Applying Schein’s (1985) Three Levels of Culture
Use the diagram below to remind yourself of the three stated levels of culture. Below the diagram are some brief pointers outlining each of the levels.
In the text boxes to the side of the diagram, note down the factors which you feel represent these different levels of culture in your chosen organisation.
Upon completion of the above, please answer the two questions noted at the end of this handout.
Organisation Name (you can use apseudonym):NTL
Brief introduction to the organisation:
This firm is a manufacturer of speaker and headset with production facility located in China while sales and marketing office is located at Hong Kong. The major market targeted by the firm is EU and the products sold are associated with the smartphone by making use of wifi or Bluetooth so that the smartphone can be turned into musical or video carriers.
Level 1 Artefacts ~ most visible level. Basically what we immediately see on entering an organisation. For example physical space, organisational policies and procedures, dress code, size of offices etc.
Level 2 Espoused beliefs and values ~ the beliefs that members hold about their work. How people make decisions, how teams work together. Practices that work become accepted ways to behave. Sometime organisations will publish their beliefs and values this helps to reinforce and assists with inducting new staff into the desired culture of the organisation.
Level 3 Basic underlying assumptions~ the personality of the organisation. Represented by understanding assumptions and values of the organisations’ members. These are assumptions for example, held by members of a team as being the ways to work together, overtime these ways of working become embedded and represent the culture of the organisation. Because they are embedded and therefore habituated, they are considered as taken for granted, and operate on an unconscious level. This level is therefore difficult to discern unless you are yourself embedded in the organisation.
Two questions to be answered:
1) Do you think the organisation is at risk of ‘cultural drift’ whereby the ‘basic underlying assumptions’ are not aligned with the ‘espoused beliefs and values’? Please explain your answer?
No, the basic underlying assumptions are clearly spelled out and understood by the staff and hence no cultural drift is occurred.
2) In your opinion, do you think the culture of the chosen organisation facilitates and encourages innovative ideas which are new and novel and which add value to the organisation and its shareholders? Please explain your answer.
No, the owner is intended to control everything and hence it is a practice to cascade down their opinions and ideas to the staff downward to implement rather than discussing and fine-tuning it.