SOCIAL System and Organizational Culture

UNDERSTANDING A SOCIAL SYSTEM A social system is a complex set of human relationships interacting in many ways. Possible interactions are as limitless as the stars in the universe. Each small group is a subsystem within larger groups that are subsystems of even larger groups, and so on, until all the worlds population is included. Within a single organization, the social system includes all the people in it and their relationships to one another and to the outside world. Two points stand out in the complex interactions among people in a social system. First, the behavior of any one member can have an impact, directly or indirectly, on the behavior of ant other. Although these impacts may be large or small, all parts of the system are mutually interdependent. Simply stated, a change in one part of a system affects all other parts, even though its impact may be slight. A second important point revolves around a systems boundaries. Any social system engages in exchanges with its environment , receiving input from it and providing output to it (which then becomes inputs for its adjacent systems) Social systems are , therefore ,open systems that interact with their surroundings. Consequently, members of a system should be aware of the nature of their environments and their impact on other members both within and outside their own social system. SOCIAL EQUILIBRIUM A system is said to be in social equilibrium when there is a dynamic working balance among its interdependent parts. Equilibrium is a dynamic concept not a static one. Despite constant change and movement in every organization, the systems working balance can still be retained. The system is like a sea: There is a continuous motion and even substantial disruption from storms, but over time the seas basic character changes very little. When minor changes occur in a social system, they are soon absorbed by adjustments within the system and equilibrium is regained. On the other hand, a single significant change (a shock, such as the resignation of a key executive) or a series of smaller but rapid changes may throw an organization out of balance, seriously reducing its forward progress until it can reach a new equilibrium. In a sense, when it is in disequilibrium, its parts are working against one another instead of in harmony. FUNCTIONAL AND DYSFUNCTIONAL EFFECTS A change such as the introduction of cross-functional design teams has a functional effect when it is favorable for the system. When an action or a change creates unfavorable effects, such as a decline in productivity, for the system it has a dysfunctional effect. A major management task is to appraise both actual and proposed changes in the social system to determine their possible functional or dysfunctional effects so that appropriate responses can be anticipated and made. Managers also need to predict both short-term and long-term effects, measure hard (e.g., productivity) and soft (e.g.,

satisfaction and commitment) criteria and consider the probable effects on various stakeholder groups, such as employees, management, and stockholders. Psychological and Economic Contracts When employees join an organization, they make unwritten psychological contract with it, although often they are not conscious of doing so. The psychological contact defines the conditions of each employees psychological involvement both contributions and expectations- with the social system. Employees agree to give a certain amount of loyality , creativity and extra effort but in return they expect more than economic rewards from the system. They seek job security, fair treatment (human dignity) rewarding relationships with coworkers and organizational support fulfilling their development expectations. If the organization honors only the economic contract and not the psychological contract, employees tend to have lower satisfaction becouse not all their expectations are being met. They may also withhold some of their work-related contributions.On the other hand,if both their psychological and economic expectations are met they tend to experience satisfaction, stay with the organization and perform well. Social Culture Whenever people act in accordance with the expectations of others their behavior is social. Culture is the conventional behavior of her society and, influences all her actions even though it seldom enters her conscious thoughts. Culture Dependency is further compounded under conditions involving the integration of two or more cultures into the workplace. Employees need to learn to adapt to others in order to capitalize on the distinctive backgrounds, traits, and opportunities they present, while avoiding possible negative consequences. Cultural Diversity Employees in almost any organization are divided into subgroups of various kinds. Formation of groups is determined bye two broad sets of conditions. First, job-related (organizationally created)differences and similarities, such as type of work, rank in organization and physical proximity to one another , sometimes causes people to align themselves into groups. However, a second set of non-job-related conditions (those related to culture, ethnicity, socioeconomics, sex and race) arise primarily from an individuals personal background; these conditions are highly important for legal, moral and economic reasons. In particular, the U.S workforce has rapidly become much more diverse, with females, African Americans. Hispanics and Asian immigrants bringing their talents to employers in record numbers. This cultural diversity or rich variety of differences among people at work, raises the issue of fair treatment for workers who are not in positions of authority. Social Culture Values

The work Ethic for many years the culture of much of the western world has emphasized work as a desirable and fulfilling activity. This attitude is also strong in parts of Asia, such as Japan. The result of this cultural emphasis is a work ethnic for many people meaning that they view work as very important and as a desirable goal in life. They tend to like work and derive satisfaction from it. They usually have a stronger commitment to the organization and to its goals than do other employees. These characteristics of the work ethnic make it highly appealing to employers. Social Responsibility Every action that organizations take involves costs as well as benefits. In recent there has been a strong social drive to improve the cost - benefit relationships to make it possible for society to gain benefits from organizations and for the benefits to be fairly distributed .Social responsibility is the recognition that organizations have significant influence must be properly considered and balanced in all organizational actions. ROLE A role is the pattern 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 performs this function in the social system.According to graph one person performs the occupational role of worker, the family role of parent, the social role of club president and many others.In those various roles, a person is both buyer and seller, supervisor and subordinate, and giver and seeker of advice. Each role calls different types of behavior.Within the work environment alone, a worker may have more than one role, such as a worker in group A, a subordinate to supervisor B, a machinist, a member of union and a representative on the safety committe.

