4.

SOCIAL SYSTEMS & ORGANIZATIONAL

CULTURE

Understanding Social System

Social Systemisacomplexsetofbusinessrelationships
interactinginmanyways.

When people join a work group they become part of that

organizations social system. It is the medium by which
they relate to the world of work. The variables in an
organizational system operate in a degree of working
balancecalledsocialequilibrium.
1) Social Equilibrium
A system is said to be in social equilibrium when there is a
dynamic working balance among the interdependent parts.
Equilibriumisthedynamicconceptnotastatic.Thereisconstant
movementineveryorganization,butitoccursinsuchawaythatthe
systems working balanced is retain. The system is like a sea in
which there is a continuous motion, but the seas basic character
changesverylittle.

When minor changes occur in a social system, they are

absorbed by adjustments within the system and equilibrium is
retained.Butwhenmajorchangesoraseriesofrapidchangemay
throw an organization out of balance, seriously reducing its vigor
untilitcanreachanewequilibrium.Whenitisindisequilibrium,
itspartsareworkingagainstoneanotherinsteadofharmony.

2) Functional and Dysfunctional Actions

We can say that a change in the organization is considered
functional when it is favorable for the system. When every body
agrees on the changes made. When a change is unfavorable for a
system,itissaidtobedysfunctional. Amajormanagementtaskisto
appraise changes in the social system to determine their possible
functional or dysfunctional effects, so that appropriate responses can
bemade.

3) Psychological and Economic Contract

When employees join an organization they make an unwritten
psychological contract with it. Psychological contract define the
conditions of each employees psychological involvement with the
system.Employeesagreetogiveacertainamountofworkandloyalty
but in return they demand more than economic reward from the
system. They seek security, treatment as human beings, rewarding
relationshipwithpeople,andsupportinfulfillingexpectations.
 If the organization honors only the economic contract and not
the psychological contract, employees tend to have low job
satisfaction and performance because their expectations are not
met. If both their psychological and economic expectations are
met, they tend to be satisfied, stay with the organization and
becomehighperformer.

Management responds in a similar way to the economic and

psychological contracts that it sees. It expects responses such as
highperformancecontinuumqualityimprovement,commitmentto
the organization, and friendly services to the customers. When
these results occur, an employee is retained and may earn a
promotion.However,ifcooperationandperformancedonotmeet
expectations,ourreactiveactionandeventerminationmayoccur.
SOCIAL CULTURE

Whenever people act in accordance with the expectation of

others, their behavior is social. Culture is the conventional
behaviorofasociety,anditinfluencealltheactionseventhoughit
seldomentertheconsciousthought.

Socialcultureareoftenportrayedasconsistentwithinanation,
thereby producing a so-called national culture. At the simplest
level,nationalculturescanbecomparedonthebasesonhowtheir
members relate to each other accomplish work, and respond to
change.However,therecanbedistinctivesocialculturewithina
nations, as well as, seen in the tragic dispute between people of
variousancestrywithintheformercountryofYugoslavia.

People learn to depend on their culture. It gives them stability and security,
because they can understand what is happening in their cultural community and
knowhowtorespondwhileinit.However,theoneculturedependencymayalso
place intellectual blinders on employees, preventing them from gaining the
benefits of exposure to people from other cultural background. Cultural
dependencyisfurthercompoundedunderconditionsinvolvingtheintegrationof
two or more culture into the workplace. Employees need to learn to adopt to
other to capitalize on the opportunities the present, while avoiding possible
negativeconsequences.

1) Cultural Diversity
Employees in almost organization are divided into subgroup of various kinds.
Formation of group is determine by two broad sets of conditions. First, job
related (organizationally created) differences and similarities, such as type of
work,rankintheorganization,andphysicalproximitytooneanother,sometimes,,
causepeopletoalignthemselvesintogroup.However,a second setofnon-job
related conditions (those related to culture, ethnicity, socioeconomics, sex, and
race) primarily from and individuals personal background; these conditions are
highlyimportantforlegal,moralandeconomicreasons.
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) An early attempt to deal with
cultural diversity at work and fair treatment for employees are through
federal and states legislation. Equal Employment Opportunity is the
provision of equal opportunities to secure jobs and earn rewards in them,
regardlessofconditionsunrelatedtojobperformance.

