Decoding the Workplace by John Ballard Ph.D

Author:John Ballard Ph.D.
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781440838279
Publisher: ABC-CLIO

An organization has some beliefs and values that it openly shares with the world. Other beliefs and values are internal and only discussed among employees. Espoused beliefs and values can be found in mission statements, statements of company values, and slogans. They can be found in stories told to newcomers. These tales are part of organizational lore which point to shared values and ways of doing business. Among the best known of these stories is one involving Tom Watson, Jr., then president of IBM.4 Here is one version.

Surrounded by his entourage, Watson entered a company building and was moving through a control point when he was stopped by the security guard.

“Sir, you do not have your identification badge.”

Someone in the entourage snorted, “Don’t you know who this is?”

To which the guard replied, “Yes, sir. I recognize Mr. Watson. But he is not wearing his badge.”

At this point Watson acknowledged the guard’s request and sent someone to his office to get his identification badge. He waited. The message was clear. No one is above the rules, not even the CEO.

Stories like this become legend. All companies that have been around for a while have them. The CEO who drops everything to fly to Minnesota to meet with a client to insure a customer’s needs are met. The message? “Go the extra mile to insure the customer is satisfied.” The CEO whose factory has a fire but who keeps the paychecks going while the factory is put back into operational order. The message? “We are family.” The CEO who says “job well done” by flying all employees and their significant others to Hawaii for a vacation at company’s expense. The message? “Know that you are appreciated and will be rewarded.” Actions can speak louder than words, but significant actions become words that live long beyond the original actions.

At the heart of culture are the core assumptions that pervade organizational life, regardless of whether those in the organization know that. Sometimes the espoused beliefs and assumptions flow accurately and directly from these basic core assumptions. At my academic home, Mount St. Joseph University, caring about the individual student is a deep-seated core value. It is at the heart of who we are—our culture—and is demonstrated in our actions.5 At “the Mount,” faculty, staff, and administrators give extra effort to help students learn and succeed.

My guess is that you might see some gaps between what your organization says and what it does. “Formally, here is what we say. Informally, here is what we do.” We say that customer satisfaction is our top priority but actually it is maximizing profits. We say that we value our employees—the backbone of our organization—but to reduce costs we turn first to laying-off employees. We say we have a strong commitment to the community and at the same time we are planning on moving jobs to Mexico.

Sometimes these result from espoused beliefs and values being different from the underlying assumptions. Some assumptions at the heart of culture can be hard to detect when you are part of the culture.

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