Each Employee Performs Many Roles

A committee A follower chairperson A leader

A stockholder

And more!

A spouse

A subordinate

A parent

Who is an Employee?

An accountant

An advisor

An consumer

A staff person

A club president

A specialist A golfer

A worker

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 have been recognized ever since civilization began. Wherever people gather into groups, status distinctions are likely to arise, because they enable people to affirm the different characteristics and abilities of group members. STATUS RELATIONSHIPS High status people within a group usually have more power and influence than those with low status. They also receive more privileges from their group and tend to participate more in group activities. They interact more with their peers than with those of lower rank. Basically, high status gives people opportunity to play a more important role in an organization. As a result, lower status members tend to feel isolated from the mainstream and to show more stress symptoms than higher-ranked members. In a work organization, status provides a system by which people can relate to one another as they work. Without it, they would tend to be confused and spend much of their time trying to learn how to

work together. Though status can be abused, normally it is beneficial because it helps people cooperate with one another. Status Symbols The status system reaches its ultimate end with status symbols. These are the visible, external things that attach to a person or workplace and serve as evidence of social rank. They exist in the office, shop, warehouse, refinery or wherever work groups congregate. They are most in evidence among different levels of managers, because each successive level usually has the authority to provide itself with surroundings just a little different from those of people lower in the structure. Typical Symbols of Status Furniture such as mahogany desk or a conference table. Interior decorations, such as carpeting draperies and artwork Location of workplace, such as a corner office or an office having a window with a view Facilities at workplace, such as a computer terminal or fax machine Quality and newness of equipment used, such as a new vehicle or tools Type of clothes normally worn, such as a suit Privileges given, such as a club membership or company automobile Job title or organizational level, such as vice president Employees assigned such as a private secretary Degree of financial discretion, such as authorizing up to $5000 expenditures Organizational membership, such as a position on the executive committee Significance of Status Status is significant to organizational behavior in several ways. When employees are consumed bye the desire for status, it often is the source of employee problems and conflicts that management needs to solve. It influences the kinds of transfers that employees will take because they dont want a low-status location or job assignment. It helps determine who will be an informal leader of a group, and it definitely serves to motivate those seeking to advance in the organization. Some people are status seekers wanting a job of high status regardless of other working conditions. These people can be encouraged to qualify themselves for high status jobs so that they will feel rewarded. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Social (natural) culture creates the wide ranging context in which 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 determining individual and group behavior. Organizational Culture is the set of assumptions, beliefs, values and norms that are shared by an organizations members. This culture may be have been consciously created by its key members or it may have simply evolved across time. It represent a key element of the work environment in which employees perform their jobs. This idea of organizational culture is somewhat intangible, so we can not see it or touch it, but it is present and pervasive. Like the air in a room, it surrounds and affects everything that happens in an organization. Because it is a dynamic systems concept, culture is also affected by almost everything that occurs within an organization. Characteristics of Cultures Organizations like fingerprints and snowflakes are unique. Each has its own history patterns of communication systems and procedures mission statements and visions stories and myths which in their totality constitute its distinctive culture. Cultures are relatively stable in nature, usually changing only slowly over time. Expectations to this condition may occur when a major crisis threatens a firm or when two organizations merge with each other (requiring a careful blending of the two so as to avoid culture clash). Measuring Organizational Culture Systematic measurement and comparison of cultures is difficult at best. Most early attempts by researchers relied on examination of stories, symbols, rituals and ceremonies to obtain clues and construct a composite portrait. Distinctive Stable Implicit No one type is best Integrated Accepted A reflection of top management Subcultures Of varying strength Organizational Socialization continuous process of transmitting key element of an organization culture to employees. Socialization compose of both Formal methods(such as military indoctrination at boot

camp or corporate orientation training for new employees) and informal mean like ( the role modeling provided by mentors .)Individualization occurs when employees successfully exert influence on the social system around them at work by challenging the culture or deviating from it.The interaction between socialization and individualization, which shows the types of employees who accept or reject an organizations norms and values while exerting various degrees of influence.