McShane−Von Glinow: Organizational Behavior, Second Edition

Part Four Organizational Processes

Organizational Culture

© The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2002

C H A P T E R

15

Organizational Culture
AFTER READING THIS CHAPTER , YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO :

Learning Objectives

I Describe the elements of organizational culture. I Discuss the importance of organizational subcultures. I List four categories of artifacts through which corporate culture is

communicated.
I Identify three functions of organizational culture. I Discuss the conditions under which cultural strength improves

corporate performance.
I Discuss the effect of organizational culture on business ethics. I Compare and contrast four strategies for merging organizational

cultures.
I Identify five strategies to strengthen an organization’s culture.

McShane−Von Glinow: Organizational Behavior, Second Edition

Part Four Organizational Processes

Organizational Culture

© The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2002

C

arly Fiorina is taking Hewlett-Packard back to the future by reformulating the California-based technology company’s legendary culture, known as the H-P Way. “The H-P Way is about innovation; trust and respect and integrity; contribution to community; and performance,” says Fiorina, H-P’s first CEO hired from outside the company. The problem, she argues, is that employees have distorted these values over the years. “The H-P Way has been misinterpreted and twisted as a gentle bureaucracy of entitlement instead of a performance-based meritocracy.” To reinstate a more performance-based culture, Fiorina launched the “Rules of the Garage,” a set of cultural values with symbolic reference to the Palo Alto garage where founders William Hewlett and David Packard started the company in 1939. To reinforce these values, Fiorina introduced a customer-focused bonus system,