Appunti esame Work and organizational psychology

The three levels for analyzing organizational culture

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Artifacts what can I touch? Organizational structures, architectures, furniture, visible conducts

(e.g., dressing and shoes), tools for communicating, design, decoration… Rituals for improving or

changing activities, integration rituals, etc.

→

Declared values what can I hear? Strategies, goals, norms, declared philosophies, language, miths,

stories, anecdotes, heroes, etc.

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Tacit assumptions what can I sense/grasp? Unintentional convictions and beliefs, taken for

granted habits basic thoughts, hypothesis on how thing go the ways they go, acknowledged emotions

and not permitted affective states, values, etc.

What do you observe?

- Languages and communication

- Practices / habits / routines

- Relations (ways to relate, expressions of powers, collaborating style, etc.)

- Beliefs, myths, collective convictions

- Permitted/not-permitted emotions

- Hypothesis of the world

Organizational Ethnography

It is interesting to be used in research for organizational improvement, supporting the processes,

operation management and relational systems. Through this, it is possible to explore the system

through key-informants, observations, interviews, etc.

Reading organizational culture: an exercise in self-awareness

The basic ORJI Cycle is based on the book “Process Consultation” (1999) by Schein and is made

of: ➢ →

Observation be mindful of biases, misperception, expectations and assumptions

➢ →

Emotional reaction be mindful of your emotions and how they influence our thoughts and

behaviours

➢ →

Judgment be mindful of the foundations that support your judgment

➢ →

Intervention be mindful of the foundations that support your behaviours and actions

In this circle, we are looking at our own perspective. When we observe, we should be aware to all

factors that influence this observation and out automatic response. Rational observation is impossible,

it is an illusion. See different perspectives allows to understand our narrow one, since having a

framework is very reassuring, but it is very complex to consider also others.

Relational, ethical and reflexive managers need to question and examine taken-for-granted ways of

thinking.

• What is said: similarities - power – conformity – voices heard

• What is not said: differences – empowerment and lack of power – resistance – voice unheard

However, if there are similarities for instance, where differences go and vice versa? Culture looks for

homogeneity, it is a way through which people act similarly. Hence, engaging in relational activity

means understanding the other side of the coin and different points of views. Managers should be

ethical in this direction and give space to differences, not just to people who conform in a certain

culture.

What does culture produce?

It is a way to think and react, a mental program specific and unique for a specific organization. It is

broad with recruiting strategy, social processes, assessment, rewards of specific behaviours (and

exclusion of others) and promotion.

Culture impacts on organizational goals, aligning individual actions and identities with organizatioanl

requirements, it increases motivation, reinforces (self)identity and image of an organization. So, it

produces positive things but pay attention because it is a “big business”.

The dark side of the culture

The dark side about it is strongly related to power and control of people, it can also silence some

voices. Homogeneity is not the same as equality, but how the organization research and sustain a

certain cultural homogeneity? Moreover, culture is about meanings: organizations can provide some

of them, but also silencing others. Sometimes we can stop take for granted some meanings and think

about others, by exchanging opinions and listening to other voices.

Careful also because culture can be a cult, with strong beliefs, dedication to a particular ideology and

ritualistic practices. It is linked to establishing unethical behaviour, which people may follow without

even knowing it.

Some key processes that influenced the behaviour of leaders, managers and organizational members

are: ▪ →

Denial problems and vulnerabilities are identified but not taken seriously;

▪ →

Omnipotence members of the organization feel all-powerful and infallible;

▪ →

Triumphalism a need to demonstrate superiority regardless of the consequences;

▪ →

Over activity in which evidence of problems is destroyed and warning and critics are

attacked

Culture management is a form of social engineering, a large scale influencing of groups of people. Its

impact is on hearts, minds and souls of employees. Culture can be a means of manipulation, of

managing identities and privileging some groups over others. Culture is complex and potentially

dehumanizing

Starting from meanings, the organizational culture can be either monologic or dialogic. Dialogic

culture is one in which meanings are debated, discussed, deconstructed, co-constructed and re-

constructed through dialogue, conversations and interpretations. We have to try not just to provide

meanings, but to create through relationships a sensemaking in order to discover meanings in a

dynamic way.

