garden/Elements of organizational culture.md

Cultural sociology seeks to systemically analyze culture. Although cultures may vary from one another, cultures contain certain elements which can provide a means to compare them. Some elements of culture include:

- Social organization
- Customs and traditions
- Symbols
- Norms
- Religion
- Language
- Arts and literature
- Forms of government
- Economic systems
- Artifacts
- Social institutions
- Values

## Schein's model of organizational culture

Schein described organizational culture as "*a pattern of shared basic assumptions that a group learns as it solves its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, which 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.*"

From visible to invisible:
- *Artifacts and behaviors* (visible, audible behavior patterns, surface elements)
  - Are easy to observe
  - Are hard to interpret or understand the deeper meanings of
- *Espoused values* (social norms, underlying behavioral patterns)
  - Includes how we rationalize our actions and what our reasons are for them
  - Require some digging to figure out
- *Basic underlying assumptions* (biases, pre-conscious or subconscious ideas)
  - Are often unspoken and taken for granted
  - Provide underlying reasons for an organization's values and behaviors


## Artifacts and physical space

- How is space organized in your organization?
- Where does your organization conduct its activities, formally or informally?
- Where are members and leaders physically when the organization meets? How do they intermingle?
- How are they separated physically? Does everyone sit close together, or do people prefer to spread out? Do people break into their own groups? Is anyone isolated or left alone?
- How accessible is the space? Is it somewhere everyone has easy/convenient access to?
- When does the organization usually conduct its activities? How does this affect members/leaders and their abilities to participate?

## Language and narratives

- What stories are told in your organization? What do they mean?
- Who are your organization's heroes or prominent figures?
- Why do you tell these stories or choose these heroes? What does that say about what your organization considers important?
- What stories do you tell your members? What stories do leaders in your organization share with each other? What stories get shared outside the organization?
- How do leaders and members talk about the organization?
- What language do they use with one another?
- What does this language convey about individual or collective attitudes in your group?

# Norms

- What do your organization's constitution and bylaws say? What other written rules does your organization have?
- What unwritten rules and policies exist in your organization?
- How does your organization typically make decisions or handle situations?
- What are the expected behaviors or social norms of leaders/members in your organization?
- When your organization has conflict or disagreement, how does your organization handle it?
- Who is included in your organization or given power?
- What does all this say about your organization's priorities?
- Who do the rules work for, prioritize, or benefit? Who is not represented by them?
- What does that say about your organization?
- What roles or hierarchies exist in your organization, formal or informal?
- When you meet, who does a majority of the talking? Who decides the group's agenda?

# Rituals and reward

- What traditions exist in your organization, formal or informal?
- How are new members welcomed into the organization?
- What activities does your organization participate in? Who is included in those activities?
- Why are these traditions or activities important to your organization?
- Do you reward/recognize members or leaders in your organization?
- How do you reward or recognize people in your organization, formally or informally?
- What do you reward or recognize people for?
- How does this recognition relate to the things your organization considers important?

# Values

- Without looking, how would you, other members, or leaders describe your organization's mission? What do your mission and vision actually state?
- Is there a discrepancy between what you or others think the mission is and what it really says? Why?
- Do others have different ideas about what the mission or purpose of your organization is?
- What do your stated mission and vision communicate about your organization's purpose?
- On what premises or assumptions are your organization's mission and vision based?
- Look closely at what language is used or what language is avoided — what values are conveyed?
- Who is represented in your organization's mission and vision?