Organizational Culture and Leadership

EDGAR H. SCHEIN is the Society of Sloan Fellows Professor of Management Emeritus and a professor emeritus at the MIT Sloan School of Management. A world-renowned expert on organizational culture credited with founding the field, he is the bestselling author of Humble Inquiry, Helping, and Humble Consulting.

• Acknowledgments ixPreface xiiiForeword xvAbout the Authors xxiiiPart One: Defining the Structure of Culture1. How to Define Culture in General 3The Problem of Defining Culture Clearly 3Summary and Conclusions 14Suggestions for Readers 162. The Structure of Culture 17Three Levels of Analysis 17Summary and Conclusions 29Suggestions for Readers 303. A Young and Growing U.S. Engineering Organization 31Case 1: Digital Equipment Corporation in Maynard, Massachusetts 31Summary and Conclusions 42Suggestions for Readers 434. A Mature Swiss-German Chemical Organization 45Case 2: Ciba-Geigy Company in Basel, Switzerland 45Can Organizational Cultures Be Stronger than National Cultures? 55Summary and Conclusions 56Questions for Readers 595. A Developmental Government Organization in Singapore 61Case 3: Singapore’s Economic Development Board 61The EDB Nested Cultural Paradigms 63Summary and Conclusions: The Multiple Implications of the Three Cases 73Questions for Readers 75Part Two: What Leaders Need to Know about Macro Cultures6. Dimensions of the Macro-Cultural Context 81Travel and Literature 81Survey Research 82Ethnographic, Observational, and Interview-Based Research 86Human Essence and Basic Motivation 96Summary and Conclusions 102Questions for Readers 1047. A Focused Way of Working with Macro Cultures 105Cultural Intelligence 107How to Foster Cross-Cultural Learning 109The Paradox of Macro Culture Understanding 117Echelons as Macro Cultures 118Summary and Conclusions 121Suggestion for the Change Leader: Do Some Experiments with Dialogue 122Suggestion for the Recruit 123Suggestion for the Scholar or Researcher 123Suggestion for the Consultant or Helper 123Part Three: Culture and Leadership through Stages of Growth8. How Culture Begins and the Role of the Founder of Organizations 127A Model of How Culture Forms in New Groups 127The Role of the Founder in the Creation of Cultures 130Example 1: Ken Olsen and DEC Revisited 132Example 2: Sam Steinberg and Steinberg’s of Canada 136Example 3: Fred Smithfield, a “Serial Entrepreneur” 140Example 4: Steve Jobs and Apple 142Example 5: IBM—Thomas Watson Sr. and His Son 144Example 6: Hewlett and Packard 144Summary and Conclusions 146Suggestions for Readers 147Implications for Founders and Leaders 1479. How External Adaptation and Internal Integration Become Culture 149The Socio-Technical Issues of Organizational Growth and Evolution 150Issues around the Means: Structure, Systems, and Processes 158Summary and Conclusions 178Suggestion for the Culture Analyst 179Suggestion for the Manager and Leader 17910. How Leaders Embed and Transmit Culture 181Primary Embedding Mechanisms 183Secondary Reinforcement and Stabilizing Mechanisms 196Summary and Conclusions 204Questions for Researchers, Students, and Employees 20611. The Culture Dynamics of Organizational Growth, Maturity, and Decline 207General Effects of Success, Growth, and Age 208Differentiation and the Growth of Subcultures 211The Need for Alignment between Three Generic Subcultures: Operators, Designers, and Executives 221The Unique Role of the Executive Function: Subculture Management 229Summary and Conclusions 229Suggestions for the Reader 23112. Natural and Guided Cultural Evolution 233Founding and Early Growth 234Transition to Midlife: Problems of Succession 237Organizational Maturity and Potential Decline 245Summary and Conclusions 250Questions for Readers 251Part Four: Assessing Culture and Leading Planned Change13. Deciphering Culture 255Why Decipher Culture? 255How Valid Are Clinically Gathered Data? 262Ethical Issues in Deciphering Culture 263Professional Obligations of the Culture Analyst 266Summary and Conclusions 267Questions for the Reader 26914. The Diagnostic Quantitative Approach to Assessment and Planned Change 271Why Use Typologies, and Why Not? 272Typologies that Focus on Assumptions about Authority and Intimacy 278Typologies of Corporate Character and Culture 281Examples of Survey-Based Profiles of Cultures 285Automated Culture Analysis with Software-as-a-Service 288Summary and Conclusions 293Suggestions for the Reader 29515. The Dialogic Qualitative Culture Assessment Process 297Case 4: MA-COM—Revising a Change Agenda as a Result of Cultural Insight 298Case 5: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Reassessing Their Mission 302Case 6: Apple Assessing Its Culture as Part of a Long-Range Planning Process 307Case 7: SAAB COMBITECH—Building Collaboration in Research Units 311Case 8: Using A Priori Criteria for Culture Evaluation 313What of DEC, Ciba-Geigy, and Singapore? Did Their Cultures Evolve and Change? 314Summary and Conclusions 315Suggestion for the Reader 31716. A Model of Change Management and the Change Leader 319The Change Leader Needs Help in Defining the Change Problem or Goal 320General Change Theory 321Why Change? Where Is the Pain? 322The Stages and Steps of Change Management 323Cautions in Regard to “Culture” Change 337Summary and Conclusions 339Suggestions for Readers 34117. The Change Leader as Learner 343What Might a Learning Culture Look Like? 344Why These Dimensions? 349Learning-Oriented Leadership 350A Final Thought: Discover the Culture within My Own Personality 354References 355Index 367