Organizational Culture

In Schein's (1990) model of organizational culture, he described three basic levels at which culture can be observed, felt, or heard: artifacts, espoused values, and basic underlying assumptions:

Artifacts are the visible aspects of the organization--structure, processes and other physical evidence that can be observed or felt; as such, they are difficult to measure. Artifacts might include buildings, art work, dress, stories, or historical artifacts on display.

Espoused values are the goals, ideals, norms, standards, and moral principles of the organization. This is commonly the level of culture that is measured through surveys or questionnaires.

Underlying assumptions are phenomena that are unexplainable when insiders are asked about the values of the organizational culture; they constitute "basic assumptions about reality" and are complex, value-driven theories that explain the world in ways important to organizational problem-solving. For example, a basic assumption might be whether people are fundamentally trustworthy.

Based on the article "Culture at Work: The Tyranny of 'Unwritten Rules," and Schein's elements of culture, described above, discuss the following:

Provide an example of an artifact, an espoused value, and an underlying assumption that reflects a positive organizational culture and a negative one.

Provide an example of a common unwritten rule in your experience that had a profound impact on performance.

Do leaders create the culture in an organization, or are they created by the culture? Why?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rodgerdeanduncan/2014/02/13/culture-at-work-the-tyranny-of-unwritten-rules/#2133a34c760f