Prior to posting on the discussion, please study unit3 - Culture and the Environment.pptx (remember to download the entire presentation as it includes my notes)
Case Study 3: Integrating Teams After Downsizing
Because of downsizing and layoffs at a human services agency, Pascal was assigned a new department to manage. He had previously managed the outreach department that goes out into the community to connect prospective clients with available services. He has now been assigned to manage the peer counseling department, where current clients are trained to serve as counselors and mentors to the newly admitted. Both departments were hit by the recent layoff and are still reeling from those changes.
Now he has to merge both departments into one unit. He also has a lot to learn because it has been many years since he worked with peer counselors.
You are Pascal, and you need to understand and unify two separate departments into one cohesive group. What would you do to help forge a strong and unified team for the agency and its clients in the days and weeks to come?
Unit Three Culture, the Physical Environment & the Personal Response Unit Three Culture, the Physical Environment & the Person HSL 549 Leadership Implications of Human Behavior In unit two we briefly discussed cultural identity as a component of the psychosocial person. In this unit, we will explore culture in more detail from both an individual and organizational perspective and we will take a look at how the physical environment influences individual behavior. 1 Culture A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems - Edgar Schein Edgar Shein developed this now classic definition of culture. A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. This definition illuminates just how culture comes to play a role in our identity, the development of schemata and resulting behavior. 2 Elements of Culture Articulation of Social Content Knowledge, Beliefs, Art, Morals, Law, Custom, Capabilities and Habits Social/Heritage/Tradition Learned collection of thoughts and actions independent of genetic heredity Acquired social meaning Rule/Way of Life Ways of doing and thinking, past and present Design for living, distinctive to the group Let’s take a closer look at the elements of culture. Culture is one of the ways that a group, community or society expresses itself. This expression can take many forms including a groups’ knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, laws, customs, capabilities and habits. Culture is also an expression of a group’s history. It’s heritage and tradition through the thoughts and actions that have been transmitted from current members to new members over time. This occurs in family networks and in organizations. And as Shein’s definition tells us, culture is a way of teaching new members how to interpret their environment in a manner that is consistent with existing group members. 3 Elements of Culture Psychological and Social Adjustment Learning Methods relied upon members of the group to achieve goals and objectives Material and intellectual capacities to satisfy biological and social needs and adapt to the environment Learned behaviors that are socially transmitted from one “generation” to another or are otherwise diffused from one generation to another. Ideas and Values Organized group of ideas, habits and conditioned emotional responses Acquired or cultivated thoughts and behaviors of individual members; material and social values of the group Culture is a critical component of human behavior because of its influence on psychological processes and social learning. Through culture, group members learn how to solve problems and achieve goals, they receive cues about how to meet needs and adapt to their environment. Culture also serves as an archive of group values and ideals. These elements help to explain why culture is a primary vehicle for shaping behavior. 4 Elements of Culture Patterning and Symbols System of interrelated and interdependent habits of response Organization of conventional understandings, actions and artifacts, and persistent traditions of a group Semiotics – representations of the collective meanings assigned by the group Classifications of phenomena (e.g. objects and events) Recall that the schema that influence our behavior are defined as patterns of thought. Patterns and symbols are also elements of culture. Patterns can be defined as interrelated and interdependent habits of response that help to organize our understanding of the external world. They also represent manifestations in the form of actions, persistent traditions of the cultural group. Semiotics is the term used to describe the symbols that emerge from and are ascribed a collective meaning by the group. The need to classify experiences is a human function. Culture serves an equivalent function for groups and this occurs through a variety of mediators. 5 Boas’Axioms of Culture* Culture is learned through social interaction Knowledge of customs and perceptions of significance differs among members of a culture Culture seeks to shape the environment to its own needs and interest Culture is: Patterned Symbolic Adaptive and Maladaptive Remember that culture is learned through social interaction. The negotiated meaning that we discussed in the previous unit includes our knowledge of customs and perceptions that are deemed significant by the members of the cultures that we belong to. As culture shapes the environment, it also influences our interactions with those who share our culture and those who do not and this holds true across cultural types. That means, not only race, ethnicity or nationality but also corporate, division or departmental cultures as well. 6 Mediators of Culture Ideology Ethnocentrism Cultural Symbols Worldview/ethos Cultural innovation Cultural conflict The first and most pronounced cultural mediator is a group’s ideology – that is a dominant pattern of thinking that defines a group and its members. Ethnocentrism is form of group ideology based on ethnic group membership. It is both a belief and an emotional response based