Social System and

Organizational Culture Human Behavior and Organization Class

Prof. Melvin Vitug Moraga

Lecture Objectives

1 2 3

Understand the operation of a social system

Examine social cultures and their impact

Discuss the role and role conflict in organizations

4

Explain organizational culture and its

effect

Research

reveals that

strong

cultures tend

to outperform

their peers.

What is a Social System?

complex set of interacting

human relationships

all parts are mutually

interdependent

engages in exchanges with

its environment (open system)

Social Equilibrium

When all interdependent parts are in

dynamic working balance

† a single event can throw a system out of

balance

† when in disequilibrium, the parts work

against each other

† over time, the basic character changes

little

American automobile

manufacturers

† design † quality † cost

International automakers

† Toyota † Honda † Mazda † Nissan

Cross-functional Teams

problem: product design, factory engineering, sales and marketting

† Speeding product dev’t † Cost reduction by 20%

result: more productive equilibrium

Functional and Dysfunctional Effects

Functional effects…

† creativity

† productive employees

† quality improvements To elicit functional

behaviors, provide

clear expectations

and promises of

reward

Functional and Dysfunctional

Effects (cont’n)

Dysfunctional effects…

† lower productivity (hard)

† lower satisfaction (soft)

† lower commitment (soft)

Psychological and Economic Contracts

Psychological and Economic Contracts (cont’n)

The psychological contract builds upon

the concept of exchange theory

† to remain attracted to the relationship,

both parties must have a net positive ratio

† the contract is continually examined

and revised

Social Culture

Acting in accordance with the expectations

of others

† human-created beliefs, customs,

knowledge, and practices

† distinctive social cultures can exist

within a single nation

Social Culture (cont’n)

Managers must understand and

appreciate the backgrounds and

beliefs of work unit members

† one-culture dependency may

create intellectual blinders

Cultural Diversity

Job-related diversity

Non-Job-Related diversity

† Type of work † Rank † Physical proximity † Group affiliation

† Culture † Ethnicity † Socio-economics † Sex

Cultural Diversity (cont’n)

Discrimination and Prejudice

† Discrimination is generally an action

† Prejudice is an attitude

† Either may exist without the other

The law prohibits…

† Actions, not feelings

† Any action that has discriminatory results,

regardless of intentions

Cultural Diversity (cont’n)

Valuing Diversity

† Prejudicial stereotypes

† Differences must be recognized,

acknowledged, appreciated, and used to

collective advantage

Cultural Diversity (cont’n)

Valuing Diversity

† Organizations are under political,

economic, social, and technical pressures

to change

† Actively managing diversity provides a

competitive advantage

Social Cultural Values

The Work Ethic

† Group differences

† Gradual decline

Social Responsibility

† Costs and benefits

† Strive for balance

† Social, economic, and technical values

Role

A pattern of expected

actions

† Facilitates interaction

† Multiple roles

Role Perceptions

Mentors

A role model who guides another employee

† Stronger employee loyalty

† Faster movement up learning

curve

† Better succession planning

† Increased accomplishments

† Gradual decline

Mentors (cont’n)

Assigning mentors can result in…

† Resentment

† Abuse of power

† Unwillingness to serve

Role Conflict

Others have different perceptions or

expectations of a person’s role

† Boundary roles

† Role ambiguity

S t a t u s

Social rank of a person in a group

† status systems

† status anxiety

† status deprivation

† status relationships

† status symbols

Sources of Job Status

Status (cont’n)

Significance of status

† Influences transfers and jobs employees

take

† Helps determine informal leaders

† Motivates those seeking to advance

† Some societal backlash

Organizational Culture

Complex social system of laws, values,

customs

† Behavior = Interaction between personal

characteristics and the environment

† Shared norms

Organizational Culture (cont’n)

Benefits of Organizational Culture

† Provides organizational identity

† Source of stability, continuity, security

† Provides context

† Typically identifies and rewards high-

producing and creative individuals (role

models)

Organizational Culture (cont’n)

Benefits of Organizational Culture

† Provides organizational identity

† Source of stability, continuity, security

† Provides context

† Typically identifies and rewards high-

producing and creative individuals (role

models)

Characteristics of Organizational

Culture (cont’n)

distinctive stable implicit

symbolic integrated reflection

of top management

subcultures varying strength

No single type of culture is best

Measuring Organizational Culture

Difficult at best..

† Examination of stories, symbols, rituals,

and ceremonies

† Interviews and open-ended questionnaires

† Examination of corporate philosophy

statements

† Become a member of the organization and

observe

Communicating and Changing Culture

Difficult at best..

† Formal communication channels

† Informal means

† Unintentional ways

† Storytelling

Communicating and Changing Culture

People are more willing to adapt and learn

when they want to…

† Please others

† Gain approval

† Learn about their work environment

Case: The Kaisa Construction Company Kaisa Construction company is a small company in Manila. Over half its revenue is

derived from the installation of underground water and power line, so much of its

workers is seasonal and turnover among its employees is high.

Federico Marasigan, a college student, had been employed by Kaisa as a backhoe

operator for the last three summers. On his return to work for the fourth summer,

Marasigan was assigned the second newest of the company’s five backhoes. The

owener reasoned that Marasigan had nine months of work seniority, so according to

strict seniority, he should have the second backhoe. The action required the present

operator of the backhoe, Pedro Manansala, a regular employee who had been with

the company seven months, to be reassigned to an older machine. Manansala was

strongly dissatisfied with this; he felt that as a regular employee he should have

retained the newer machine instead of having to give it to a temporary employee.

The other employee soon fell into camps, one supporting Manansala and one

supporting Marasigan. Job conflict arose, and each group seemed to deligth in causing

work problems for the other group. In less thant a month Manansala left the company.

QUESTIONS: 1. Discuss this case in terms of the social system, equilibrium, the

psychological contract, role , status, and status symbols.