Five Steps to Dissecting Organizational Culture

When there is an absence of trust and fear of conflict within a team, it is most likely an issue of deep-seated cultural problems. In my earlier post on how to become an effective team player, I specifically mentioned that trying to deal with such dysfunctions on your own is not advisable. More often than not, poor management is responsible for these issues. In this post, I am going to expand upon the concept of organizational culture.

Having a sound understanding of organizational culture is critical to your career success. It is like running through a forest. There are several ways. However, only one will lead you from one end to the other end in the shortest possible time. Not understanding culture is like running through a forest blindfolded. All you will end up doing is bumping into one tree or another.

What Is Organizational Culture?

Organizational culture is a set of consistent patterns people follow for communicating, thinking, and acting, all grounded in their shared assumptions and values. The definition provided by Edgar Schein provides the best illustration of culture using a three-layered model.

1. Artefacts – these are the visible symbols and languages describing the acronyms, products, departments, organizational structures, etc. The way people dress is a reflection of those artefacts. The structuring and allocation of office space is another indicator as well.

2. Values – the visible models of the culture are driven by values which are harder to see. Organizational norms and accepted patterns of behavior are the tell-tale indicators of the values. These include things like how people get support for key projects, how they win recognition, how they view meetings, etc.

3. Assumptions – the last pillar of culture is assumptions, the unconscious beliefs that people hold to be true and see as the mechanism of how the world works. For example, if people in the higher ranks of the organization routinely circumvent rules and procedures and everyone accepts it, then that translates to a unconscious belief that seniority is unquestionable.

The Four Different Types Of Cultures

Nearly 40 years ago two business professors, Robert Quinn and Kim Cameron, did some research on organizational culture and identified four different types. The researchers also said that about 90% of organizations world-wide can have one or more of these cultures as the dominating type. The info-graphic below shows the four different types of cultures.

Note that there is no thing such as a “good” or “bad” culture. It just depends on what particular business environment the company is in and how has it evolved over the years. Also, in large companies, the culture within specific teams can be very much different than the rest of the organization. This is because different bosses govern in different styles.

How To Assess Organizational Culture By Asking 5 Questions

So, now we come to the million dollar question. How do you assess culture and what do you do with it? In other words, how do you make a plan to run through the forest?

A good way to assessing organizational culture is to ask five different questions. Note that I have adopted the material from Michael D. Watkins book “The First 90 Days” (I have no affiliation with the source).

1. Influence – How do people get support for critical initiatives? Do you need management support (hierarchy culture) or buy-in from everybody (clan culture)?

2. Conflict – Can people talk openly about difficult issues without fear? It can be tough in a results-driven environment (market culture) but encouraged in a collaborative and/or growth-driven team (clan/adhocracy culture).

3. Execution – What does it take to get things done? Do you need to lean on the right people (market/adhocracy culture) or do you need to have a sound understanding of the processes (hierarchy culture)?

4. Recognition – What criteria does management use to promote and reward? Does leadership lavish individual torch-bearers (market/adhocracy culture) or do they highlight those who work together (clan culture)?

5. Ends versus means – Are there any restrictions on how results are achieved? Is there a well-defined set of values applied rigorously (hierarchy culture) or is there a tolerance for short-cuts (market/adhocracy culture)?

In The End

The key to your career success and developing your personal brand is adjusting yourself to the organizational culture. The more easily you can blend in with the group, the easier it becomes. It also is very essential when you start a new job, get transferred in a different team or when there are wholesale corporate management changes. In each case, making an accurate assessment of the organizational culture can get you started off the in the right direction.

Yours truly,

Rizwan.