Class 10: Organizational Culture

Schein’s Model of Culture: Artifacts, Espoused Values, Basic Assumptions

Artifacts: aspects of an organization’s culture that employees and outsiders can easily see or talk about 

1. Symbols: the images an organization uses (Logos) 

2. Physical Structures: architecture, design of buildings and office spaces 

3. Languages: phrases, slogans etc. (Facebook: “Hacker Way”) 

4. Stories: anecdotes, legends, myths (how facebook started by zuck) 

5. Ceremonies: formal events performed in front of organizational members 

Espoused Values: 

• The beliefs, philosophies, and norms that a company explicitly states 

• Ideas, goals, and aspirations 

• Mission statements, Core Values, Visions… etc

(Uber: “we do the right thing. Period” 

(The Body Shop: “The business of business should not just be about money, it should be about responsibility. It should be about public good, not private greed” ) 

Basic Underlying Assumptions: 

• Implicit, taken-for-granted beliefs of employees 

• Organizations true beliefs about employees, customers, money, etc. 

• Can be manifested in espoused values and artifacts 

How do you get at basic assumptions? 

• What drives symbols and espoused values? 

• What cannot be challenged or even talked about? 

• mismatches between the stated and the observed 

• Behavior in crisis 

Role of Organizational Culture 

Strong vs. Weak Culture 

Strong Culture: 

Values are shared and viewed as extremely important by members

Benefits: 

• Feelings of “fit”, cohesion, and solidarity 

• Strong identification/ differentiation 

• Easier facilitation of desired behaviors among members 

Costs: 

• Cult-like culture 

• Limited diversity - leads to “groupthink” 

• Less adaptability 

Weak Culture 

Values are fragmented across groups and/or weakly held 

Benefits: 

• Proactivity and initiative 

• Interdependence and collaboration 

Costs: (Role ambiguity, stress )

Organizational Culture –  Key Functions 

For leaders: 

• Organizational control - integration and alignment or organizational members 

• Ensures the organizations adaptation to the external environment 

• A core capability but can also be a core rigidity

For employees: 

• Glue that holds employees together 

• Provides social safety (needs to belong) and provides identity