on the premise that one own race, culture, nation or ethnic group is superior to all others. While ideologies do not necessarily require a posture of superiority they will eventually develop that characteristic when taken to extremes. We can see this in fundamentalist expressions of religion as well as ultraconservative and ultraliberal politics. Cultural symbols are effective because of the referent power inherent in symbols. This graphic explains how referent power works. The word dog when heard or read, does not exist in isolation. Instead, when thought of as a symbol this illustration reminds us that it triggers referents which can include the thing itself as well as any meanings we assign to it. If I love dogs then the word may bring to mind thoughts of a warm, cuddly friend and an image of a domesticated animal. But if you have been bitten by pit bull, that is likely not the image that will come to mind for you and your thoughts will be anything but warm and cuddly. The activation of symbols often happen instantaneously and therefore operates outside of our conscious awareness. When those symbols represent ideologies about which we feel strongly, their power is magnified. 7 Mediators of Culture Ideology Ethnocentrism Cultural Symbols Worldview/ethos Cultural innovation Cultural conflict Ones world view or personal ethos is also a mediator of culture because it forms part of one’s core beliefs. 8 Worldview and Personality Structure Consider how world view influences the psychological person. The metaphor of the person as an onion, illustrates the complexity that we explored in unit 2. Each person is a composite of their deeply held fears and fantasies, religious convictions, goals and aspirations and preferences, each layered on top of the layer beneath and all encompassing one’s self concept. 9 Mediators of Culture Ideology Ethnocentrism Cultural Symbols Worldview/ethos Cultural innovation Cultural conflict Our natural tendency is to think of culture in social terms. However, organizational cultures demonstrate the same elements. Cultural mediators can therefore be a source of cultural innovation. This image identifies corporate specific mediators categorized as strategy, structure, support mechanisms, behavior and communication. This is one model among many that depict organizational culture and show how it relates to performance outcomes. A final mediator of culture is conflict, which can arise when cultures clash. The relationship between culture and personal identity and schema help to explain how cultural conflicts arise. When elements of culture influence personal ideologies, worldviews and self identity, any perceived challenges to that culture may be perceived as a personal threat. 10 Impact and Influence The Organization’s Culture The Individual’s Culture For leaders, this means that an organization’s culture must be recognized as a separate but interdependent part of an individual’s cultural identity and vice-versa. Each influences the other. 11 Process of Cultural Change Assimilation Accommodation Acculturation Bicultural Socialization What we know about the process of cultural change from a sociological perspective has broad implications for corporate culture as well. With assimilation, non dominant group members mute their distinctiveness to blend in. With accommodation, cultural change is more selective. Nondominant groups or group members follow the norms and standards of the dominant culture under some circumstances but retain their cultural distinctiveness in others. Acculturation refers to a mutual sharing of diverse cultural backgrounds with each groups distinctiveness remaining intact. Bicultural socialization occurs when a nondominant group member masters both the dominant culture and his or her own. How do these processes relate to cultural change in organizational settings? Think about the conditions that prompt discussions of cultural change in organizations. When an organization is no longer producing desired outcomes, sometimes the current culture is to blame. When that is the case, the challenge is to change the culture. Our discussion of the mediators and individual contributions to culture illustrate why this process is so difficult. This graphic provides a synopsis of the factors that must be addressed during the process. 12 Diffusion of Culture Our ongoing consideration of holistic leaderships provides us with a framework for thinking about how culture is diffused in an organization. From the individual through their relationship with their direct supervisor, through their department or unit and ultimately to the organization as a whole with that process being bidirectional. Holistic leadership already proceeds from the perspective that every member of the organization influences its outcomes. The influence of culture helps to explain how and why. 13 Weam Team Dy Unit I Unit The Physical Environment Now let’s turn our attention to the physical environment in which work is accomplished. 14 Activity Crowding Control Comfort Adaptability Accessibility Sociality Sensory Stimulation Privacy Meaning Legibility Jim is happy to be here and ready to work. But some things in his work environment are beyond his control. Perhaps he works in a cramped cubicle without enough file space to store his papers, with walls that don’t go to the ceiling and no door he can hear all of the conversations, chatter and radio selections of his coworkers, space is limited so he can’t move. His chair is old and lacks lumbar support so his lower back begins to ache by the end of the day. He offered to bring in his own chair but personal items are prohibited. The tough economy means that the office is unwilling to lease more office space although they do need to hire more workers so Jim now has a cubicle mate name Jack. To save paper, all communication is now electronic but the computer screens are old and hurt his eyes. He once brought in a plant to bring something natural into the space but Jack is allergic to the smell of soil and cubicle personalization is prohibited anyway. Did we mention that Jack likes to eavesdrop and