EEQlawsprohibitdiscriminationonfactorsotherthanjobperformance.In
response,manyorganizationsvoluntarilydevelopedaffirmativeactionplans,
in which they adopted nondiscrimination policies, reviewed their personnel
practicesandmonitoredtheirprograms.

Affirmative action programs, designed to expand the opportunities for

qualifiedpeo0le,haethreemajorgoals:
* Toprovideredressforpast(societal)discrimination.
* Tocorrectcurrentdiscrimination.
* Topursuegreaterdiversityasavaluableobjectives.

2) Social Culture Values

The Work Ethic.Formanyyearsthecultureofmuchofthewestern
world has emphasized work as a desirable and fulfilling activity. This
attitude is also strong in parts ofAsia, such as Japan. The result of the
cultural emphasis is a work ethic for many people, meaning that they
viewworkastheveryimportantandasadesirablegoalinlife.Theytend
tolikeworkandderivesatisfactionfromit.Theyusuallyhaveastronger
commitmenttotheorganizationandtoitsgoalthandootheremployees.
This characteristics of the work ethic make it highly appealing to
employees.

The research indicates that two conditions can be safely reached.

First,theproportionofemployeeswithastrongworkethicvariessharply
amongsample groups. Differencesdependson factors suchaspersonal
background, type of work performed, and geographical location. The
range is quite broad, with the proportion of employees in different jobs
who report that work is a central life interest extending from 15 to 85
percent.
 A secondconditionisthatthegeneralleveloftheworkethic
hasdeclinedgraduallyovermanydecades.Notonlytheyounger
employees not as supportive of the work ethic, but the level of
support that young people once exhibited has dropped
substantially. This decline carriers serious application for
industrial productivity, specially international competition
intensities.

Social Responsibility. Every action that organizations take

involvescostsaswellasbenefits.Inrecentyears,therehasbeena
strongsocialdrivetoimprovethecostbenefitrelationshiptomake
it possible forsociety togain benefitsfromorganizationsandfor
the benefits to be fairly distributed. Social responsibility is the
recognition that organizations have significant influence on the
social system and tht this influence must be properly considered
andbalancedinallorganizationalactions.
Thepresentofstrongsocialvaluessuchassocialresponsibilityhas
apowerfulimpactonorganizationsandtheiractions.Itleadsthem
to use a socioeconomic model of decision making, in which both
social costs and benefits are considered along with the traditional
economicandtechnicalvalues/Organizationstakeabroaderviewof
their role within a social system, and accept their interdependence
withit.

ROLE

A role is a pattern of actions expected of a person in activities

involving others/ Role reflects a persons position in the social
system, with its accompanying rights and obligations, power and
responsibility. In order to be able to interact with one another,
people need some way of anticipating others behavior. Role
performsthisfunctioninthesocialsystem.
A person has roles both on the job and away from it. One person
performstheoccupationalroleofworker,thefamilyroleofparent,the
socialroleofclubpresident,andmanyothers.Inthosevariousroles,a
person is both buyer and seller, supervisor and subordinate, and giver
and seeker of advice. Each role calls for different types of behavior.
Withintheworkenvironmentalone,aworkermayhavemorethanone
role.

