Reference no: EM132883459
Merging Organizational Cultures
Some experts believe that organizational culture cannot be intentionally managed. Changing an organization's culture is a challenge indeed, but simply letting it evolve on its own is not a prescription for effective management. One situation in which it may be most important to manage culture is when two organizations combine in a merger or acquisition. This is a significant change for both organizations and gives them a chance to adjust their culture so it is more appropriately aligned with the external environment.
This exercise reviews several strategies for merging organizational cultures. To complet e this exercise, you will read about two companies that are merging and then determine the best strategy for combining their cultures. As you answer these questions, think about whether the cultures in organizations to which you belong have been intentionally managed or left to evolve on their own. Have you noticed a difference when the culture is better aligned with the external environment?
Before two companies merge, a bicultural audit should be conducted to diagnose cultural relations between the companies and determine the extent to which cultural clashes will likely occur. The audit also helps identify the appropriate strategy for merging the different cultures. Four strategies are most common: assimilation, deculturation, integration, and separation. Organizational culture can be strengthened through the actions of founders and leaders; artifacts that symbolize cultural values; culturally consistent rewards; and the attraction, selection, and socialization of employees.
Read the following scenario and then answer the questions that follow. Your correct understanding of the approaches to merging different organizational cultures will generate the appropriate strategy.
As the global economy declined in recent years, two airplane manufacturers faced slow sales and revenue shortfalls. The first manufacturer was a European firm called JetCom. JetCom produced executive jets and other non-commercial aircraft and was known for its high-quality airplanes, precision manufacturing, and reliable service. However, when it came to style and appearance, JetCom's planes were rather bland. The second manufacturer was an American firm named Sorenson Airplane Company. Sorenson had struggled with quality problems over the years but maintained a fairly strong following because of its long-term relationships with customers. Sorenson's greatest strength, however, was that it produced very stylish planes and regularly won awards for its innovative designs and features.
The two companies had not been direct competitors because they served different geographic regions, but each company faced similar competition within its own market segment. Discussions between the presidents of the two companies about merging began tentatively but quickly escalated into earnest arrangements. Soon a deal was struck. On paper, the deal seemed like a match made in heaven. JetCom would bring the precision engineering and reliable manufacturing that Sorenson lacked, and Sorenson would add the panache that had eluded JetCom. Combining the existing customer bases also seemed to make sense because it would allow an expansion into new market segments in both geographic regions.
Merging operations of the two companies seemed pretty straightforward, but merging the two cultures was a different matter entirely. In each of the questions that follows, you'll learn a little bit more about the cultures of JetCom and Sorenson.
1. To prepare for the merger and avoid a major collision of cultures, the two companies should have conducted a
Multiple Choice
- bicultural audit.
- market analysis.
- customer satisfaction survey.
2. Both JetCom and Sorenson had strong organizational cultures, and although they realized that their performance was suffering, neither considered their culture to be the source of their problems. This suggests which strategy for merging cultures would not be advisable?
Multiple Choice
- integration
- deculturation
- separation
3. The two companies had very few overlapping values. For example, JetCom's culture supported a flat, decentralized structure whereas Sorenson's culture supported a tall, centralized structure. This suggests a(n) ______________ strategy for merging the cultures would not be appropriate.
Multiple Choice
- separation
- integration
- attraction
4. When discussing the values and assumptions shared most consistently and widely by the organization's members, we are referring to its:
Multiple Choice
- dominant subculture.
- submissive culture.
- dominant culture.
- pervasive culture.
- accepted culture.
5. What do we call an organizational subculture that embraces values or assumptions that directly oppose the organization's dominant culture?
Multiple Choice
- Anti-culture
- Opposing-culture
- Surveillance culture
- Subculture
- Counterculture
6. The observable symbols and signs of an organization's culture are referred to as:
Multiple Choice
- benchmarks
- signposts.
- milestones.
- artifacts.
- visuals.
7. How do organizational stories and legends influence organizational culture?
Multiple Choice
- Serve as powerful social prescriptions of the way things should (or should not) be done.
- Add human realism to corporate expectations and individual performance standards.
- Produce emotions that tend to improve listeners' memory of the lesson within the story.
- Advise people what to do nd not do.
- All of the choices describe how stories and legends influence organizational culture.
8. How employees talk to each other, describe customers, express anger, and greet stakeholders are verbal symbols of shared values and assumptions. What category of organizational artifacts do these examples most directly align with?
Multiple Choice
- Rituals and ceremonies
- Organizational language
- Physical structures and symbols
- Organizational stories and legends
- Actually, these examples do not align with any category of organizational artifacts.
9. What do we call a culture that embraces change, creativity, open-mindedness, growth, and learning?
Multiple Choice
- Flexible
- High-performing
- Adaptive
- Learning
- Corporate cult
10 . The process of diagnosing cultural relations between merging companies and determining the extent to which cultural clashes will likely occur is called a:
Multiple Choice
- ritual.
- ceremony.
- corporate cult review.
- bicultural audit.
- contingency assessment.
11 . This strategy works best when the acquired company has a weak culture that is either similar to the acquiring company's culture or is dysfunctional, whereas the acquiring company's culture is strong and aligned with the external environment.
Multiple Choice
- Assimilation
- Deculturation
- Integration
- Separation
- Actually, any of the strategies for merging organizational culture will work equally well.
12 . Who/what usually establishes an organization's culture?
Multiple Choice
- Artifacts
- Customers
- Stakeholders
- Founders and leaders
- Structure
13 . The process by which individuals learn the values, expected behaviours, and social knowledge necessary to assume their roles in the organization is called:
Multiple Choice
- learning.
- role management.
- organizational socialization.
- values alignment.
- psychological alignment.
14 . In which stage of organizational socialization may employees experience reality shock i.e. the stress that results when employees perceive discrepancies between their pre-employment expectations and on-the-job reality?
Multiple Choice
- Encounter
- Pre-employment socialization
- Role management
- Socialization outcomes
- Actually, reality shock does not occur in any of these stages.
15 . Helpful co-workers, bosses, or friends who work elsewhere in the organization are important ________ for new employees.
Multiple Choice
- role management experts.
- realistic job previewers.
- adaptive agents.
- integration specialists.
- socialization agents.