What can Business Psychology do to map and measure Organisation Culture?

A presentation for the

Association of Business Psychologists22nd September 2003

by

Dr. Jeremy J. Ridge BSc MSc PhD CPsycholjeremyridge@mac.com

2

Contents

1. Introduction - Aims & scope 4• Why Understand Organisation Culture 5• Measuring Organisation Culture 6• Business needs override 7

2. An Outline of Five essential Building Blocks 8 2.1Theory can identify Organisation Behaviours 9

• Basic TYPES of Organisation Behaviour 10• Behaviours with either a positive or negative value 11-12• Overall matrix of Organisation Behaviours

13• 2.2 Psychology can provide key methodology

• Building the data base 14

• 2.1 Data Management• Compile data & outputs 15• Interpretation & use of data 16

3

Contents - continued3. Value and usefulness

• Practical value for people in organisations 17• Value for Business 18• Value for Psychology 19• Conclusions 20

• 4. Some illustrations• Examples - Basic Types of Organisation Behaviours 21• Examples - Behaviours with different values for the Organisation 22• Organisation Outputs Case Example 1 - Organisation Outputs 23 • Example Corporate Level Output 24• Organisation Outputs Case Example 2 - Team Outputs: 25• Example - Organisation Map; the Team in Context 26• Example Team Output 27• Organisation Outputs Case Example 3 - Individual Output 28• Example Individual Output 29

4

Aims and Format for this session

Aims: • To outline how Business based Management

Theory and the formal scientific approaches of Psychology can combine to produce new practical approaches to important issues such as Organisation Culture.

• Illustrate this approach with reference to one particular framework

Format: • Short presentation followed by a more open

discussion and debate of the issues involved

5

What is so important about understanding Organisation Culture?

• Many people focussed initiatives focus on the content of the method/process involved, but rarely the culture they must influence or become part of

• If you want to get a leopard to change its spots ….. you have to understand why the leopard got the spots in the first place

• The Holy Grail - is it possible to define the ideal Organisation Culture?

6

So why is it difficult to map or measure Organisation Culture?

• Especially as you will hear it freely described at any

coffee point or pub!

• Even defining Culture has many forms• The way we do things, here

• All the good scientific reasons• removing subjective bias.

• methods of even identifying behaviours are still limited

• And measuring highly complex behaviour patterns and the dynamics

often involved are even more complex.

7

The Business Needs Override

• If an issue is important enough, then Business will search for a way - Management Theory has had to venture where scientific psychology has feared to tread

• In recent decades tremendous interest in what makes an organisation work better

• An emerging synthesis of what is involved in an organisation being effective

• This synthesis is also emerging at a level of description of the behaviours involved

• Management Behaviour can be seen as a critical determinant of Organisation Culture.

8

An Outline of 5 essential building blocks for measuring Organisation Culture

Any approach to measuring Organisation Culture must:1. Focus on Behaviour as the key to culture2. Focus on the particular set of Behaviours used in

Organisations3. Be able to identify the behaviours used by an

organisation as a whole entity4. Be able to identify how different parts of the

organisation behave in relation to the whole5. Provide clear practical indications of what behaviours

could make a positive difference to the way the Organisation Culture works

9

Using Management Theory to build an approach

Management Theory can help to identify the range and type of measurable Organisation Behaviours that can demonstrate Organisation Culture:

• The behaviours needed for any organisation to function as a whole in its context

• The behaviours needed for any organisation to function as a single entity

• Behaviours used across all parts of any organisation• Behaviours that are the most important

10

Identifying the range and type of Organisation Behaviours

• Extensive research and commentary in Management Theory produces many perspectives

• One approach is used here to illustrate an approach to the problem

• All Organisation Behaviours are made up of three different types of Behaviour:

• Personal - I do things directly through my own behaviour

• People - I use behaviours that get other people to do things

• Process - I use behaviours dictated by systems and processes

11

Identifying the range and type of Organisation Behaviours

• Identifying Behaviours which have a positive value in the way they contribute to business effectiveness

• Simple models of patterns of issues businesses face - through growth and maturity cycle

• Common sense descriptions of what matters for the business in different circumstances

- Leadership - revise the business model

- Management - stick to the business model

• There is a great deal of research available on the different behaviours that matter to both

12

Identifying the range and type of Organisation Behaviours

• Identifying Behaviours which are used but which have a negative value

• Identifying behaviours with at best a neutral or even negative effect on the functioning of the Organisation Culture, and thus undermine the effectiveness of the Business

• These are termed Wasted Behaviours

The final Matrix of Organisation behaviour that measures Organisation Culture

PERSONAL PEOPLE PROCESS

LEADERSHIP

BEHAVIOUR

Leadership through

personal, direct action

Leadership through empowering and coaching other people

Leadership through strategy, and supporting processes

MANAGEMENT

BEHAVIOUR

Management through personal, direct action

Management through ensuring people have the support they need

Management through existing processes and procedures

WASTED BEHAVIOUR Frustration, punishing, driving

Pacifying, giving in to others

Avoiding conflict with existing strutures

14

Using Psychology to build an approach: Building the data base

• Design and test a survey instrument that operates with standards of reliability and validity to measure what people do - or the behaviours they use