1) Role Perception
Activities of managers and workers alike are guided by their role
perception,thatis,howtheythink,theyaresupposedtactintheirown
rolesandhowothersshouldactintheirroles.Sincemanagersperform
many different roles, they must be highly adoptive (exhibiting role
flexibility) in order to change from one role to another quickly.
Supervisors especially need to change roles rapidly as they work with
subordinates and superiors and with technical and non-technical
activities.
 When two people, such as a manager and an employee, interact,
each one needs to understand at least three role perceptions. For a
manager,thethreerolesareasfollows:First,thereisthemanagers
roleperceptionasrequiredbythejobbeingperform(A).Thenthere
is the managers perception of the role of the employee being
contacted(B).Finally,thereisthemanagersperceptionofhisorher
roleaslikelytobeseenbytheemployee(C).Obviously,onecannot
meet the needs of others unless one can perceive what they expect.
Threerelatedroleperceptions(D,E,andF)existfromtheemployees
perspective, with dramatic differences (from the managers
perception)possibleespeciallyinthedirectcomparisonssuchasA-
D, B-E, and C-D. The key is for both parties to gain accurate role
perceptionsfortheirownrolesandfortherolesoftheother.Reaching
suchabunderstandingrequiresstudyingtheavailablejobdescriptions,
aswellasopeninguplinesofcommunicationtodiscovertheothers
perceptions. Unless roles are clarified and agreed upon by both
parties,conflictswillinevitablyarise.
2) Mentors
Wherecanemployeesgetinformationregardingtheirworkrelatedrolessothattheywill
haveaccurateroleperceptions?Inadditiontotraditionalsourcesofinformation,suchas
job descriptions and orientation sessions, many organizations have formal or informal
mentorshipprogramAmentorisarole modelwhoguidesanotheremployee(aprotg)
by sharing valuable advice on roles to play and behaviors to avoid. Mentors teach,
advice,coach,support,encourage,actassoundingboards,andsponsortheirprotgsso
as to expedite their career progress. The advantages of successful mentoring programs
include stronger employee loyalty, faster movement up the learning curve, better
succession planning through development of replacements, and increase level of goal
accomplishment.Someorganizationactuallyassignprotgstpvariousmentors,butthis
practicecancreateproblemsofresentment,abuseofpower,andunwillingnesstoserve.

Mentors are usually older, successful themselves, and respected by their peers
(influential). They also must be willing to commit time and energy to help another
person move up the corporation ladder, be able to communicate effectively, and share
ideasinanonthreateningfashion,andenjoyone-on-onedevelopmentofothers.Mentors
areoftennottheemployeescareerprogress.Theirdetachmentfromasupervisorsrole
alsoallowsthemtobemoreobjectiveaboutitsstrengthandweaknessesobservedwitha
protg.
3) Role Conflict
Whenothershavedifferentperceptionsorexpectationsofapersonsrole,that
person tends to experience role conflict. Such conflict makes it difficult to
meetonesetofexpectationswithoutrejectinganother.Acompanypresident
faced roleconflict,orexample, whenshelearnedthatbotthecontrollerand
the personnel director wanted her to allocate the new organization planning
functiontotheirdepartment.

4) Role Ambiguity
When role are inadequately defined or are substantially unknown, role
ambiguity exists, because people are not sure how they should act in
situations of this type. When role conflict and role ambiguity exist, job
satisfactionandorganizationalcommitmentwilllikelydecline.Ontheother
hand,employeestendtobemoresatisfiedwiththeirjobwhentheirrolesare
clearly defined by job description and statements of performance
expectations.Abetterunderstandingofroleshelpspeopleknowwhatothers
expectofthemandhowtheyshouldact.Ifanyrolemisunderstandingexists
whenpersoninteract,thenproblemarelikelytooccur.
STATUS

Status is the social rank of a person in a group. It is a mark of the

amount of recognition, honor, and acceptance given to a person. Within
groups, differences in status apparently hve been recognized ever since
civilizationbegan.Wheneverpeoplegatherintogroups,statusdistinction
are likely to arise, because they enable people to form the different
characteristicsandabilitiesofgroupmember.

Individuals are bound together in status system, or status hierarchies,

which define their rank relative to others n the group. If they become
seriouslyupsetovertheirstatus,theyaresaidtofeelstatus anxiety.

Lossofstatussometimescalledlosingfaceor status deprivation

isaseriouseventformostpeople,itisconsideredamuchmoredevastating
condition, however, in certain societies. People therefore become quite
responsibleinorderprotectanddeveloptheirstatus.

 Since status is important to people, they will work hard to

earnit.Ifitcanbetiedtoactionthatfurtherhecompanysgoals,
thenemployeesarestronglymotivatedtosupporttheircompany.

