Culture Clash

If culture is about "how we do things here." Maybe we could add that organizational 'climate' is "how it feels here." Then we might also consider organizational 'context' about "how it looks here." And finally, we might say that organizational 'content' is about "the tools we use here." Add these to Bolman & Deal's (2008) four frames and you can start seeing patterns develop.


Dr. Faverty posted this on his blog and I thought that it was perfectly put. It put things in perspective not only how we have to attack our projects but give us a completely new lens when going out into the world or entering into new organizations. Especially as already to sit back in a new organization and take the time to sift through an organization's culture like an archaeologist/anthropologist and have  a keen eye for what is really going on. Even thinking about small details about symbols in an organization that could look to the average eye as something minimal, but to to the organization may mean so much more. Also, looking for nuances in how people interact and the language used takes some practice. Even digging deeper into the history of the organization may take some time as well.


This brings us to an important issue of time and how possibly entering a new organization you may or may not have time as  a leader to observe all of these details. How ever you must keep your eyes and ears open and think differently. Some leaders may fail quickly to gain the respect of their counterparts due to their ideas about how things should be done before they even how how things are done in the organization at that point. However, some leaders are brought in to change the organization quickly which can make this a huge challenge.


This I believe is why my closing take away was that I was really engaged by what Kate was describing in class and how she does this with a variety of organizations. It would be interesting to have the time and investigate how things are done, how things feel, and how it looks here. All of these tools and information gathered to supply to leaders can help out. As stated previously that I do have a vice for TV and I can't help but recommend to watch the show Undercover Boss. I love watching this show and after this class now I have a new lens to watch it through. It completely highlights what we are talking about in class I and allows the people at the top running an organization to get back on the ground level and understand the cultural needs of their employees and what they can do better to assist change of culture to produce more gains in their companies.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L38b5ynphI