Lesson 7

Culture and Diversity

TOPICS: LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1. What is Organizational Culture?  Discuss the foundations of
2. Key Dimensions of organizational culture and its
Organizational Culture impact to the organization
3. Influences on Organizational  Identify the key dimensions of
Culture organizational culture
4. Initiating and Fostering Cultural  Explain the influences and
Change challenges on organizational
5. Employee Diversity culture
 Discuss how an organization
initiates and foster cultural change
 Discuss diversity among
l

Topic 1: What is Organizational

Generally speaking, organizational culture refers to all of a company's

attitudes, values, and beliefs as well as how they affect how its personnel behave.
What it's like for a customer to purchase from a business or for a supplier to deal
with affects how people perceive an organization. The definition of
organizational culture also refers to the structure, values, sociology, and
psychology of an organization, such as a business or non-profit. The philosophy,
beliefs, expectations, and experiences mentioned above are some instances of
organizational culture.

“Organizational culture defines a jointly shared description of an organization

from within.” — Bruce Perron

In organizations, culture is a method of "sense-making." A crucial function

of culture is to assist in orienting its members to "reality" in ways that provide a
basis for alignment of purpose and shared act. Sense-making is defined as "a
collaborative process of creating shared awareness and understanding out of
different individuals' perspectives and varied interests."

“Organizational culture is the sum of values and rituals which serve as ‘glue’ to
integrate the members of the organization.” — Richard Perrin

Meaning is carried by culture. According to this perspective, culture is

about "the story" in which people in the organization are embedded, as well as
the values and rituals that support that narrative. Cultures provide not only a
shared view of "what is," but also of "why is." It also emphasizes the significance
of symbols and the necessity of comprehending them, especially the peculiar
languages employed in organizations, in order to comprehend culture.

Foundation of Organizational culture

A good company culture is built on open communication and information
exchange. Directors must therefore develop a multichannel communication
system that enables everyone to engage with one another if they want to improve
their cultures.

Importance of Organizational Culture

The mission, goals, standards, and values that direct a company's personnel are
referred to as its organizational culture. Organizational cultures tend to be more
successful than less structured businesses because they have procedures in
place to encourage employee involvement, performance, and production.

Advantage of Organizational Culture

An advantage of having a supportive organizational culture is being able to
motivate employees to act as brand ambassadors. Employees are interested in
earning nice perks and a fair wage for their work. When they go to work, they
want to believe that what they do matters.

Topic 2: Key Dimensions of Organizational

An organization’s culture is the systematic way employees, leaders, and
work groups behave and interact with each other. Company culture is collectively
composed of values, beliefs, norms, language, symbols, and habits.

Knowing and understanding your company’s culture (or another

company’s culture) can be quite useful. A fit between your personality and your
company’s culture is of critical importance to both your happiness and your
success. If you don’t feel like you are welcome and you belong, it will impact your
professional relationships and drive and desire to excel.

Geert Hofstede, social psychologist and foremost authority on global and

organizational cultures, defines six dimensions:

1. Means- vs. goal-oriented

A means-oriented culture places importance on how work gets done. The
focus is on the way people do work and an emphasis on avoiding risk. On the
opposite end of the spectrum, a goal-oriented culture identifies with what work
gets done. There is a strong focus on achieving an end result. Of the six
dimensions, this dimension correlates most strongly with organizational
effectiveness; organizations with goal-oriented cultures are more effective than
those with means-oriented cultures.

2. Internally vs. externally driven

Employees within an internally-driven culture see themselves as experts;
they feel they know what is best for the client and customer and act accordingly.
As Steve Jobs put it, “A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you
show it to them.” On the other side, employees working in an externally-driven
culture are very customer-oriented and will do whatever the customer wants.
Their mantra might be, “the customer is always right” and their favorite metric
customer satifaction.

3. Easygoing vs. strict work discipline

Work discipline refers to the amount of structure and control. In an
easygoing culture, the approach to work is informal, loose, unpredictable, and
these characteristics facilitate a high level of innovation. But you better like
surprises and be willing to improvise and adapt! In a strict culture, there is a fair
amount of planning, which leads to efficiency and productivity. People take
punctuality seriously and delegate work with detailed instructions.

