Conglomerate Inc Case Analysis
- Identify and describe the cultural aspects that management cites as important and contrast them to the cultural attributes that employees report as being expected. How do employees believe they are expected to act to “fit in?”
The management cites humanistic (encouraging), affiliate, self-actualizing and achievement aspects
as the most important cultural factors. In other words, the management expects the employees to give priority to interpersonal relationships, be open to change, be ready to learn and work hard to meet the set goals of the organization. On the other hand, the employees cite avoidance, oppositional and perfectionist aspects as the most important. The high ranking of avoidance in the Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI) indicates that the employees tend to avoid their mistakes and to shift responsibilities to others. The oppositional aspect indicates that the employees tend to oppose ideas advanced by others and they value their own ideas. The perfectionist aspect indicates that the employees believe that they are expected to work for long hours and to keep track of their work.
- What are the most significant gaps between management and staff?
There are several significant gaps between management and staff. To start with, there is a significant gap between management expectation of humanistic aspect (91%) and the staff expectation of the same aspect (34%). Secondly, the management expectation of affiliative culture is high at 93%, whereas the expectation of the employees is low at 38%. In addition, the employees reported a high expectation of avoidance behavior at 71%, whereas the expectation for the management towards avoidance culture is only 16%. Lastly, the expectation of achievement culture by the management is high at 87%, whereas the expectation of achievement culture by the staff is low at 41%.
- What observations can you make on the differences between Conglomerate Inc.’s preferred culture and “ideal” culture presented by HSI?
There are several observations that one can make on the difference between the preferred culture and the “ideal” culture. The most explicit observation is that the cultural aspects that are regarded by the management as the most important are regarded by the employees are the least important. In other words, there are opposing expectations by the management and the staff. Secondly, the observations indicate that, although the management believes that the current organizational structures, processes and practices are consistent with constructive culture, they are actually consistent with the defensive culture. Lastly, the management defines organizational culture based on the company’s objectives set in the mission statement, whereas the employees adapt to the day-to-day operating culture.