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Organizational Culture

September 28, 2018 By Roland

Organizational culture (OC) is hard to pin down but can be described as the pervasive, enduring, shared values, beliefs, norms and assumptions of the organization and its members.

Culture:

  • Enables the organization to have a shared ‘identity’ and common purpose
  • Is experienced as the unwritten rules of what is expected, accepted and rejected at work
  • Manifests in collective behaviors, group rituals, symbols and stories
  • Affects the way you think and behave, independent of you individual personality
  • Is learned implicitly and explicitly from other members and acts as a ‘silent language’ that binds people together
  • Develops and adapts over time in relation to organizational constraints, environmental pressure and ‘critical events.’

The Two Primary Dimensions of OC:

  1. People Interactions—these range on a continuum from highly interdependent to highly independent
    1. Interdependent cultures value relationship, collaboration and cooperation
    2. Independent cultures value autonomy, individual initiative and competition.
  2. Response to Change—these range on a continuum from stability orientation to adaptability orientation
    1. Stability oriented cultures value consistency, predictability and control
    2. Adaptability oriented cultures value flexibility, innovation and receptiveness to change.

 The Primary Dimensions of OC give rise to Eight Culture Styles:

  • Caring-focuses on relationships and mutual trust
  • Purpose-is exemplified by idealism and altruism
  • Learning-is characterized by exploration, expansiveness, and creativity
  • Enjoyment-is expressed through fun and excitement
  • Results-is characterized by achievement and winning
  • Authority-is defined by strength, decisiveness, and boldness
  • Safety-is defined by planning, caution, and preparedness
  • Order-is focused on respect, structure, and shared norms.

Questions:

  • What does the organization value in terms of people interactions?
  • What does the organization value in terms of response to change?
  • What strengths do those values promote?
  • What weaknesses to those values result in?
  • What aspects are ignored or neglected because of those values?
  • What are the tensions or conflicts in the organization’s culture?
  • What does the organization need to pay attention to?

Filed Under: Blog, Psychology

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Roland Evans, Psychotherapist • 303-998-1090 • roland@roland-evans.com • 948 North Street, Suite #5, Boulder, CO 80304