We’re Thinking About Organizational Culture All Wrong
"In organizations, people interpret and contest values all the time. In my university, one of the core values espoused is responsibility, which is defined as meaning “to serve as a catalyst for positive change in Texas and beyond.” This definition is quite different from my own. I associated the word “responsibility” with accountability and duty, rather than with being a catalyst for change. Also, how does one define positive change? I suspect it is quite different from one member of the university community to another. Even if most members of the university agree that responsibility is an important value, many may not agree with what that means or feel that the stated definition represents their own ideas about responsibility.
To further complicate things, people may contest “common” values while maintaining their commitment to the success of the organization. This may be as obvious as open disagreement, or as subtle as a manager quietly reshaping a project to reflect their personal ideas about how things should be done. It could show up as a tacit rise in absenteeism or overt complaints about decisions made by leaders. Indeed, one might complain about the decisions of leaders precisely because one is committed to the organization and feels that the direction that leadership is moving is wrong."
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