131 INLS Management for Information Professionals Midterm Essays (makeup)
Submitted by Ying Zhang Date: Nov. 1, 2001
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Part II Organizational Climate in Your Portfolio Organization (25 points)
Organizational culture refers to the shared beliefs, values and norms of a group. It includes elements such as cognitive schemas (scripts and frames that mold our expectations and help us assign meaning and order to the stream of experience), shared metaphors or meanings (perceptions of how the world is and how things work), prescriptions and preferences (what the best way to do things is; what we want to happen); behavioral codes, basic values, myths and legends, heroes and heroines, rituals, symbols, ceremonies, and slogans. A strong culture is one that (a) is internally consistent, (b) is widely shared, and (c) makes it clear what appropriate behavior is. An organization with a strong culture has a vision that everyone understands.
Consider the organization that you have been describing in your management portfolio. Write a brief essay (no more than two pages) describing some key aspects of its organizational culture. Then conclude by assessing whether your organization has a strong culture or not.
(If you do not feel that you know enough about the internal organizational climate of your portfolio organization to deal with the above question, you may write your essay about the organizational climate at SILS.)
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According to Daft, Culture can be defined as the set of key values, beliefs, understandings and norms shared by members of an organization. It defines the way people behave and how they accomplish tasks within an organization. To answer this question I would like to describe the culture of Bank of China by analyzing its behavioral codes, basic values and some artifacts (I selected them because I believe they can represent the culture of the bank) in the following paragraphs in an attempt to show how the culture attracts and motivates its employees so as to achieve its strategic goals. First, behavioral codes. Behavioral codes of the bank include rules and standards defining the basic conducts as a bank employee. One entry of the bank's behavioral codes requires employees to dress formally on duty. As a large number of clients of the bank, either individuals, corporate or other financial institutions, frequent the bank everyday for financial transactions, it is very important for the bank to impress them as a responsible, serious and trustworthy business partner. Bank employees in formal dressing are easier to create trust between themselves and clients than those in informal dressing. Another benefit brought by formal dressing is that it helps employees alert and watchful during the working so as to reduce the number of mistakes (mistakes will be addressed in the next paragraph). Moreover, formal dressing enhances the morale of the employees. In China, formal dresses stand for success in career and help one win respect and recognition from associates and peers (the situation is quite different here in United States) and, therefore, employees derive incentives for work by dressing formerly. If the code on dressing deals with how people should look like, another category of behavior codes defines how people act in a morally appropriate manner as bank employees. One such behavioral code prescribes: an employee should be an individual of integrity and he should not take advantage of his position for his own good. Since the bulk of the work in the bank is directly or
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indirectly associated with huge sum of money, it might cause employees to commit organizational or economic crime against the bank or its customer, say, accepting bribery. Including some examples that describe economic crimes and punishments in the bank, the code successfully cautions its employees off immoral and illegal deeds and, at the same time, enhances people's understanding the meaning of integrity for a bank employee. Other behavior codes, though they are not given more space in this essay, are still worth to be mentioned. They require people respect customers and each other, have commitment to their job and a passion to help people in need. All in all, the bank tries to build a positive image in the eyes of the public by creating a responsible and upright workforce. According to a survey made by the Human Resources Department of the bank, 96% of employees consider the behavioral codes necessary and abiding by the codes in conducting the daily work helps them to establish a sense of integrity and responsibility. In fact, the behavior codes have been rooted in their minds so deeply that bank employees act accordingly without knowing they are obeying the codes. Second, basic values and beliefs. If behavioral codes lay the ethical and behavioral foundation for working in the bank, the basic values and beliefs to be described shortly have much to do with know-how with which employees cope with the external and internal problems during working. The first basic belief is about mistakes. Contrary to the value held by John Thomas, CEO of a mechanical contractor in Andover, Massachusetts who allows mistakes and risk taking, mistakes and risks are discouraged in the bank to a great extent. A small mistake in the account statements may mean a huge loss on part of the bank or even put an employee into prison. A risk made by an employee when he does not abide by the operational procedures in doing swap or option may destroy the entire asset of a foreign branch of the bank. In light of their negative effects upon the bank and the employee, procedures and methods of avoiding mistakes and risks are discussed and
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emphasized a lot at group meetings so as to reduce them to a lowest degree. Though emphasis upon avoiding mistakes creates tension in employees, the top management invents ways to relax employees in other activities. For example, employees are encouraged to form their own teams to finish their task and to refer to managers and general manager when doubts arise. By creating a rather relaxed and informal human environment, employees face less stresses, ease their tension and have more support in working and thus have a rather satisfactory performance. Third, artifacts. Daft defines artifacts as the visible part of a culture. Ceremony is surely falling into this category. It is a planned activity that makes up a special event and is conducted for the benefit of an audience. Bank of China held various ceremonies for signing an important contract, for awarding with employees special contributions and excellent performance, for the bank's birthday. The ceremonies like these help reinforce accomplishments, create a bond among people by allowing them to share an important event and help employees identify themselves with the bank. As far as I am concerned, the bank has a strong culture that shapes the behavior of employees, define the proper ways to conduct their work, foster favorable working conditions and create a sense of belonging among employees. It have the power to unite its employees to work for a goal that Bank of China was, is and will always be the best bank in China.
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Part III Essay Question (25 points) Since the mid-1960s the U.S. government has greatly expanded its influence over human resource management decisions by enacting new laws and regulations. In a brief essay of no more than 2 pages, discuss at least three of the regulations that pertain to human resource management functions, describe what problems they were instituted to solve and what they require an organization to do. What have been the advantages and the disadvantages of these new requirements to organizations and to individual workers?
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Among the series of federal laws to ensure equal employment opportunity (EEO), Civil Rights Act of 1964, Equal Pay Act of 1963, and American with Disabilities Act of 1990, in my opinion, change to a great extent the standards and practices of human resource management in the past three decades. The aim of the acts is to stop discrimination against certain groups and to define enforcement agencies for these laws. I would like to discuss the problems the three acts aforementioned try to address and solve as well as some advantages and disadvantages of these new requirements to organizations and to individual workers. Civil Right Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, religion, color, sex or national origin. When the act was passed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was created to initiates investigations in response to complaints concerning discrimination. Equal Pay Act prohibits sex difference in pay for substantially equal work. Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals by employers on the basis of disability and demands that "reasonable accommodations" be provided for the disabled to allow performance of duties. Failure on the part of organizations to comply with the acts can result in substantial fines and penalties for employers. Because of the widespread prejudice and discrimination then in this country, legal and social coercion were necessary to allow women, people of color, immigrants and other minorities to become part of the economic system. Before the enforcement of laws of EEO, the business world consisted of a rather homogenous, white, middle-class, and male workforce and reflected the values, beliefs and norms based on their experience. It failed to recruit a great number of women, minority and, therefore, most of them were excluded from the main economic and educational system of the country. However, the enforcement of the series of laws changed the old assumptions and practice of most organizations and had a great impact on them. Instead of adopting
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the ethnocentric attitude and thus creating a monoculture, many organizations were learning to value the culture and belief of other groups and began to consider that subculture as equal to theirs. The development of ethno-relativism started to germinate in the business world and organizations began to accommodate several subcultures and seek to recruit and integrate into the organization the employees who were less represented in the workforce before. In a word, laws on EEO helped the business world learned to value the diversity of workforce. Actually organizations that implement the acts and laws benefit a lot from a dive...