Culture level model

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Apparent 3-level model

The cultural level model of the US organizational psychologist Edgar Schein is a model for describing organizational culture . Edgar Schein's approach with three levels of cultural phenomena in organizations is more differentiated than the Deal and Kennedy cultural typology model. E. Schein defines culture as

[...] a pattern of basic assumptions - invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaption 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

“A pattern of basic assumptions - invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as they learn to deal with the problems of external adaptation and internal integration - that worked well enough to be considered valid [by that group] and therefore did new members are taught as the correct method of perceiving, thinking and feeling about these problems. "

- Edgar Schein
  1. On the surface lie the visible behaviors and other physical manifestations, artifacts and products. Examples are communication behavior with employees, customers and suppliers, logo, parking spaces, office layout, technology used, the corporate mission statement, but also the rituals and myths of the organization.
  2. Below this level lies the feeling of how things should be; Collective values ​​are, for example, “honesty”, “friendliness”, “love of technology”, “playful”, “conservative” etc., ie attitudes that determine the behavior of employees.
  3. At the deepest level are the things that are taken for granted in the way one reacts to the environment ( basic assumptions ). These basic assumptions are not questioned or discussed. They are so deeply rooted in thought that members of the organization are not aware of them.

It is this pattern of assumptions that E. Schein describes as a culture.

The internal structure of a corporate culture

In Schein's model, cultures encompass orientation patterns and programs as well as visible communication mechanisms and forms of expression. E. Schein approaches the cultural core (the third level) using a procedure borrowed from cultural anthropology through an interpretation process of the visible (first level) and felt (second level) elements.

The anthropologist Clyde Kluckhohn and Frank L. Strodtbeck identified five cultural dimensions, d. H. basic orientations in which the basic assumptions of a culture are manifested.

orientation Expressions
Nature of man bad mixed Well
changeable / unchangeable
Relationship with nature Subordination harmony Dominance
Relationship with other people hierarchical
(linear groups) 		collateral
(collateral groups) 		individualistic
(individuals)
Time orientation of people Past
(traditional) 		present Future
(innovative)
Activity of man be check act
Representation of the cultural dimensions based on Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck
  1. The essence of human nature
  2. the relationship between man and nature
  3. Human relationships with other people
  4. the time orientation of humans
  5. the activity orientation

Richard Mead points out that this schema can also be used to characterize corporate cultures. The basic assumptions of the third level can be classified according to these five dimensions:

  1. Assumptions about the nature of people
    People in a group can view each other differently: friendly or hostile, benevolent or malicious, work-shy or self-involved (see Douglas McGregor , theory X and theory Y), capable of development or established. Often these assumptions are reflected in the image of the ideal manager.
  2. Assumptions about the environment
    How is the environment perceived? (malicious, stimulating, friendly, ...) and how does the group differ from others?
  3. Assumptions about the Nature of Interpersonal Relationships
    How to Relate to Others? What is correct behavior? How do you behave? Is age or rank revered, good looks, emotional behavior (and if so, which?), Is there cooperation or competition, teams or lone fighters? ...
  4. Concepts of Truth and Time
    Each group has an idea of ​​what is right and wrong. Are you relying on authorities, traditions, science or a pragmatic attitude or possibly compromises? Similarly, there is a group consensus about time, which is perceived differently (see polychronicity ). Today we speak of monochronous (one-time) time conceptions when regular and steady event and process sequences take place in the normal case and activities are usually arranged linearly, sequentially. In such companies, irregular incidents are often perceived as unreasonable or disruptive. In contrast to this is the polychronic (multi-timed) conception of time, where the normal case is parallel processes, time limits and events that are constantly in flux. Irregular incidents are normal here and structured processing of tasks is the exception.
  5. Assumptions about the nature of human action
    This dimension deals with the question: How is action taken, which actions are (un) wanted; for example initiative, ignoring or reporting, waiting, adapting, etc .; in relation to work: what is work and what is play?

A unified form (psychology) is constructed from these five elements , so that the analytical boundaries are blurred and a unified worldview is formed. This worldview is concretized in values ​​and behavioral standards, which, according to E. Schein, are arranged on the middle level of the model. Even if these standards are mostly unwritten, today they are written down as a result of Peters and Waterman's Search for Excellence and formulated as a management philosophy or model, which, however, often represents wishful thinking rather than real knowledge.

These unconscious, invisible assumptions and standards are represented on the top level in symbols and signs . Here are the elements of culture whose task is to represent oneself (clothing, language, greeting strangers, architecture, logo, notice board, etc.) and to convey. With the help of these elements new members are introduced into the organization and made familiar with it. This also includes the stories and myths about company heroes (e.g. the founders) and villains (e.g. killed managers) as well as rituals such as company meetings, Christmas parties, department trips or even just "the beer after the shift".

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Edgar H. Schein (1985) Organizational Culture and Leadership , San Francisco: Jossey-Bass in Emmanuel Ogbonna (abridged from E. Ogbonna, Managing organizational culture: fantasy or reality , Human Resource Management Journal, 3, 2 (1993) , pp. 42–54 in Jon Billsberry (ed.) The Effective Manager , Open University, Milton Keynes 1997)
  2. ^ Terrence E. Deal and Allan A. Kennedy (2000) Corporate Cultures , Perseus
  3. ^ Edgar H. Schein (1985) Organizational Culture and Leadership. A Dynamic View , San Francisco etc. (Jossey-Bass); p. 9
  4. ↑ a b c d Horst Steinmann and Georg Schreyögg (1997) Management - Basics of corporate management ; 4th edition (reprint 2000); Gabler textbook; ISBN 3-409-43312-0
  5. ^ Clyde Kluckhohn and Frank L. Strodtbeck (1961) Variations in value orientations , Evanston, Illinois: Row, Peterson
  6. ^ Clyde Kluckhohn and Frank L. Strodtbeck, Online , accessed January 5, 2013
  7. ↑ Richard Mead (2000) International Management - Cross Cultural Dimensions, 2nd ed. Blackwell, Oxford
  8. ^ D. McGregor (1960) The Human Side of Enterprise , McGraw-Hill
  9. ↑ Tom Peters and Robert Waterman (1995) In Search of Excellence , Harper Business ISBN 0-00-638402-1

literature

  • Edgar H. Schein: Organizational Culture. "The Ed Schein Corporate Culture Survival Guide" , EHP Bergisch Gladbach 2003, ISBN 3-89797-014-7