Answer to Question 1
Organizational culture develops from the interaction of four factors: the personal and professional characteristics of people within the organization, organizational ethics, the property rights that the organization gives to employees, and the structure of the organization.
Characteristics of people within the organization: The ultimate source of organizational culture is the people who make up the organization. People may be attracted to an organization whose values match theirs; similarly, an organization selects people who share its values. Over time, people who do not fit in leave. The result is that people inside the organization become more and more similar, the values of the organization become more and more parochial, and the culture becomes more and more distinct from that of similar organizations.
Organizational ethics: Many cultural values derive from the personality and beliefs of the founder and the top-management team and are in a sense out of the control of the organization. These values are what they are because of who the founder and top managers are.
Property rights: The values in an organization's culture also stem from how the organization distributes property rights: the rights that an organization gives to its members to receive and use organizational resources. Property rights define the rights and responsibilities of each inside stakeholder group and cause the development of different norms, values, and attitudes toward the organization.
Organizational structure: Organizational structure is the formal system of task and authority relationships that an organization establishes to control its activities. Because different structures give rise to different cultures, managers need to design a certain kind of organizational structure to create a certain kind of organizational culture.
Answer to Question 2
Top managers at the plant's headquarters probably have stated the importance of predictability; predictability is a terminal value. The organization has developed instrumental values of obedience and caution. The company probably uses socialization tactics that lead to an institutionalized role orientation to instill their terminal values in newcomers. Property rights are likely distributed based on the ability to follow orders. The plant probably has a mechanistic structure; this structure is tall and highly centralized. Employees are not given autonomy to make decisions and must obey superiors. A conservative culture is necessary for a nuclear power plant to ensure predictability. Unpredictable and creative behavior inherent in organic structures can be inappropriate in a nuclear plant. Predictable and standardized behavior is needed to avoid disasters.
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