{"id":815,"date":"2019-04-24T15:34:25","date_gmt":"2019-04-24T15:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=815"},"modified":"2024-04-24T23:00:41","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T23:00:41","slug":"levels-of-organizational-culture","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/chapter\/levels-of-organizational-culture\/","title":{"raw":"Levels of Organizational Culture","rendered":"Levels of Organizational Culture"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning outcomes<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Describe the levels of organizational culture<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nEdgar Schein presented three levels of organization in his 1991 article, \u201cWhat is Culture?\u201d He grouped organizational culture into three levels including artifacts, values, and underlying assumptions. Watch the video below to learn more about Schein and his interpretation of organizational culture.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wd1bsxWeM6Q\r\n\r\nTo recap, Schein created three levels of organizational culture. First, at the top of the pyramid are artifacts. While they have been defined as the visible part of an iceberg, they are hard to decipher. Artifacts include organizational structures and processes that are apparent and visible. Right below the top of the iceberg, in the middle of his cultural pyramid is the values level. Values include the \u201cwhy\u201d behind why a company operates the way they do. It includes company goals, strategies and philosophies that drive a company\u2019s mission. Finally, the level that is the hardest to understand is the bottom of the pyramid which Schein labels \u201cunderlying assumptions.\u201d These underlying assumptions create the foundation for the values and artifacts levels. They take time and energy to fully decipher and understand and include thoughts, beliefs and perceptions that establish culture (Organizational Communication Channel, 2017).\r\n\r\nIn 2019, Granter used Schein\u2019s pyramid idea and added a level above the artifacts level. Here is a breakdown of his interpretation of the organizational culture pyramids:\r\n<div>\r\n<table>\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th style=\"width: 1061.84px\" colspan=\"2\">Table 1. Levels of organizational culture (Source: Granter, 2019)<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th style=\"width: 231.84px\">Levels of Organizational Culture<\/th>\r\n<th style=\"width: 817.396px\">Manifested through<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"width: 231.84px\">1. Superstructural\/ideological<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 817.396px\">Acceptance of dominant national economic regimes. Reactions to social and economic change.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"width: 231.84px\">2. Symbolic (Artifacts)<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 817.396px\">Corporate logos, uniforms, rituals, stories, events, \"heroes,\" posters, buildings, layout, purported organizational structure.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"width: 231.84px\">3. Discursive (Values)<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 817.396px\">Buzzwords and phrases, renaming roles\/unites, \"culture change,\" values and culture explicitly espoused by the organization, technical or professional norms and rules. Rules imposed by the organization.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"width: 231.84px\">4. Affective and cognitive (Underlying assumptions)<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 817.396px\">Workers\u2019 sense of identity, attitudes towards and feelings about the manifestations of levels 1\u20133, trust in organizations\u2019 espoused versions of 2\u20133, understanding of the \"reality\" of working in the organization. Tacit knowledge of how things work.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\nAs you can see, Granter argues there is an even broader version of culture than that of artifacts. According to Granter, the super-structural level takes into account social and economic change and the influence they have on the entire organizational cultural pyramid. Both Schein and Granter present a new level of complexity to organizational culture and help to explain its intricacies and inner workings.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>PRactice Question<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/50f5f95d-8544-4a1b-ba7d-25d02af4fcb0\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>References<\/h2>\r\nGranter, E. (2019). <em>Managing Culture at Work<\/em>. Manuscript submitted for publication.","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning outcomes<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Describe the levels of organizational culture<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Edgar Schein presented three levels of organization in his 1991 article, \u201cWhat is Culture?\u201d He grouped organizational culture into three levels including artifacts, values, and underlying assumptions. Watch the video below to learn more about Schein and his interpretation of organizational culture.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-1\" title=\"Organizational Culture Edgar Schein\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wd1bsxWeM6Q?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>To recap, Schein created three levels of organizational culture. First, at the top of the pyramid are artifacts. While they have been defined as the visible part of an iceberg, they are hard to decipher. Artifacts include organizational structures and processes that are apparent and visible. Right below the top of the iceberg, in the middle of his cultural pyramid is the values level. Values include the \u201cwhy\u201d behind why a company operates the way they do. It includes company goals, strategies and philosophies that drive a company\u2019s mission. Finally, the level that is the hardest to understand is the bottom of the pyramid which Schein labels \u201cunderlying assumptions.\u201d These underlying assumptions create the foundation for the values and artifacts levels. They take time and energy to fully decipher and understand and include thoughts, beliefs and perceptions that establish culture (Organizational Communication Channel, 2017).<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, Granter used Schein\u2019s pyramid idea and added a level above the artifacts level. Here is a breakdown of his interpretation of the organizational culture pyramids:<\/p>\n<div>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"width: 1061.84px\" colspan=\"2\">Table 1. Levels of organizational culture (Source: Granter, 2019)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"width: 231.84px\">Levels of Organizational Culture<\/th>\n<th style=\"width: 817.396px\">Manifested through<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 231.84px\">1. Superstructural\/ideological<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 817.396px\">Acceptance of dominant national economic regimes. Reactions to social and economic change.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 231.84px\">2. Symbolic (Artifacts)<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 817.396px\">Corporate logos, uniforms, rituals, stories, events, &#8220;heroes,&#8221; posters, buildings, layout, purported organizational structure.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 231.84px\">3. Discursive (Values)<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 817.396px\">Buzzwords and phrases, renaming roles\/unites, &#8220;culture change,&#8221; values and culture explicitly espoused by the organization, technical or professional norms and rules. Rules imposed by the organization.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 231.84px\">4. Affective and cognitive (Underlying assumptions)<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 817.396px\">Workers\u2019 sense of identity, attitudes towards and feelings about the manifestations of levels 1\u20133, trust in organizations\u2019 espoused versions of 2\u20133, understanding of the &#8220;reality&#8221; of working in the organization. Tacit knowledge of how things work.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>As you can see, Granter argues there is an even broader version of culture than that of artifacts. According to Granter, the super-structural level takes into account social and economic change and the influence they have on the entire organizational cultural pyramid. Both Schein and Granter present a new level of complexity to organizational culture and help to explain its intricacies and inner workings.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>PRactice Question<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_50f5f95d-8544-4a1b-ba7d-25d02af4fcb0\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/50f5f95d-8544-4a1b-ba7d-25d02af4fcb0?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_50f5f95d-8544-4a1b-ba7d-25d02af4fcb0\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>References<\/h2>\n<p>Granter, E. (2019). <em>Managing Culture at Work<\/em>. Manuscript submitted for publication.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-815\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Levels of Organizational Culture. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Freedom Learning Group. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">All rights reserved content<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Organizational Culture Edgar Schein. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Organizational Communication Channel. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/wd1bsxWeM6Q\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/wd1bsxWeM6Q<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em>All Rights Reserved<\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Standard YouTube License<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":17,"menu_order":4,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Levels of Organizational Culture\",\"author\":\"Freedom Learning Group\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"copyrighted_video\",\"description\":\"Organizational Culture Edgar Schein\",\"author\":\"Organizational Communication Channel\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/wd1bsxWeM6Q\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"arr\",\"license_terms\":\"Standard YouTube License\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"64881184-1d03-4c1e-aec2-36b7cb8664de, 928c471d-6ef4-4584-acb2-ea6034e6f6fa","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-815","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":26,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2223,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/815\/revisions\/2223"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/26"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/815\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=815"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=815"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}