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What is organizational culture?
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In defining "culture" as it refers to an organization, we first define the word as it pertains to individuals.
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Culture: Individual and Societal
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According to the definition and description of "culture" at the online encyclopedia Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/), culture "refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance". Varying theories for understanding, and criteria for evaluating human activity result in different definitions of culture.
One suggested definition of culture from the 19th century is that culture (civilization) "is a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by [man] as a member of society". (Sir Edward Burnett Tylor, 1832–1917. English anthropologist.) This definition seems focused on individuals as cultural entities.
A more-recent 21st century definition of culture suggests that culture is the "set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group, and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs". (UNESCO-United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's Declaration of Cultural Diversity http://www.unesco.org/education/imld_2002/unversal_decla.shtml.) This definition seems focused on groups as cultural disseminators.
The Dictionary of Modern Sociology (Thomas Ford Hoult. Littlefield Adams. ISBN #0822602261.) notes that culture consists of three elements-values, norms, and artifacts. Values consist of ideas about what in life seems important, and guide other aspects of culture. Norms are expectations of people's behaviors based on values, communicated and enforced by laws, sanctions, or rules. Artifacts are material things that represent, in some manner, the culture's values and norms.
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Organizational Culture
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Take from the previous definitions and apply them to organizational or corporate culture to define said culture as the attitudes, values, beliefs, norms and customs of an organization. Organizational culture differs from an organization's structure in that structure is the hierarchy of how people organize within and relate to the organization. (Too many "organizations", yet?) Organizational culture is more esoteric in that it is less tangible. Yet, it can be identified and measured through appropriate instrumentation and evaluation techniques used by OD practioners.
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Cultural Levels
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Individual and societal cultures encompass as many levels as there are identities to own. On a broad, encompassing level, societal cultures define the individuals. (Ex: culture of the human race; culture of being female or male.) On another level, regional cultures define the individuals. (Ex: nationalities; ethnicities; regions of a country.) Yet another level of culture tends more towards how individuals identify themselves. (Ex: beliefs; professions; socio-economic status; races; abilities; orientations; interests.)
Serious students and practitioners of sociology, anthropology, psychology, and the like can debate and dissect my above statements as much as they / you deem necessary. Remember that I am a businessperson with an organizational, humanistic, behavioral focus rather than a specialist in scientific fields. I netted-out what are in reality complex, detailed, continually-researched definitions and concepts.
I like Edgar Schein's description of three cultural levels within an organization. (Edgar Schein. Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management. Author of Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey-Bass. ISBN #0787975974.) Schein notes that culture is the organizational attribute posing the greatest challenge to organizational change. Culture overrides and outlasts the products, services, people, processes, and other physical attributes of an organization.
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Three Cultural Levels of Organizations
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Edgar Schein's model of organizational culture defines three levels of culture that exist in organizations.
1-Organizational attributes that are seen, felt and heard to the
uninitiated observer, including:
- Facilities, offices, and furnishings.
- Visible awards and recognition.
- The way members dress.
- How people visibly interact with each other and with
organizational "outsiders".
2-Professed culture of the organization's members themselves, typically identified through interviews and questionnaires that gather attitudes of the members, including:
- Company slogans, mission statements and other expressed
operational creeds.
- Local and personal values widely expressed within the
organization.
3-Tacit (deep; subliminal; "unspoken rules") assumptions are the cultural elements that are unseen and not consciously identified in everyday interactions between organizational members. They are, at times, cultural elements that are taboo to discuss inside the organization. Experienced members understand this deep level of organizational culture and acclimate themselves to it over time, thus adding to its invisibility and staying power. OD practitioners use more in-depth studies and techniques to identify and examine culture at this level. It is the cultural level most challenging to diagnose and change.
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Cultural Paradox
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What one sees is not always what one gets when it comes to organizational culture. The paradox that plays in identifying an organization's culture is that what is communicated about the culture consciously and openly may not be what is truly represented by the organization's practices and leadership.
An organization can profess that it respects individuals and honors creativity at one level, yet discourage said individualism and creativity at a deeper level through its rewards systems and uniform dress code. An organization may note at its web site, in commercials, and in distributed documentation that its focus on the customer is its first priority. Yet, the decision-making and reporting processes practiced daily emphasize the importance of the bottom line over customer service. An organization may have in place a detailed diversity and inclusiveness initiative, yet allow (through inattention and avoiding enforcement) exclusive and unfair practices to persist in a specific department or region of the country.
On the surface, organizational rewards can imply one organizational norm while at its deepest level imply something completely different. Such paradoxes highlight why it takes time for individuals new to or outside the organization to acclimate themselves to, and assimilate, organizational cultures and norms. It also explains why organizational change agents must discover and understand both explicit and implicit cultural norms before initiating change. Yet one more aspect of organizational culture needs understanding before effecting change-the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. Should such relationships threaten an environment conducive to change, these relationships must be addressed as part of the change process.
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Conclusion
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In summary, note that organizational culture is as multi-tiered and complex as individual and societal culture. The organization's leaders set a cultural tone for the organization that pervades throughout the organization. Rewards and operational procedures;
structure and reporting processes; open and "unspoken" norms and interpersonal relationships play important roles in defining, communicating, and encouraging organizational cultures.
However an organization's culture is defined and evaluated, one must understand the breadth and depth encompassed by the culture before facilitating organizational change.
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Questions
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Resources
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- Google “organizational+culture”. Prepare to spend a day reading the results!
- Book: Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life. Deal T. E. and Kennedy, A. A. Penguin Books. ASIN #B00005VPD3.
- Book: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't. Collins, Jim. Collins. ISBN #0066620996.
- Book: Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values. Hofstede, G. Sage Publications. ISBN #080391444X.
- Book: Gung Ho!. Ken Blanchard. William Morrow. ISBN #068815428X.
- Book: Who Moved My Cheese? Spencer Johnson & Kenneth Blanchard. Putnam Adult. ISBN #0399144463.
- Book: Organizational Culture and Leadership. Schein, E.H. Jossey-Bass. ISBN #0787975974.
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