Culture, "the way we work around here," may be broadly defined as the
behavioral patterns (habits and conventions) generally adopted within
the organization. It includes all the beliefs, values, attitudes,
rituals, and behavior patterns that people in an organization share.
Culture includes two things:
* Values,
attitudes, feelings, beliefs.
* Behaviors,
habits, practices.
Those who attempt to change culture by
dictating values find themselves on a long, frustrating path. It's
exceedingly difficult to teach people what to value or how to feel.
On the other hand, a behavioral approach
is consistent with learning theory. Behaviors are tangible, and they're
easy to teach, model, and measure.
Example, trust....
Example,
entrepreneurship....
Cultural principles (behaviors) are
crafted in any or all of the following themes:
* Ethics (right versus
wrong).
* Integrity (inspiring
trust).
* Interpersonal
Relations (how we work with others).
* Meetings (scheduled
business events).
* Cooperation (one
organization).
* Teamwork (project
teams).
* Empowerment (matching
authority to accountability).
* Customer Focus (how
to treat customers).
* Entrepreneurship
(remaining competitive).
* Contracts (making
commitments).
* Quality (how we
fulfill commitments).
* Risk (who takes
risks, how they're evaluated).
* Feedback (measuring
results, consequences).
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