimes
think, This is not who I really am?
When at work do yyou ask,, Whyy am I
behaving this way?
When yyou have changedg organizations,
g have
you felt less or more competent?
 Organizational Context
Definition:
The influence of social positions and roles
on individuals of a group.
Creates ffeelings
g off solidarity,
y cohesiveness, and trust
Micro-climates can have unique contextual attributes
Can also generate feelings of conflict, incompetence,
and isolation
 How Context Shapes
Organizational Behavior

Drives discretionary behavior beyond

job
b role
l requirements
Defines effectiveness of an organization
Directly impacts job satisfaction and
g
organizational commitment
Impacts job-related attitudes
 When Management Does Not
Understand Context
They underestimate:
The affect on context between what they
say and do
How context contributes to competency
Thehe powe
power they have on setting context
How dynamic context is on impacting
the bottom line
 An Exercise on Context
On the next slide are statements made
by managers based on a contest for
real Dilbert quotes

1. Select one quote

2 Turn to someone sitting next to you
2.
3. Provide your view on how the quote
impacts context and employee behavior
 Real Dilbert Quotes
Q
1. Email is not to be used to pass on information or data.
I should
It h ld be
b usedd only
l for
f company business.
b

2. This pproject
j is so important,
p we can't let things
g that
are more important interfere with it.

3. Doing
oing it right
ight is no excuse fo
for not meeting the
schedule.

4
4. Teamwork
Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say
say

5. We know that communication is a problem, but the

company is not going to discuss it with the employees.
employees
 Organizational Culture
Definition:
A set of values or beliefs unique to an
organization

The way we do things around here.

 Drawbacks of an
Organizational Culture
No organizational culture exists on its
own
Any culture can be functional or
dysfunctional
Strength of the culture
Hidden elements
Cliques
Values
Trying to get on the Inside
 Positive Aspects of an
Organizational Culture

Guides decision making

Provides identity for members
Amplifies
Amplifies commitment
Guides employee behavior
P id justification
Provides j tifi ti for
f actions
ti
 Strength of an Organizational
Culture

A
A strong culture could help an
organization adapt to the environment
A strong culture can also be an anchor
around the neck of organizational
competence and managing change
Visible Signs of a Strong
Organizational Culture
Stories
Heroes
Rituals
Ceremonies
Symbols
Myths
Affects of Cultural Mismatches
Organizational culture influences
important aspects of staff behavior.
Staff perception of the real versus ideal
organizational cultures.
Mismatches in perception are associated
with a range of negative outcomes.
Staff behavior directly influences the
organizations competence.
Types of Organizational Culture

Support
Achievement
Power
R l
Role

Functional Dysfunctional
Functional Support Cultures

Good communication
Excellent service both internal and external.
external
A nurturing environment where members
like to spend time together
Members cooperate, make sure everyone is
together on an idea, and do all they can to
resolve conflict.
Dysfunctional Support cultures
Personal and professional lives can become
blurred.
Needs of individuals are placed over needs of
the organization.
Due to a commitment to consensus, decisions
come slowly.
l l
Culture tends to not be very task-oriented.
Too much time spent together fosters personal
differences that often hinder work and ruin
excellent service.
 F ti
Functional
l Achievement
A hi t Culture
C lt

People work hard to achieve goals and better the group

as a whole.
Consists off highly
g y motivated people
p p who need little to
no supervision.
Rules and procedures are limited as they may interfere
p
with the accomplishment off work.
Rules are ignored when they inhibit achieving a goal.
Best tools/methods for producing results are utilized.
When one goal is met,
met everyone moves on to another
another.
Culture tends to be highly adaptive due to the
environment/mindset.
 Dysfunctional Achievement
Culture
Members tend to burn out on their work.
It may be difficult to establish control if the
needd arises as the
h culture
l cultivates
l individuals.
d d l
Members may also become highly competitive
with each other.
other
The mindset of whatever it takes can lead to
g behavior.
dishonest and illegal
Often group-think overrides any dissenting
opinions or alternate views.
 Functional Power Culture
Emanates
Emanates from centralized power in a
charismatic leader.
This leader acts decisively and unilaterally, but
always with the best intentions for the
organization in mind.
Demandingg off the people
p p within the
organization.
Generally motivation is not a problem since
expectations are clear.
clear
Loyalty is recognized and rewarded.
 Dysfunctional Power Culture
Can produce
C d inefficient
i ffi i t organizations.
i ti
Everyone waits for approval before moving
fforward on an idea.
Develops when organization becomes too large
for one person to maintain control and authority.
E l
Employees may spendd too
t muchh time
ti playing
l i
political games instead of actually working.
Members often
f become burned out.
Disloyal employees face a hostile and oppressive
environment.
 Role Culture
A highly structured environment where clear
objectives, goals, and procedures exist.
A employee
An l is
i judged
j d d almost
l t solely
l l on how
h well ll
they meet objectives and goals.
Operate
p highly
g y efficiently
ff y and include built-in
checks and balances of power.
Rewards dependability and consistency.
W ll ti l t d procedures
Well-articulated d produce
d little
littl stress
t
 Dysfunctional Role Cultures
Create an organization of automatons that
simply follow rules and have very little concern
for that which is not in their prescribed area.
area
Cooperation and collaboration are non-existent.
A
A person
personss talent may go unused.
unused
Change comes very slow in role cultures.
Those
Those within a dysfunctional role culture may
become afraid to take risks.
Interaction of Context and Culture
External Dynamics
Rewards
History Structure Formal
I f
Informal
l Mission
Values
Processes Infrastructure
Attire

Competitors Legal Regulators

C l
Culture
Organizational Competence
Organizational Competence
Definition:
The level of ability to sustain the coordinated
deployment of assets in a way that helps an
organization achieve its goals and objectives.
 Components
p of Organizational
g
Competence
Sensing:
Communication
Communication
Decision Making
S b l
Stabilizing
Communication of implementation
Coping actions
Feedback
Feedback
The Adaptive Coping Cycle
Sense changeg in
Obtain feedback on
internal/external
new actions and-
environment
Sensing

Develop new actions Get information to

the right place where
it can be acted on

Make necessary Digest information

internal and draw the right
transformations conclusions
 Improving Competence
Create the context for delayed mastery
Robust
Robust new hire orientation
Experiential Training
O
Organizationall simulations
l
Organizational competence assessment
Provide freedom to practice and make
mistakes without punishment
p
 Summary

Context

Organizational
Effectiveness

Culture Competence