1) Status Relationship
High-status people within a group usually have more power
andinfluencethanthosewithlowstatus.Theyalsoreceivemore
privilegesfromtheirgroupandtendtoparticipatemoreingroup
activities.Theyinteractmorewiththeirpeersthanwiththosef
lowerrank.Basically,highstatusgivespeopleanopportunityto
playamoreimportantroleinanorganization.Asaresult,lower-
statusmemberstendtofeelisolatedfromthemainstreamandto
showmoresymptomsthathigherrankedmembers.
2) Status Symbols
Thestatussystemreachesitsultimateendwithstatus symbols.
These are the visible, external things that attach to a person or
workplaceandserveasevidenceofsocialrank.Theyexistinthe
office, shop, warehouse, refinery, or whenever work groups
congregate. They are most in evidence among different levels of
managers, because each successive level has the authority to
provideitselfwithsuchconfidencejustalittledifferentfromthose
ofpeoplelowerinthestructure.

3) Sources of Status
The sources of status are numerous, but in a typical work
situation several sources are easily identified. Education and job
levelaretwoimportantsourcesofhigherstatus.Apersonsability,
jobskills,andtypeofworkalsoaresourcesofstatus.
Othersourcesofstatusareamountofpay,seniority,age,andstock
options. Pay, economic recognition and an opportunity to have
moreoftheamenitiesinlife,beabletotravel.Seniorityandage
oftenearnfortheirholdercertainprivileges,suchasfirstchanceof
vacation dates, or the respect of co-workers for their longevity at
work.Methodofpay(hurlyversussalary)andworkingconditions
also provides important status distinctions, such as distinguishing
bluecollarandwhitecollarwork.

4) Significance of Status
Status is significant to organizational behavior in several ways.
Whenemployeesareconsumedbythedesireforstatus,itoftenis
the source of employees problem and conflicts that management
needs to solve. It influences the kinds of transfer that employees
will take, because they dont want a low-status location or job
assignment.
Ithelpsdeterminewhowillbeaninformalleaderofagroup,and
it definitely serves to motivate those seeking to advanced in the
organization. Some people are status seekers, wanting a job of
higher status regardless of other working conditions. These
peoplecanbeencouragedtoqualifythemselvestohighstatusjob
sothattheywillfeelrewarded..

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Social(national)cultureceratethewholerangingcontextinwhich
organizations operate. It provides the complex social system of
laws, values, and customs in which organizational behavior
occurs.

 Inside the organization lies another powerful force for

determiningindividualandgroupbehavior.Organizationalcultures
thesetofassumptions,beliefs,values,normsthataresharedbyan
organizationsmembers.Thisculturemayhavebeenconsciously
createdbyitskeymembers,oritmayhavesimplyevolvedacross
time. It represents a key element of the work environment in
which employees perform their jobs. Tis idea of organizational
cultureissomewhatintangible,forwecannottellortouchir,but
itpresentandpervasive.

Organizational culture are important to a firms success for

severalreasons.Theygiveanorganizationidentitytoemployees
a defining vision of what the organizations represents. They are
also an important source of stability and continuity to the
organization,whichprovidesasenseofsecuritytoitsmembers.
 More than anything else, perhaps, culture helps stimulate
employee enthusiasm for their tasks. Cultures attract attention,
conveyavision,andspeciallyhonorhighproducingandcreative
individuals as heroes. By recognizing and motivating these
people, organizational cultures are identifying them as role
models.

Characteristics of Cultures
Organizations like fingertips and snowflakes, are unique.
Each has its own history, kinds of communication, systems and
procedures, mission statements and visions, story and myths
which,intheirtotality,constituteits distinctive culture.Cultures
are relatively stable in nature, usually changing only slowly
overtime.
 Most organizational cultures have historically been implicit
rather than explicit. More recently, though, organization have
beguntheirintendedcultures,andmanytopleadersseeoneoftheir
major roles as speaking out about the kind of environment they
would like to create within their firms. A final defining
characteristic of most cultures is that they are seen as symbolic
representationsofunderlyingbeliefsandvalues.

