Martin S.
Gulule (PhD)
CULTURE
Organizational Culture
WHAT IS CULTURE?
There is no single definition for
organizational culture.
Culture
Although culture can not be seen, it can
be sensed or felt through a person’s or
institution’s employees’ attitudes
emotions and perceptions.
Some of the definitions are listed below:
Culture
a) A set of common understandings around
which action is organized, . . . finding
expression in language whose nuances are
peculiar to the group (Becker and Geer
1960).
b) A set of understandings or meanings shared
by a group of people that are largely tacit
among members and are clearly relevant
and distinctive to the particular group which
are also passed on to new members (Louis
1980).
Culture
c) system of knowledge, of standards for
perceiving, believing, evaluating and
acting . . . that serve to relate human
communities to their environmental
settings (Allaire and Firsirotu 1984).
Culture
d) The deeper level of basic assumptions and
beliefs that are:
learned responses to the group's problems
of survival in its external environment and its
problems of internal integration;
are shared by members of an organization;
that operate unconsciously;
and that define in a basic "taken -for-
granted" fashion in an organization's view of
itself and its environment (Schein 1988).
Culture
e) Any social system arising from a
network of shared ideologies consisting
of two components:
substance-the networks of meaning
associated with ideologies, norms, and
values; and
forms-the practices whereby the meanings
are expressed, affirmed, and communicated
to members (Trice and Beyer 1984).
Culture
This sampling of definitions represents
two major camps :
" The first camp views culture as
implicit in social life.
Culture is what naturally emerges
as individuals transform themselves
into social groups as tribes,
communities, and ultimately,
nations.
Culture
The second camp represents the view
that culture is an explicit social product
arising from social interaction either as
an intentional or unintentional
consequence of behaviour.
Culture
In other words, culture is comprised of
distinct observable forms (e.g.,
language, use of symbols, ceremonies,
customs, methods of problem solving,
use of tools or technology, and design of
work settings) that groups of people
create through social interaction and use
to confront the broader social
environment. (Wuthnow and Witten
1988).
Culture
This second view of culture is most
relevant to the analysis and evaluation
of organizational culture and to cultural
change strategies that leaders can
employ to improve organizational
performance.
Culture
VALUES
At the next level of culture are values.
Values underlie and to a large extent
determine behaviour, but they are not
directly observable, as behaviours are.
There may be a difference between
stated and operating values.
People will attribute their behaviour to
stated values.
Culture
To really understand culture, we have to
get to the deepest level, the level of
assumptions and beliefs.
Schein contends that underlying
assumptions grow out of values, until
they become taken for granted and drop
out of awareness.
Culture
As the definition above states, people
may be unaware of or unable to
articulate the beliefs and assumptions
forming their deepest level of culture.
Culture
These are the elements of culture that
are unseen and not cognitively identified
in everyday interactions between
organizational members.
Additionally, these are the elements of
culture which are often taboo to discuss.
Culture
Many of these 'unspoken rules' exist
without the conscious knowledge of the
membership.
Those with sufficient experience to
understand this deepest level of culture
usually become acclimatized to its
attributes over time, thus reinforcing the
invisibility of their existence.
Culture
Surveys and casual interviews with
organizational members cannot draw
out these attributes—rather much more
in-depth means is required to first
identify then understand culture at this
level.
Notably, culture at this level is the
underlying and driving element often
missed by behaviourists.
Culture
Organizational values express
preferences for certain behaviours or
certain outcomes.
Organizational norms express
behaviours accepted by others. They
are culturally acceptable ways of
pursuing goals.
Culture
Discussion questions
1. How would you diagnose a culture of an
office?
2. Why is culture so difficult to measure?
3. Does a national culture exist?
4. Identify what makes the culture of
Columbia University
Culture
