Question

Per the text book, OB experts have proposed 12 mechanisms or levers for changing organizational culture. These levers can be pushed to create a preferred type of culture, or they can be pulled to reduce a particular culture type. Changing culture amounts to pushing and pulling these levers to create a culture profile that is best suited to help an organization achieve its goals.

These mechanisms or levers include:

Formal statements of organizational philosophy, mission, vision, values, and materials used for recruiting, selection, and socialization.

The design of physical space, work environments, and buildings.

Slogans, language, acronyms, and sayings.

Deliberate role modeling, training programs, teaching, and coaching by others.

Explicit rewards, status symbols, and promotion criteria. Stories, legends, and myths about key people and events.

The organizational activities, processes, or outcomes that leaders pay attention to, measure, and control.

Leader reactions to critical incidents and organizational crises.

The rites and rituals used to celebrate important events or achievements.

The workflow and organizational structure.

Organizational systems and procedures.

Organizational goals and the associated criteria used throughout the employee cycle.

In a 1 to 2 page respond to these questions: 1. Which of the 12 mechanisms do you believe is most effective? Why?

2. Describe one or more organizations that are exhibiting one of these 12 mechanisms? Which and how?

3. Show how the 12 mechanisms relate to other things motivation, leadership, etc ?

Answer 1

• Compensation : Strengthen one to hide another.
• Denial : Refuse to face a negative behaviour.
• Displacement : Take it out on someone else.
• Identification : Attach to something positive.
• Introjection : Confirm feelings for appproval.
• Projection : See your faults & foibles in others.
• Rationalization : Excuse and justify mistakes.
• Reaction Formation : Pretend You are in different.
• Regression : Act much younger to feel better.
• Repression : Putting things in darkness
• Ritual & Undoing ; Override negative with habit.
• Sublimation ; Divert negative into acceptable.

2.  Coordination is integration of activities of specialized units towards the common objective. This involves placement of different units in the organization together or separately and deciding on patterns of relationship and communication. Coordination is achieved through hierarchy of authority. This involves important principles of organization. Unity of command is being responsible to and receiving orders from only one superior. The scalar principle ensures a chain of command in a straight line from top to bottom. Since this is not always desirable or possible, employees could also relate with each other on a 'gang plank.' The responsibility and authority principle establishes the need for authority along with responsibility for accomplishing tasks. Span of control refers to the number of specialized units of persons under one management. Discuss the situational factors which affect the span of control. Departmentalization is the process of grouping different types of functions and activities of the organization. Departmentalization may be functional, by product, or by users, territory, process, equipment, etc.

3. Managing people effectively in extension programmes is a skill that requires constant planning and development. An extension programme manager can be defined as the person who is vested with formal authority over an organization or one of its sub units.

More formally defined, management is the process by which people, technology, job tasks, and other resources are combined and coordinated so as to effectively achieve organizational objectives. A process or function is a group of related activities contributing to a larger action. Management functions are based on a common philosophy and approach. They centre around the following:

1. Developing and clarifying mission, policies, and objectives of the agency or organization

2. Establishing formal and informal organizational structures as a means of delegating authority and sharing responsibilities

3. Setting priorities and reviewing and revising objectives in terms of changing demands

4. Maintaining effective communications within the working group, with other groups, and with the larger community

5. Selecting, motivating, training, and appraising staff

6. Securing funds and managing budgets; evaluating accomplishments and

7. Being accountable to staff, the larger enterprise, and to the community at large (Waldron, 1994b).