4. Local vs. professional

In a local organizational culture, employees identify with their boss and
their teammates. This type of environment risks having a low level of diversity,
since there are social pressures to act, look, and talk in a certain way. However,
these defined norms allow for a great amount of predictability. In a company with
a professional culture, employees identify with their profession or the content of
the work.

5. Open vs. closed system

In an open system, newcomers are welcomed easily. People are inclusive
and take the approach that anyone will fit in well with the organization. A closed
system is more exclusive, where newcomers have to prove themselves. Open
cultures have managers and leaders who are approachable, and thus tend to see
higher employee satisfaction.

6. Employee- vs. work-centered

In a culture with an employee-centered management philosophy, leaders
take responsibility for the happiness, well-being, and satisfaction of their
employees. This is true even if it is at the expense of productivity. In a work-
centered culture, a focus on high task performance can come at the expense of
employees. In this environment, there is a low level of empathy for personal
problems.

It is important to keep in mind that these dimensions of organizational

culture are neither good nor bad. However, either end of the spectrum on the
extreme side can cause dysfunction; for example, when an organization’s goals
are inappropriate for the culture or when a group of individuals do not integrate
well with their environment.

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interact with each other. Contact us at any time to discuss your company's
unique needs.

o Detail-oriented
Not surprisingly, detail-oriented companies are all about meticulous attention
to details. These companies tend to be in customer-oriented industries in which
such precision is valued. For example, Four Seasons hotels are dedicated to
providing customers with exactly the service they prefer, and they keep records
on each guest’s experiences, preferences, and expectations. Employees working
for Four Seasons must have an eye for detail and thrive on keeping meticulous
records.

o Innovative
Individuals who want opportunities to invent new products or services should
consider working for companies such as W.L. Gore and Associates, maker of
GORE-TEX, or 3M. These companies not only encourage innovation but give
employees company time to work on their own projects. This approach can
result in a wide range of exciting new products developed by engineers or
scientists working on their own.

o Aggressive
Although some companies value cooperation, others value aggressive
competition. Stratasys, a maker of 3D printers, has been willing to make enemies
in order to survive and thrive. Stratasys expanded rapidly through growth,
takeovers, and mergers to gain a dominant position in the 3D printer industry.
Sometimes, Stratasys’ aggressive approach has gotten the company into legal
battles—but the company has continued to perform well

o Outcome-oriented
Outcome-oriented businesses are all about results. At RE/MAX, for example,
employees are trained to sell products, and they are evaluated on their sales
performance. RE/MAX, short for “Real Estate Maximums,” is an American
international real estate company that operates through a franchise system. The
company has held the number-one market share in the United States and Canada
since 1999.

o Stable
Employees at a stable corporation know exactly who is in charge, who to
report to, and what they are expected to accomplish. Kraft Foods, for example, is
a very stable organization with a strong bureaucracy. Although it is consistent,
however, Kraft is not known for innovation or creativity.

o People-oriented
If you work for a people-oriented corporation, you can expect the company to
care about you. They value fairness and are supportive of individuals’ rights and
dignity. Software Company SAS is a good example of a people-oriented company
that offers employees a wide range of individualized benefits, including on-site
childcare. CEO Jim Goodnight’s philosophy is, “Treat employees like they make a
difference, and they will.” The result: a loyal and dedicated workforce.
o Team-oriented
Employees who like to collaborate and cooperate with team members do well
in team-oriented companies. Whole Foods, for example, expects its employees to
function as members of teams—and to support other members of the team when
necessary. This creates strong, solid relationships within working groups.

There is no one “best” type of corporate culture, and many larger corporations
actually exhibit more than one culture. For example, the sales department may
have an aggressive culture, whereas marketing is more team-oriented. In general,
however, corporations can be grouped into the categories mentioned earlier.

Topic 3: Influences on Organizational

l
Organizational culture is a group of employees’ way of life. There are many
factors that affect organizational culture, but what are they and how do we
recognize them?

1. Top Leadership Principles

How an organization’s leadership team runs the business affects the policies,
procedures, and rules set for employees. Look at any great leader, and you’ll see
that the values and philosophies of that leader trickle down to employees to
deliver end results for the organization.
2. Nature of the Business
The purpose, market, and operations of an organization have an impact on
employees’ behavior. Does your organization make a meaningful difference
through your products and services in the lives of your clients and customers?
That has a direct impact on your organizational culture and how your employees
feel about working for you.

