CHAPTER SUMMARY – CHAPTER 3

The Manager: Omnipotent or Symbolic

 Contrast the actions of managers according to the omnipotent and symbolic

views.
 Explain the parameters of managerial discretion.

According to the omnipotent view, managers are directly responsible for an

organization’s success or failure. However, the symbolic view argues that much of an

organization’s success or failure is due to external forces outside managers’ control.

The parameters of managerial discretion (see Exhibit 3-1) include the organization’s

culture and the environment in which the organization exists. However, these parameters

don’t totally constrain a manager; managers can and do influence their culture and

environment.

The Organization’s Culture

 Describe the seven dimensions of organizational culture.

 Discuss the impact of a strong culture on organizations and managers.
 Explain the source of an organization’s culture.
 Describe how culture is transmitted to employees.
 Describe how culture affects managers.

The seven dimensions (see Exhibit 3-2) are as follows: (1) attention to detail (degree

to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail);

(2) outcome orientation (degree to which managers focus on results or outcomes rather

than on how those outcomes are achieved); (3) people orientation (degree to which

management decisions take into account the effects on people in the organization); (4)

team orientation (degree to which work is organized around teams rather than

individuals); (5) aggressiveness (degree to which employees are aggressive and

competitive rather than cooperative); (6) stability (degree to which organizational

decisions and actions emphasize maintaining the status quo); and (7) innovation and risk

taking (degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and to take risks).

Research results are suggesting that in organizations with strong cultures: employees

tend to be more committed to their organizations; recruitment efforts and socialization

practices are used to build employee commitment; and there is higher organizational

performance. The impact of a strong culture on managers is that as the culture becomes

stronger, it has an increasing impact on what managers do and constrains their decision-

making options as they plan, organize, lead, and control.

An organization’s culture and general way of doing things are largely the result of

what it has done before and how successful it has been doing things that way. The

original source of the culture usually reflects the vision or mission of the organization’s

founders. (See Exhibit 3-5.)

Culture is transmitted to employees through stories (narratives of significant events or

people); rituals (repetitive sequences of activities); material symbols (objects, facilities,

and other aspects of the physical work environment); and language (special and unique

terms, acronyms, and jargon). These elements help employees “learn” what values and

behaviors are important as well as who exemplifies those values.

Culture affects how managers plan, organize, lead, and control. (See Exhibit 3-6.)

Current Organizational Culture Issues Facing Managers

 Describe the characteristics of an ethical culture, an innovative culture, and a

customer-responsive culture.
 Explain why workplace spirituality seems to be an important concern.
 Describe the characteristics of a spiritual organization.
 A culture that is most likely to shape high ethical standards is high in risk tolerance,

low to moderate in aggressiveness, and focuses on means as well as outcomes. An

innovative culture is characterized by the following: challenge and involvement, freedom,

trust and openness, idea time, playfulness/humor, conflict resolution, debates, and risk-

taking. A customer-responsive culture has six characteristics: employees who are

outgoing and friendly; few rigid rules, procedures, and regulations; widespread use of

empowerment; clear roles and expectations; and employees who are conscientious in

their desire to please the customer.

Workplace spirituality is important for the following reasons: employees are looking

for ways to counterbalance the stresses and pressures of a turbulent pace of life; people

are looking for involvement and connection that they often don’t find in contemporary

lifestyles; aging baby boomers are looking for something meaningful in their lives; and

for some people, organized religion hasn’t fulfilled their needs.

Spiritual organizations tend to have five characteristics: strong sense of purpose,

focus on individual development, trust and openness, employee empowerment, and

toleration of employee expression.

The Environment

 Describe the components of the specific and general environments.

 Discuss the two dimensions of environmental uncertainty.
 Identify the most common organizational stakeholders.
 Explain the four steps in managing external stakeholder relationships.

The specific environment (those external forces that have a direct impact on

manager’s decisions and actions and are directly relevant to an organization’s goals)

includes customers, suppliers, competitors, and pressure groups. The general

environment (those broad external forces that affect the organization) includes economic,
political/legal, sociocultural, demographic, technological, and global conditions. (See

Exhibit 3-9.)

The two dimensions of environmental uncertainty include degree of change (stable or

dynamic) and degree of complexity (simple or complex). (See Exhibit 3-11.)

Stakeholders are any constituencies in the organization’s environment that are

affected by the organization’s decisions and actions. The most common ones are

customers, social and political action groups, competitors, trade and industry

associations, governments, media, suppliers, communities, shareholders, unions, and

employees. (See Exhibit 3-12.)

The four steps in managing stakeholder relationships are (1) identifying the

organization’s stakeholders; (2) determining the interests or concerns these stakeholders

might have; (3) deciding how critical each stakeholder is to the organization’s decisions

and actions; and (4) determining how to manage those stakeholders.