Edgar Schein, one of the most prominent theorists of organizational culture, defined culture as a "Pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems." This enunciation of culture in definitional terms set the stage for its evolution. Since its days of proclamation, organizational culture has evolved, gained prominence and has been embraced by various organizations the world over. Organizational culture is rightly termed as one that bears a semblance to and reflects the personality of an organization. The values that are embedded inherently within an organization and as manifested by its members are reflected in the organizational culture.
The culture of an organization is mostly intangible and can be experienced only by embracing it. Though culture cannot be captured comprehensively, according to Schein, organizational culture can be best understood by dividing it into three levels. The three levels are the artifacts, espoused values and basic assumptions and values. Artifacts are the discernable aspects of a company while espoused values are those that reflect the strategies and goals that are undertaken by the management and can be best comprehended from the expressed behaviors of the employees. The basic underlying assumptions and values, though low on ascertaining levels, reflect the core culture of any company. These underlying assumptions are those that every company tries to inculcate into its employees so that it can keep all its employees in the `same boat' and thereby strengthen its culture as well as its organizational effectiveness. |