3. Company Values, Policies and Work Ambiance

Employees develop the values emphasized in the policies, procedures, and

work environment.

4. Clients and External Parties

Who you work with is one thing, but who you work for is another. The
clients that the company serves are an often overlooked factor that affects
organizational culture.

5. Recruitment and Selection

Perhaps no factor is more important to organizational culture than
recruiting and selecting the right types of employees. The type of employees
hired by an organization has the largest effect on its culture—especially when a

Topic 4: Initiating and Fostering Cultural Change

company is in high growth mode and is rapidly adding new employees.

Smart managers and leaders know when a change is needed within their
organization. When times change, corporations
may need to change as well. Many factors can
make change necessary, ranging from social
norms to technology to new ways of doing
business. No matter why cultural change is
needed, it’s never easy. That’s because human
beings, in general, resist change. To make
cultural change successful, therefore, companies
must create change management strategies and
stick to them over time.

Initiating Change

Although there are many ways to initiate change, the most effective methods
come from the top down. One of the keys to making change happen is the
actions of the corporate leader.

Create a sense of urgency.

Why should employees change their habits, systems, or ways of doing business?
If there’s no emergency, employees are likely to resist change. But what if your
business is likely to fail if you don’t reinvent some of your culture and practices?
In 1993, IBM was facing just such a crisis. Lou Gerstner, IBM’s CEO, made it clear
to employees that the situation was truly dire: change or die. In a short time, IBM
shifted from being an old-fashioned, stuck-in-the-past footnote to a future-facing,
innovative organization.

Role modeling.
If the need for organizational change is communicated from the top down, it
must be modeled from the top down as well. When a corporate leader is truly
committed to change, he or she becomes a guiding light for the entire
organization. A leader can model change through public actions such as press
conferences or presentations. More significant, however, are actions that show
that the leader is truly taking his or her own ideas to heart. Not only is it inspiring
to see a leader taking his or her own advice to heart, but it’s also helpful to see
what the change really looks like. Robert Iger, who became CEO of Disney, was
concerned that innovation was fading. To show his commitment to cultural
change, he jumped in to provide hands-on help with game creation.

Changing leaders.
Once a company has made a commitment to change, it’s important that all
members of the senior management team understand and embrace the change.
In some cases, individuals may dig in their heels and refuse to change their
practices. When this happens, the company has little choice but to terminate
their employment.

Managing Change
As is often the reality, it’s easy to start a process—but much more difficult to
manage it over time. The following techniques can help ensure that change is
institutionalized:
Excellent communication.
That’s the key conclusion of a 2016 study, “Where Change Management Fails,”
from Robert Half Management Resources. This survey of 300 senior managers
found that most change efforts failed in the implementation stage—on shoals of
broken or inadequate communication.[1]

Changing leaders who present barriers to change.

It’s hard for employees to make change when their own managers are resistant
to new ideas. When leadership is standing in the way of positive change, upper
management may have to “clean house” by dismissing managers who, for
personal or political reasons, are unwilling to bend.

Training programs.
When organizational culture is the source of unethical or unsafe practices,
training can be the key to change. The same is true for changes related to
customer service. The Midas auto repair chain, for example, used training to help
employees better empathize with customers’ needs and concerns.

Changing reward systems and corporate symbols.

To let employees know things have really changed, it may be necessary to
change incentives. For example, if a company has rewarded individual
achievement but wants to see a cultural switch to teamwork, it may need to
reward team accomplishments. Similarly, the company may need to change the
visual symbols it uses to reflect the new organizational culture.

Changing the look and feel of the workplace.

A workplace “makeover” can have a profound impact on change. Visual cues
can quickly and effectively let employees know that they are encouraged to
gather around a large table in a shared work area, or that managers in an open
environment are available for questions and collaboration.

Topic 5: Employee Diversity

Employee Diversity

Diversity in the workplace

Diversity in the workplace refers to an organization that intentionally employs a
workforce comprised of individuals with a range of characteristics, such as
gender, religion, race, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, education, and other
attributes.
Diversity in the workplace leads to a plethora of benefits both from an internal
and external perspective. However, that doesn’t mean implementing diversity
initiatives at work isn’t without its unique set of challenges
The Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace
1. New perspectives
When you hire people from diverse backgrounds, nationalities, and
cultures, you’re bringing a fresh array of perspectives to the table. This can lead
to benefits like better problem solving and increased productivity.