• Use the standards indicated by what people believe they do and avoid doing to be effective as the Norm base / benchmark

15

Using Psychology to build an approach: Compiling data and outputs

• Individual surveys are compiled to provide a rich source of data

• Individual/Team/Department/Organisation wide profiles are compiled

• Individual /Team/Department/Organisation wide profiles are compared with the data base

16

Using Psychology to build an approach: Interpreting and using the Profiles/data

• The Profiles provide clear descriptions of what is happening - as patterns of behaviour - as well as the numbers!

• The reports can be highly intuitive and enable immediate understanding

• The model provides clear understanding of the behaviour options people have in practical terms

17

Value and Usefulness - Practical value for people in organisations

• The immense value of using behaviours that people in organisations recognise they use

• The attraction of a simple but powerful range of concepts to outline Organisation Behaviour

• The emphasis on both the behaviours that matter most and Role Behaviours ( the behaviours needed to function

as an organisation )

18

What value does this approach have for business?

• It is a framework that works for senior management

• It is a framework that identifies difficult organisational issues in practical terms

• It is a framework that identifies role issues for people

• People accept that behaviour is a choice

19

What value does this approach have for Psychology?

• Is this heresy? Where’s the factor analysis!

• What standards of Psychological Methods are used to provide rigour

• The ultimate test- does it work?

20

Conclusions

• People still have to learn new behaviours

• The picture is merely data

• The next steps often involve a consultancy process which is a different story!

21

Examples of Behaviours- Basic Types of Organisation Behaviours

• Personal: I prefer to always be personally involved in matters that directly concern me

• People: I always work to get other people to deal with as much as possible - even where it directly concerns me

• Process: I like to get it clear who needs to be involved with what information before we start working on an issue.

22

Examples of Behaviours- with different values for the Organisation

• I try to get as much information as possible to people.

• I always ensure people have the information they need.

• I discourage people from having too much information

23

Organisation Outputs Case Example 1 - Corporate level Outputs:

Helping a Public Sector Body benchmark its organisation culture.

• Pressure from Government for modernisation• Focus on effectiveness of public sector

organisations• Opportunity to benchmark current practices• Opportunity to identify practical issues• Opportunity to identify practical changes to make

Example Corporate Output

Overall Balance of Behaviours

Leadership

Management

Wasted

40%

19%

41%

25

Organisation Outputs Case Example 2 - Team Outputs:

Helping a Multi-national Global Business Unit leadership team review its functioning and role within the overall business

• The BU had a significant entrepreneurial history and heritage in its previous success

• It needed to review how it needed to operate as an organisation in future, for reasons for changes in its market, as well as growing scale of its operations

• It needed to review its role within the overall business as well. It was increasingly important to work strategically and operationally in collaboration with other BU’s

• The leadership team wanted to know whether and how they were part of the problem, and understand where other parts of the organisation may face similar issues.

Example Output - Team in Organisational Context

Company (134)

Prod (27) S/Mktg (28) Finance (34) HR (17) Legal (5) IT (23)

Design (5) Engr (8) Manuf (14) Comms (8) Netwk (7) Support (8)

Sales (12) Merch (9) Proms (7) CoBen (6) RecRet (7) TrgDev (4)

Payrl (8) Cost (11) RecPay (10) Treas (5)

45 42

13

44 44

12

47 42

11

43 42

15

43

41

851

46 46

8

41

851 45

35

20

35

5

60

38

50

12

44 50

6

42 43

15

47 47

6

47 44

9

33

46

21

34

47

19

52

37

11

44 46

10

34

2244

48

35

17

38

47

15

43 44

13

41

653

Example Output - Team

IT Director

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Personal People Process Personal People Process Personal People Process

Leadership Management Negative

Marketing Director

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Personal People Process Personal People Process Personal People Process

Leadership Management Negative

Finance Director

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Personal People Process Personal People Process Personal People Process

Leadership Management Negative

MD

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Personal People Process Personal People Process Personal People Process

Leadership Management Negative

Operations Director

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Personal People Process Personal People Process Personal People Process

Leadership Management Wasted

28

Organisation Outputs Case Example 3 - Individual Outputs

Helping Individuals consider their personal behaviour in the way a Corporate Board worked.

• It was agreed there was evidence of major dysfunctional behaviour at Board level

• All agreed there was a need to examine the ways in which each Board member could find better ways of contributing to the way the Board worked

• Confidential individual profiling, and coaching, enabled each Board member to benchmark their own range and effectiveness of behaviour

• Each Board member was able to identify practical ways of adjusting behaviours to enable greater effectiveness in the way the Board worked

Example Output - Individual

Individual Behaviour Profile

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Personal People Process Personal People Process Personal People Process

Leadership Management Wasted