Overtime,anorganizationsculturebecomesperpetuatedbyits
tendencytoattractandretainpeoplewhofititsvaluesandbeliefs.
Justaspeoplemaychoosetomovetoacertainregionbecauseof
geographic characteristics such as temperature, humidity, and
rainfall, employees who will gravitate toward the organizational
culturetheypreferasaworkenvironment.Thisresultsinagood
fitofemployerandemployee.
Characteristics of Organizational Cultures
Distinctive
Stable
Implicit
Symbolic
Noonetypeisbest
Integrated
Accepted
Areflectionoftopmanagement
Subcultures
Ofvaryingstrengrh
Measuring Organizational Culture
Systematic measurement and comparison of cultures is
difficult at best. Others have used interviews and open-
endedquestionnairesinanattempttoassessemployeevalues
and beliefs. In other cases, examination of corporate
philosophystatementshasprovidedinsightintotheespoused
culture (the beliefs and values that the organization states
publicly).Anotherapproachistosurveyemployeesdirectly
andseektheirperceptionsoftheorganizationsculture.One
of the most interesting methods is to become a member of
theorganizationandengageinparticipateobservation.This
approach allows direct sensing from the perspective of a
memberwhoisexperiencingtheculture.
Communicating and Changing Culture
If organizations are to consciously create and manage their cultures,
theymustbeabletocommunicatethemtoemployees,especiallythe
newlyhiredones.Peoplearegenerallymorewillingtoadaptwhen
they wan to please others, gain approval, and learn about their new
workenvironment.Organizationsanxioustohavethenewemployee
fit in, and therefore an intentional approach that helps make this
happenisusedbymanyfirms.

Collectively,theseculturalcommunicationactsmaybelumpedunder
theumbrellaoforganizational socialization,which is the continuous
process of transmitting key elements of an organizations culture to its
employees. These approaches help share the attitudes thoughts and
behavior of employees. Viewed from the organizations perceptive
organizational socialization is like placing an organizations
fingerprintsonpeopleorstampingitsowngeneticcodeonthem.
Managersareencouragedtoengageinstorytelling asawayto
forgeacultureandbuildorganizationalidentity.Goodstories
tap into emotions of an audience and have proven to be
powerfulwaystocreatesharedmeaningandpurpose.Stories
convey a sense of tradition, explain how past problems have
beensolved,conveypersonalfrailtythroughtalesofmistakes
made and learned from, and enhance cohesion around key
values.

A reciprocal process emerges when changes occur in other

otherdirection.Employeescanalsohaveanactiveimpacton
the nature of organizations culture and operation.
Individualization occurs when employees successfully exert
influence on the social system around them at work by
challengingthecultureordeviatingfromit.
When people joint a work group, they become part of that
organizations social system. It is the medium by which hey
relatetotheworldofwork.Thevariablesinanorganizational
system operate in a working balance called social equilibrium,
individuals make a psychological contract that defines their
personalrelationshipwiththesystem.Whentheycontributeto
theorganizationssuccess,wecalltheirbehaviorfunctional.

Thebroadenvironmentthatpeopleliveinistheirsocialculture.
Peopleneedtoacceptandappreciatethevaluethatadiversity
of cultural backgrounds can contribute to the success of an
organization.Otherimportantculturalfactorsincludethework
ethicandcorporateattitudestowardsocialresponsibility.

Role is the pattern of action expected of a person in activities

involving others. Related ideas are role perception, mentors, role
conflict,androleambiguity.Statusisthesocialrankofapersonina
group and it leads to status systems and possibly status anxiety.
Statussymbolsaresoughtasiftheyweremagicalherbs,becausethey
oftenprovideexternalevidenceofstatusfortheirpossessors.

Organizationalculturesreflecttheassumptionsandvaluethatguidea
firm . They are intangible but powerful influences on employee
behavior.Participantslearnabouttheirorganizationsculturethrough
theprocessofsocializationandinfluencethroughindividualization.
Organizational culture can be change, but the process is time
consuming.

- End -