Understanding
Organizational
Culture
Part I
Edgar H. Schein
(2004)
CULTURE AND
ORGANIZATION LEARNING
COOK AND YANOW, 1993
The Powell Flute Company - 2007
Misconceptions about
Organizational Culture
 “Culture” = Sophistication
 Anthropological view: Culture = Rituals
and Customs
 Org research view
– A “right” kind of culture
– Some cultures are better than others (surveys)
– Stronger culture = Better performance
Abstract Nature of Culture
 Organizational culture describes
phenomena that are often hidden and
below the surface of observable
behavior
 Culture is within us as individuals
(learned behavior in family, peer
groups, occupation), yet constantly
evolving as we join and create new
groups
Culture and Leadership
“Culture and leadership are two
sides of the same coin in that
leaders first create cultures when
they create groups and
organizations.”
What do you think he means?
Attributes of Culture
 Begins with leaders who impose their values
and assumptions on a group
 If the group is successful, assumptions come to
be taken for granted as the “right” way to do
things
 Results in a culture that now defines what type
of leadership is effective
Attributes of Culture
 If group runs into adaptive difficulties (the
environment changes internally or
externally), some of these taken-for-granted
assumptions may no longer be valid
 Leadership now becomes the ability to step
“outside” the culture and initiate change
processes that are adaptive to the new
reality
“The bottom line for leaders is
that if they do not become
conscious of the cultures in
which they are embedded,
those cultures will manage
them.”
Edgar H. Schein, 2004
Shared Attributes of
Organizational Culture
 Observed
behavioral
regularities
 Group norms
 Espoused values
 Formal philosophy
 “Rules of the game”






Climate
Embedded skills
Habits of thinking
Shared meanings
“Root metaphors”
Formal rituals
and celebrations
Characteristics of Culture
 Structural Stability
– Stable, as well as “shared”
– Culture survives when members of the org
do not
 Depth
– Deepest, often unconscious part of group
life; less tangible and less visible
Characteristics of Culture
 Breadth
– Pervasive; influences all aspects of the
organization
 Patterning or Integration
– Forms a “gestalt” or whole to create
orderliness in the organization
– Reduces ambiguity
– Permits sensemaking
Culture Defined
A pattern of shared basic
assumptions that was learned
by a group as it solved its
problems of external
adaptation and internal
integration, that has worked
well enough to be considered
valid and, therefore, to be
taught to new members as
the correct way to perceive,
think, and feel in relation to
those problems.
Three Levels of Culture
Artifacts
Espoused Values
Underlying Assumptions
Artifacts: visible organizational
structures and processes, such as ...
 Dress code
 Names and titles of people and how they
are used
 Formality or informality in speaking
 Degree of emphasis on automation
 Perks such as parking, other benefits
 Traditions upheld
 Working hours
Espoused Values: established
group values and beliefs such as ...
 Slogans, mottos
 Mission statements or code of ethics
 Statements about commitment to
excellence (or customer service, etc)
 Overt and professed beliefs about
how employees and customers are
treated
Basic Underlying
Assumptions: beliefs and attitudes so
taken for granted that they are not often
articulated
 Most difficult to change because rarely
re-examined
 Similar to what Argyris calls “theories
in use”
 Represent a shared “mental map”
 Represent the most powerful aspect of
organizational culture
How does a new group
create a culture?
Each member of a new group will bring his
or her own cultural learning from a prior
group.
As the new group develops its own shared
history, it will develop modified or brandnew assumptions based on what is
successful in its own experience.
These new assumptions create the culture
of the new group.
What do you see as the artifacts
and espoused values at Enron
from the movie?
What “appear” to be basic
underlying assumptions in
operation?
How would you go about
finding out more about these
underlying assumptions to
ascertain if what you have
surmised is correct?