OD Prep question outline

Describe Scheins model of organizational culture and its implications for organizational intervention.
1. Define culture as beliefs, norms, values, and assumptions that are shared informally or formally by
members of the organization. Org culture as a socially constructed phenomenon, constructed through
social interactions and shared history. Importance of culture in shaping the practices, systems, and
structure of the organization. Culture tells people how things are done in the organization, as a
guiding force. Culture manifests at various levels of the organization, such as in work procedures,
and even how leaders respond to crises.
2. Scheins model of organizational culture: Artefacts which are the concrete, above iceberg, more
observable aspects of org culture (e.g., company mission statement, org design & structure, office
layout). Values & Beliefs espoused culture, employees beliefs about how things should be done,
etc. Final layer is underlying assumptions, which are the hardest to surface because people may not
even realize they hold these assumptions. Assumptions are about the way the org and its employees
relate to the environment, and Schein has argued that values & artefacts are manifestations of this
third layer assumptions.
3. Implications for org interventions
a. Because culture is so deeply ingrained in the organization, any intervention in the org
necessitates a change in culture. Before any intervention is made, it is necessary to
understand the culture so that the change does not have any unintended consequences. For
example, a proposed intervention could go directly against some of the values, beliefs/
assumptions that org members hold dear, and they would perceive such an intervention to be
highly threatening to their way of working. They might then be unwilling to commit to the
intervention. If the change does go against some of the organizations culture, need to frame
it in a non-threatening way and allow for psychological safety. For any change to take place
need to have a balance between psychological safety and anxiety. Felt need for change
(Kotter and Lewin)
b. An examination of the culture can also provide clues as to the source of particular problems
that triggered the need for the intervention. Some surface level issues may be simply be a
manifestation of softer, underlying issues. If dont address the root of the problem, then the
issue is likely to manifest in a different form. May need to change the culture and not just
structure
c. For change to stick, necessary that it is consistent with the orgs culture as well. For example,
promoting teamwork/collaboration but not providing space for discussions in the office
layout is not likely to improve collaboration in the long term. These inconsistencies overtime
can lead people to become cynical about future change projects, reduce their motivation to
support change, and lead to a ritualization of change (Harris & Ogbonna, 2002)
d. In examining the culture, one better understands employees perspectives and encourages
their collaboration in the intervention. People would be more willing to support the change
initiatives and increase the likelihood that the change will succeed
e. Finally, it is unlikely that there is a single, homogenous culture in the organization. As noted
by Martin (2002) and Schein, there is differentiation as well as integration in any culture,
with overlapping nested cultures in the organization. The existence of subcultures means that
there are groups of people in the organization who may interpret the same events very
differently. In this case, it is necessary to understand these different subcultures and how the
proposed change may affect them. Draw links to resistance Must be attuned to the culture
as resistance from any particular subculture is a signal that something is wrong with the
change project, need to amend the intervention and address their concerns.
4. Add in: Systems theory interventions have ripple effects throughout the system; resurfacing deep
assumptions of OD; bring in process consultation.