CULTURE MATTERS!!
Culture matters, according to Ed Schein, "...because it is
a powerful, latent, and often unconscious set of forces that determine
both our individual and collective behavior, ways of perceiving,
thought patterns, and values. Organization culture in particular
matters because cultural elements determine strategy, goals, and
modes of operating. The values and thought patterns of leaders and
senior managers are partially determined by their own cultural backgrounds
and their shared experience. If we want to make organizations more
efficient and effective, then we must understand the role that culture
plays in organizational life."
Yet, the biggest danger in trying to understand culture, according
to Schein, is to oversimplify it in our minds. It is tempting—
and at some level valid—to say that culture is just “the
way we do things around here,“ “the rites and rituals
of our company,“ “the company climate,“ “the
reward system,“ “our basic values,“ and so on.
These are all manifestations of the culture, but none is the culture
at the level where culture matters. A better way to think about
culture is to realize that it exists at several “levels,“
and that we must understand an manage the deeper levels.
In addition, Daniel Denison at the University of Michigan, has
studied the impact that organizational culture can have on performance
and effectiveness over time, particularly, that there is a close
relationship between the culture of an organization, its management
practices, and its future performance and effectiveness. Denison's
research indicates that the values and beliefs of an organization
give rise to a set of management practices that then reinforce the
dominant values and beliefs.
Our approach to cultural alignment and change is grounded in both
the qualitative approach suggested by Schein and in the quantitative
approach to measuring performance effectiveness as developed by
Denison.
The Research Shows
-Research involving over 2,000 companies indicates that effective
organizational cultures, regardless of organizational size, industry,
sector, or age, achieve results by unleashing the very best that
the individual has to offer (Involvement: internal orientation which
enhances flexibility),
- within the framework of a vivid direction (Mission: external
orientation which enhances stability),
- with systems to support efficient and quality delivery of products
and services (Consistency: internal orientation which enhances stability,
- while being continually open and responsive, both to its many
stakeholders, and to new paths and possibilities in this highly
changing world (Adaptability: external orientation which enhances
flexibility).
Denison, D.R. (1990; 1994; 1996); Denison, D. R. and Mishra, A.
K. (1995); Denison, D. R. and Mishra, A.K. (1996); Denison, D.R.
and Neale, W.S. (1996); Fisher, C. J. (1997)
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