Page 563
Influencing an Organizational Culture
16-5 Describe the similarities and differences in creating an ethical culture, a positive culture, and a spiritual culture.
As we discussed, the culture of an organization is set by its founders and is often difficult to change afterward. It’s true that the ideal scenario is a strong founder or founders who carefully plan the organization’s culture beforehand. That’s seldom the case, though; organizational culture usually grows organically over time. When we think of the development of culture as ongoing and conducted through each employee, we can see ways to increase the ethical, positive, and/or spiritual aspects of the environment, which we discuss next.
Developing an Ethical Culture
Despite differences across industries and cultures, ethical organizational cultures share some common values and processes.100 Therefore, managers can create a more ethical culture by adhering to the following principles:101
Be a visible role model. Employees will look to the actions of top management as a benchmark for appropriate behavior, but everyone can be a role model to positively influence the ethical atmosphere. Send a positive message.
Communicate ethical expectations. Whenever you serve in a leadership capacity, minimize ethical ambiguities by sharing a code of ethics that states the organization’s primary values and the judgment rules employees must follow.
Provide ethical training. Set up seminars, workshops, and training programs to reinforce the organization’s standards of conduct, clarify what practices are permissible, and address potential ethical dilemmas.
Visibly reward ethical acts and punish unethical ones. Evaluate subordinates on how their decisions compare with the organization’s code of ethics. Review the means as well as the ends. Visibly reward those who act ethically and conspicuously punish those who don’t.
Provide protective mechanisms. Seek formal mechanisms so everyone can discuss ethical dilemmas and report unethical behavior without fear of reprimand. These might include identifying ethical counselors, ombudspeople, or ethical officers for liaison roles.
A widespread positive ethical climate must start at the top of the organization.102 When top management emphasizes strong ethical values, supervisors are more likely to practice ethical leadership. Positive attitudes transfer down to line employees, who show lower levels of deviant behavior and higher levels of cooperation and assistance. Several other studies have come to the same general conclusion: The values of top management are a good predictor of ethical behavior among employees. For example, one study involving auditors found perceived pressure from organizational leaders to behave unethically was associated with increased intentions to engage in unethical practices.103 Clearly the wrong type of organizational culture can negatively influence employee ethical behavior. Conversely, ethical leadership has been shown to improve group ethical voice, or the extent to which employees feel comfortable speaking up about issues that seem unethical to them, through improvements in ethical culture.104 Finally, employees whose ethical values are similar to those of their department are more likely to be promoted, so we can think of ethical culture as flowing from the bottom up as well.105
Developing a Positive Culture
At first, creating a positive culture may sound hopelessly naïve or like a Dilbert-style conspiracy. The one thing that makes us believe this trend is here to stay, however, are signs that management practice and Organizational Behavior (OB) research are converging. A positive organizational culture emphasizes building on employee strengths, rewards more than it punishes, and encourages individual vitality and growth.106 Let’s consider each of these areas.
Exhibit 15-1
Key Design Questions and Answers for Designing the Proper Organizational Structure
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