Organisational Culture

What Organisational Culture covers

Organisational culture is examined in Unit A2 1, Strategic Decision Making. It covers what organisational culture is, and what it influences, strong and weak cultures, what shapes them, and their effect on performance, Handy's four types of organisational culture, Hofstede's Multi-Focus Model and its six dimensions, comparing Handy and Hofstede, Handy's culture types reviewed, Hofstede's dimensions reviewed, and the strengths of each model, the factors that shape organisational culture, why culture resists change, and how it is changed, mergers, crises, leadership and structure as cultural forces, size, workforce and external pressures on culture, changing organisational culture reviewed, why culture is changed, and the methods used, resistance to cultural change and how it is overcome, barriers to change, measuring success, and the pace of change, reasons for change and resistance reviewed and methods, barriers and the pace of change reviewed.

The 17 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• What organisational culture is, and what it influencesWhat organisational culture means, what it does to decisions, motivation and outside relationships, and the difference between a formal and an informal, a strong and a weak culture.Open →
• Strong and weak cultures, what shapes them, and their effect on performanceHow leadership style can shape organisational culture, how reward systems can influence organisational culture and four aspects of business performance that organisational culture can affect.Open →
• Handy's four types of organisational cultureKey characteristics of power culture according to Handy's model and main focus of organisations with a task culture.Open →
• Hofstede's Multi-Focus Model and its six dimensionsWhat Hofstede's model sets out to measure, and its six dimensions from means-oriented against goal-oriented to employee-oriented against work-oriented, with an organisation placed on each.Open →
• Comparing Handy and HofstedeKey limitation of Handy's model of organisational culture and limitation of Hofstede's Multi-Focus Model.Open →
• Handy's culture types reviewedFour types of organisational culture identified in Handy's model and key characteristics of role culture in Handy's model.Open →
• Hofstede's dimensions reviewed, and the strengths of each modelPurpose of Hofstede's Multi-Focus Model, six dimensions of organisational culture in Hofstede's Multi-Focus Model and employee-oriented and work-oriented cultures in Hofstede's model.Open →
• The factors that shape organisational cultureHow size, age, leadership style, industry, ownership, workforce and national setting each pull a culture into the shape it has.Open →
• Why culture resists change, and how it is changedWhat makes a culture hard to shift, why employees and senior managers resist, and what leadership commitment, clear communication and consistent behaviour do about it.Open →
• Mergers, crises, leadership and structure as cultural forcesOrganisational culture does autocratic leadership tend to create, culture typically develops under democratic leadership and culture do tall hierarchical structures tend to produce.Open →
• Size, workforce and external pressures on cultureHow size and workforce demographics shape a culture from inside, and how competition, economic conditions, technology and location press on it from outside.Open →
• Changing organisational culture reviewedLeadership, restructuring, reward systems, training and recruitment as levers of cultural change, and why the process takes years rather than months.Open →
• Why culture is changed, and the methods usedExternal change, poor performance, a merger, low morale and a new strategy as reasons to change a culture, and the levers a business pulls to do it.Open →
• Resistance to cultural change and how it is overcomeFear of the unknown, loss of status, comfortable routines, distrust and poor communication as sources of resistance, and what reduces each of them.Open →
• Barriers to change, measuring success, and the pace of changeEntrenched culture, thin resources, mixed messages and misaligned systems as barriers, and the engagement, turnover and productivity measures used to judge whether change worked.Open →
• Reasons for change and resistance reviewedPoor performance, new market conditions, a merger, a new leader and an ethical failure as triggers, and why leadership commitment matters when employees resist.Open →
• Methods, barriers and the pace of change reviewedRestructuring, replacing key people, communication, involvement and physical symbols as methods, and the entrenched attitudes that slow every one of them down.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Organisational Culture further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Evolutionary culture change vs Revolutionary culture change

  Evolutionary culture change: gradual, incremental shifts. Revolutionary culture change: rapid, dramatic transformation, often triggered by crisis.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is meant by organisational culture?

   Model answer

   The shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and norms that characterise how people behave and work together within a business.

2. 2

   How does organisational culture influence decision-making within a business?

   Model answer

   It shapes the criteria, priorities, and approaches managers and employees use when making decisions, ensuring choices align with the organisation's values and norms.

3. 3

   In what way does organisational culture affect employee motivation?

   Model answer

   A positive culture that aligns with employee values can increase motivation and job satisfaction, while a misaligned culture can reduce engagement and morale.

4. 4

   How does organisational culture shape interactions with external stakeholders?

   Model answer

   It influences how employees communicate, negotiate, and build relationships with customers, suppliers, and other external parties.

5. 5

   Why might organisational culture be considered a source of competitive advantage?

   Model answer

   When culture supports business objectives, it can enhance performance, innovation, and customer service in ways that competitors find difficult to replicate.

6. 6

   Distinguish between formal and informal organisational culture.

   Model answer

   Formal culture is explicitly stated through policies, mission statements, and codes of conduct; informal culture is implicitly understood through unwritten norms and everyday behaviours.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Organisational Culture revision questions

What does Organisational Culture cover in CCEA A-Level Business?

17 subtopics: what organisational culture is, and what it influences, strong and weak cultures, what shapes them, and their effect on performance, handy's four types of organisational culture, hofstede's multi-focus model and its six dimensions, comparing handy and hofstede, handy's culture types reviewed, hofstede's dimensions reviewed, and the strengths of each model, the factors that shape organisational culture, why culture resists change, and how it is changed, mergers, crises, leadership and structure as cultural forces, size, workforce and external pressures on culture, changing organisational culture reviewed, why culture is changed, and the methods used, resistance to cultural change and how it is overcome, barriers to change, measuring success, and the pace of change, reasons for change and resistance reviewed and methods, barriers and the pace of change reviewed. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Organisational Culture organised?

By the CCEA 3210 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.