Pathways for the future

There is the need to re-think organizations as communities of differences, in order to support more

ethical and responsive organizations. This means understanding that we are unique human beings, by

recognizing and respecting differences. Culture as managing differences is based on offering options

rather than instruction and on a relational responsibility, by being responsive and accountable to

others in our everyday interactions with them.

Managing differences is not about minimizing them, neither is it to train people to think and act in

normalized ways. Managing rationally, ethically and reflexively means understanding that differences

are rich opportunities to learn something about ourselves and others, because they make us aware of

new ways of seeing and doing. Neoliberal functioning

Big companies are part of the system, most likely attending WEF, but they are also victims of

themselves. Indeed, they have to take into account the shareholder value and they are the result of the

capitalism. There is a difference between playing in the system and tricking it to their advantage.

Hence, we have to think about our role in such system and what we can do.

People are expected to compete one another. Work psychologists should ask themselves: how do they

talk about people and employees? The fantasmatic logics shows what are the fantasies of researchers,

even those more hidden, as well as the “harmonious employment relationship” and “social

engineering”. The former claims that there is no conflict between employees and organizations, if

there is it can be resolved with mediators. The latter means that we, as researchers of workplaces,

have to think about how to improve organizational performance and create a workplace optimally

functioning. An efficient organization and happy work can be developed through research, this idea

is rooted in the fantasmatic logic because we can to create a happy place where all people should be

motivated. This fact became a normative, everyone should be like so.

Leadership is strongly linked to neoliberalism, now it is everywhere and the word is overly used.

Leaders can be very important in some situations, but the invitation is to critically think about this

role. If we are individuals, we are entrepreneurs of ourselves. Hence, we should be a leader. That is

why, the concept of leadership becomes a normative. Reflection and reflexivity have been defined in

many different ways, it is not important to have one single definition of these. On the one hand, we

may reflect about our position. Reflexivity is not just about reflection, but also action. So, the

invitation is to think and then to act.

Individualization

People are not always treated as human beings, rather as instruments.

Where do we start?

We start with Taylorism during the 1880s and the scientific management, based on some topics like:

industrialisation, mass production; mechanisation and productivity. Particularly, the Scientific

Management is about natural science and hard science, also economics.

Rationalism

Decart created the basis for which we are live because we think. The basis for Scientific Management

was rationalism, according to which organisations are rational entities and people are rational actors

in work. Indeed, they are self-interested.

Taylorism and Fordism

Employees started to work with the assembly line, which aimed at increasing the efficiency,

predictability, as well as the control of processes and people. The whole idea was to create a

production process in which there are no errors, that would be organized well in order to create a

standardized product.

Fordism

Through job analysis, it was possible to have a mass production and the job specialisation. As a

consequence, jobs become distal from the actor. An example is McDonalds, which provides the same

product across the world cross the world with the same taste (no matter who prepares it or where It is

eaten). Therefore, an inherent distance between work and people was developed.

Taylorism today However, it is also true that human beings work in

organisations and they bring with them their emotions.

A critique of the Rational Actor

Is it true that ratio always drives behaviours? Actually, emotions are important and they refer to

unconscious processes. Even though the profit maximisation is the key outcome, this is a too

simplistic view on motivation of people.

Are rationality and emotions really in conflict with each other?

Emotions are critical for the rational thinking and good decision-making! Our ‘rationial’ brain is quite

arrogant for the actual role it plays in our lives (spokes person).

The functions of emotions…

The first one is the informational function, according to which feelings inform the ‘mind’ what to

approach/avoid, like/dislike, support/distroy, etc. The ultimate goal is the survival. The second one is

the motivational function, where ‘cold’ thoughts become infused with personal meaning. When

‘goals’ are infused with emotion, they become passions and transform themselves into a Joie de vivre!

There is also a social function, which is about communal, nurturing and caring relationships.

Some more facts about the role of ‘affect’ at work…

1. Emotions motivate us to engage in actions that are important for survival;

2. Emotions allow us to solve cooperative problems;

3. Our ability to read into other people’s emotions is the basis of ‘empathy’;

4. Beware of leaders who lack happiness, fear, and empathy (i.e., the psychopathic leader)!

5. Our ability to read other people’s emotion and manage them (‘emotional intelligence’) is an