Experiential Exercise: Self Competency

Assessing the Culture of Your Organization

Instructions

Think of an organization that you currently work for or used to work for. This questionnaire will help you look at some aspects of that organization's culture. The following 40 statements indicate some organizational values. If these values are held by top management, they generally will be shared by other members of the organization. Read each statement and indicate in the blank to the left of the statement how much the behavior contained in the statement is valued in that organization. Use the following key for your responses:

4 = Very highly valued in the organization.

3 = Valued in the organization.

2 = Given rather low value in the organization.

1 = Not valued in the organization.

_____1. Free communication among employees, each respecting the feelings, competence, and judgment of others.

_____2. Facing problems, not shying away from them.

_____3. Offering moral support and help to employees and colleagues in crisis.

_____4. Match between feelings and expressed behavior.

_____5. Preventive action on most matters.

_____6. Employees taking independent action relating to their jobs.

_____7. Teamwork and team spirit.

_____8. Employees trying out innovative ways of solving problems.

_____9. Genuine sharing of information, feelings, and thoughts in meetings.

_____10. Going deeper rather than doing surface-level analysis of interpersonal problems.

_____11. Interpersonal contact and support among employees.

_____12. Tactfulness, cleverness, and even a little manipulation to get things done.

_____13. Superiors encouraging their subordinates to think about their development and take action   in that direction.

_____14. Close supervision and direction of employees regarding their behaviors.

_____15. Accepting and appreciating help offered by others.

_____16. Encouraging employees to take a fresh look at how things are done.

_____17. Free discussion and communication among superiors and subordinates.

_____18. Facing challenges inherent in the work situation.

_____19. Confiding in superiors without fear that they will misuse the trust.

_____20. "Owning" mistakes made.

_____21. Considering both positive and negative aspects before taking action.

_____22. Obeying and checking with superiors rather than being concerned about larger organizational goals.

_____23. Performing immediate tasks rather than being concerned about larger organizational goals. _____24. Making genuine attempts to change behavior on the basis of feedback received.

Use the following key for the remainder of your responses:

4 = This belief is very widely shared in the organization.

3 = This belief is fairly well shared in the organization.

2 = Only some people in the organization share this belief.

1 = Few or no people in the organization share this belief

_____25. Effective leaders suppress their feelings.

_____26. Pass the buck to others tactfully when there is a problem.

_____27. Trust begets trust.

_____28. Telling a polite lie is preferable to telling the unpleasant truth.

_____29. Prevention is better than cure.

_____30. Freedom for employees breeds lack of discipline.

_____31. Emphasis on teamwork dilutes individual accountability.

_____32. Thinking and doing new things are important for organizational vitality.

_____33. Free and candid communication among various levels helps in solving problems.

_____34. Surfacing problems is not enough; we should find the solution.

_____35. When the situation is urgent and has to be dealt with, you have to fend for yourself.

_____36. People are what they seem to be.

_____37. A stitch in time saves nine.

_____38. A good way to motivate employees is to give them autonomy to plan their work.

 _____39. Employee involvement in developing the organization's mission and goals contributes to productivity.

_____40. In today's competitive situation, consolidation and stability are more important than experimentation.

Organizational Cultural Values Profile

The Organizational Cultural Values Profile assesses eight dimensions of an organization's culture. Each dimension is listed, along with the items related to it. For each aspect, add the ratings you assigned to the item numbers indicated. Important: For each bold item with an asterisk, you must convert your rating as follows: 1 becomes 4; 2 becomes 3; 3 becomes 2; and 4 becomes 1.

Organizational Cultural Values Interpretation Sheet

The eight organizational cultural values are Openness, Confrontation, Trust, Authenticity, Proaction, Autonomy, Collaboration, and Experimentation. The following definitions may help to clarify the values:

1. Openness: Spontaneous expression of feelings and thoughts and sharing of these without defensiveness.

2. Confrontation: Facing-not shying away from- problems; deeper analysis of interpersonal problems; taking on challenges.

3. Trust: Maintaining confidentiality of information shared by others and not misusing it; a sense of assurance that others will help when needed and will honor mutual obligations and commitments. 4. Authenticity: Match between what one feels, says, and does; owning one's actions and mistakes; unreserved sharing of feelings.

5. Proaction: Initiative; preplanning and preventive action; calculating payoffs before taking action. 6. Autonomy: Using and giving freedom to plan and act in one's own sphere; respecting and encouraging individual and role autonomy.

7. Collaboration: Giving help to, and asking for help from, others; team spirit; working together (individuals and groups) to solve problems.

8. Experimentation: Using and encouraging innovative approaches to solve problems; using feedback for improving; taking a fresh look at things; encouraging creativity.

Norms for the Organizational Culture Value Profile

Based on the studies of the value profile so far, these are the high- and low-scoring norms.

High scores indicate a strong belief in the values and, thus, a strong organizational culture. Low scores illustrate a weak set of cultural values. If the average or mean score for your organization is low, the questions on the profile can be used as the basis for action planning to improve the organization's culture and to increase openness, creativity, and collaboration. Remember that items 12, 14, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30, 31, 35, and 40 are reverse scored.

Questions

1. What approaches might you use to change these cultural values?

2. Using these eight cultural values, analyze the culture at Zappos. What is its profile and how does it influence employees' behaviors?