CONDUCTING A CULTURAL AUDIT
One of the easiest ways of appreciating the nature of corporate culture and subculture is simply to observe the day to day functioning of a group…as if one were an outsider. Adopt the role of an anthropologist. The characteristics of the culture being observed will gradually become evident as one becomes aware of the patterns of interaction between individuals, the language that is being used, the images and themes explored in the conversation, and the various rituals of daily routine. As one explores the rationale for these aspects of culture, one usually finds that there are sound historical explanations for the way things are done.”
–Morgan (2006, p. 125)
Instructions
Links to an external site.
For this activity, you will conduct a cultural audit of an organization. Ideally use the firm from your applied project. If you do not yet have access to data from the organization, or if your applied project does not involve a particular company, you can choose another organization.
The purpose of this assignment is to:
· Assess how various elements of culture manifest in this organization.
· Analyze these data through the lens of what we learned in this module to draw conclusions.
It will be helpful to first review these articles: (I will attach some these downloads in a separate file just in case you are not able to pull them up)
· ”
Basics of Culture AuditsLinks to an external site.” (Solomon, n.d.). This article from the Association for Talent Development (ATD) outlines what a cultural audit is and what data is needed for this analysis. NOTE: The link above may have a paywall, here is a PDF:
Basics of Culture Audits_ATD.pdf
· The two articles below describe the cultural web framework. The Management Centre article then applies this framework to analyze the UK’s National Health Service:
· ”
The Cultural Web: Aligning Your Strategy with CultureLinks to an external site.” (MindTools, n.d.).
·
·
· ”
Transforming Results by Changing Beliefs and BehavioursLinks to an external site.” (Management Centre, n.d.).
Unlike these articles, however, you will not need to develop recommendations for improvements. Just mention in closing how the organization might approach becoming more intentional about developing and maintaining its organizational culture. If you like this kind of research, you could consider doing a more robust cultural audit as your capstone project, which would include developing detailed recommendations to solve issues identified.
TASK
1.
Conduct a cultural analysis (sometimes called a cultural audit) to observe and assess how your chosen firm addresses the elements at the end of this prompt. These are drawn from the cultural web model and McHale’s notion of “patterns of relating.”
Gather data through observations, conversations, and review of relevant documents (e.g., website, annual report, email communications).
To avoid assumptions and increase your ability to take in information, it may be helpful to pretend you are a stranger from another land unfamiliar with the firm’s customs.
Look and listen for:
·
Stories – What past events do people, or the organization’s communications (e.g., website, annual report), talk about? What does this suggest about its values and valued behavior?
·
Rituals and Routines – What daily behavior and actions of people do you see (e.g., do they talk to each other much? Have coffee/take breaks/eat lunch together? What behaviors seem to be acceptable? What does this suggest is valued by management?
·
Symbols – What artifacts and visual representations of the company do you see (e.g., logos, the fanciness/starkness of the offices, the (in)formality of the dress code)?
·
Organizational Structure – What does the organizational chart look like? Who and how many people are on the senior management team? Are people without formal authority able to be heard and are their insights valued? Whose contributions seem to be most valued?
·
Control Systems – What types of financial systems, performance metrics, and compensation/rewards systems does the firm use? How are these measured and distributed within the organization?
·
Power Structures – Who has the greatest amount of influence on decisions, operations, and strategic direction? Is there a gender balance? Do the influencers’ race/ethnicity mirror that of the community/nation where the firm is located?
·
Patterns of Relating (McHale) – How do people interact, and what patterns can you observe that emerge from those interactions? The Solomon/ATD article lists some common patterns, and the McHale articles in the Discussion Board share other examples.
·
Other: Anything else you find relevant based on what you’ve gleaned from the learning materials (e.g., concepts from Morgan and/or Schein).
You do not have to cover all of these for this assignment. Two or three will be fine. Focus on what is most interesting to you and on things you can find data for.
2. Write a report summarizing the data and your analysis. Organize your report into four sections:
1.
Purpose of the analysis (one paragraph)
1. Define culture (cite source or hybrid definition with sources).
2. Explain how understanding organizational culture can enhance organizational effectiveness.
2.
Organizational background (one paragraph)
1. What is the name of the organization? How old is it? Where is it located?
2. What does it do (e.g., what does it produce)?
3. How big is the organization (e.g., # of employees, annual revenue, geographic scope)?
3.
Data (write 1-2 paragraphs for two or three of the cultural web categories listed above)
1. What information did you find?
2. Describe what you saw, heard, and read in concrete and detailed terms.
4.
Analysis (one paragraph)
1. Interpret those data through the lens of concepts you learned about in the module.
2. What kind of culture (patterns) did you find?
3. How does this relate to the ideas we studied this week? For example, how does organizational culture create the social reality in this firm?
4. What methods might the organization consider to enact culture change (don’t need to go into detail for this last item).
5.
Use vocabulary and concepts from the learning materials, citing appropriately, to demonstrate your mastery of these ideas.