2. Wider talent pool

Employees are no longer simply seeking a 9-to-5 job that pays well.
They’re looking for space where they can grow, feel accepted, and be challenged.
That’s why a company that embraces diversity will attract a wider range of
candidates who are looking for a progressive place to work.

3. More innovation
Workplace diversity leads to innovation. If you think about it, the
correlation makes sense. If you have a homogenous group of people, chances
are that everything - from their thought patterns to life experiences to problem-
solving skills - are likely to be similar as well. And sameness doesn’t lead to
creative solutions.

4. Better employee performance

Diversity and inclusion go hand-in-hand. When you create a work
environment where employees see a representation of a variety of cultures,
backgrounds, and ways of thinking, they’re more likely to feel comfortable being
themselves. This, in turn, leads to happier, more productive employees.

The Advantages of Having a Diverse Workplace

1. Greater Creativity and Innovation

Whenever a group of likeminded people are put together, they will
generate similar ideas. This is because their thinking patterns are very much alike.

2. Increased Productivity
Diversity and productivity go hand in hand. Research has found that
diversifying your team can boost productivity by 35%.. A diverse workforce is
more likely to understand your customers’ needs and come up with ideas to fulfill
them.
3. Reduced Employee Turnover
A workplace that encourages diversity and inclusion will make employees
feel valued and accepted. This will ensure happiness among your workforce.
Happy workers will stay with your company for longer, meaning you’ll spend less
money and time on recruiting.

4. Connect to a Wider Range of Consumers

If you want to target a wide range of consumers, you’ll need a diverse
workforce. By hiring individuals of varying backgrounds, languages, etc. you can
ensure that your company appeals to a wider target market. Because your
employees come from different backgrounds, they’ll be able to connect with
consumers from all walks of life.

5. Increased Revenue
Increasing revenue is a priority in any company. By reaping all the benefits
of a diverse workforce, you will come closer to your ultimate goal of increasing
profits.

The Challenges of Creating a Diverse Workforce

1. Unfair Prejudices
Unfortunately, there are individuals who cannot tolerate people who are
different from them. This can result in acts of racism, sexual harassment, or even
religious discrimination.

2. Communication Barriers
Having a diverse team could mean that some of the members speak
foreign languages. This could result in a communication gap between employees,
which will negatively impact your company’s productivity.
You can avoid this by hiring multilingual individuals to perform translations.
There are also various translation apps on the market that you can choose from.
You can even consider sending employees to educational courses to learn new
languages. As a side bonus, this will aid them in communicating with foreign
customers.
Bridging the communication gap between employees will make your company
grow and open up more doors to success.

3. Different Interpretations of Professional Etiquette

Different cultures have different traditions. In addition to that, they also
have different values and etiquette when it comes to the workplace. This may
cause misunderstandings between team members and potentially lead to
conflict.

What are the types of diversity?

Based on the standard diversity definition, the types of diversity in a social
context are theoretically infinite: they encompass every characteristic that
appears with variations among a group of people (such as hair or eye color). But
usually, when it comes to workplaces, there are seven types of diversity we pay
attention to.
  Cultural diversity
 Racial diversity
 Religious diversity
 Age diversity
 Sex / Gender diversity
 Sexual orientation
 Disability

ACTIVITY/
TASK

Answers on the activity/task shall be written on whole sheet/s of

yellow paper and must be submitted not later than the agreed deadline.
Late submissions will not be accepted and will result to a failing grade.

1. In your own words, what is organizational culture?

2. What is the importance of knowing and understanding your
company’s culture?
3. What are the benefits of diversity in the workplace and how it
helps your company?

RUBRICS FOR WRITTEN OUTPUT

This criterion shall include the
reliability and ingenuity of the output.
Its reliability shall be evaluated based
Content on the truthfulness, while ingenuity 50%
indicates the originality and creativity
of the incorporated ideas and
concepts.
This criterion encompasses the ways
how the ideas and concepts are
Organization of
presented. Coherence and structure 30%
Ideas
of the content are the focus of the
criterion.
This criterion shall include the
Grammar &
grammatical correctness, format and 20%
Mechanics
use of punctuations.
TOTAL 100%