If you are to be successful in making the character of your corporation a source of competitive advantage, you need to start by accurately positioning your organization, division, or team within the Double S model. Once you locate where you are, you can make an informed decision about whether you need to reposition it. How you might reposition is discussed in chapter 8. How you personally can be successful in each quadrant of the Double S Model is dealt with in the chapters that describe the four "characters" in more detail. In the following pages we present four tools that can help you to assess the character of your organization.
The first is an observational checklist. We sort the four main cultural types by how physical space is set up, how people communicate with one another, how time is used, and how people express their personal identities.
The second tool is a straightforward questionnaire that asks you to consider twenty-three statements about your organization and mark how strongly you agree.
The third tool takes the result of the second—which is the identification of your cultural type—and tests to see if it is in the positive or negative form.
Finally, the fourth tool presents ten scenarios for each culture, for which you must identify how people would react in your organization. The results of this exercise will further confirm if you have correctly identified your culture and its balance of positive and negative behaviors.
Before you start this process, we should be clear that because human relationships are complex—and thus levels of sociability and solidarity complicated to pinpoint—it won't always be easy to precisely diagnose your culture. That is why we offer four tests instead of one. We urge you to take all of them before coming to a conclusion about your culture.
In addition, it may be necessary to apply these four tools to all the cultures in which you operate—you may need to take the tests once to evaluate your team, again to evaluate your division, and even a third time to assess the culture of your entire organization. Much depends on the size, complexity, and strength of your culture.
For each area of observation, consider the questions on the left- hand page and then find the answers that best match yours in the quadrants on the right-hand page.
Physical Space
Think about the space occupied by the group you are evaluating. Is it shared? Who is it shared between? Do people defend their space? Culture can be read in evaluating the ways that people carve out territories for themselves. Are there plants growing extravagantly on desks in an open-plan area? Are doors firmly closed? Do departments ''police" their boundaries with gatekeepers and ferocious secretaries? Is security conspicuously present in your building?
Space often tells you something about status, power, and connections. Consider too who gets the most space. And how precisely is that space allocated? Think about your office space and other areas like the dining rooms, social clubs, and parking lots (if there even are any). Who gets the room with a view?
Next think about the way people decorate their space. In some offices the walls are bare, in others there are family pictures, Post-it notes, certificates of professional achievement, sales prices, photographs with the managing director. All of these items tell you about an individual's connection to the organization.
Main entrances are often rich in clues. Think about yours. Is the corporate logo everywhere? Are there grandiose reception desks and expensive paintings adorning the walls? Are the floors expensive marble? Are there spaces to sit? Do people move through busily, or stop to chat? Are your products on display? Is there a big difference in physical space between head office and the operating units or factories?
Finally, think about the functionality of the space. Is everything used for work-related activities? Or is there space allocated for social events, such as coffee rooms or gardens? Are there open-plan designs or flexible use of desk space ("hot-desking")? Where? Who instituted these new designs?
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Physical Space |
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Networked Office doors are open or unlocked; people move freely into and out of each other's rooms. Offices may be decorated with pictures of family, postcards, car¬ toons, humorous notes/pictures of col¬ leagues. Large allocations of space are for social activity: bars, coffee lounges, sporting facilities, etc. "Privileged" space (larger offices; car parking) is linked to the formal hierarchy but there are also "deals" favoring some rather than oth¬ ers. There may be corporate logos but in negatively networked organizations these may be a source of amusement. Similarly, different territories within a building may be decorated and de¬ fended in ways that set them apart from others; the marketing department may become effectively a "no-go" zone for the finance people and vice versa. Out¬ siders are likely to be spotted—they will knock on doors before they enter; will be dressed differently, etc. |
Mercenary Space is allocated "functionally"—in ways that help to get the job done. Open- plan or flexible desk use is possible—but in order to assist with simple, efficient, and cost-effective methods of means of task achievement, not "chatting." Unin¬ vited visitors /people that drop by are likely to be shooed away if someone is busy. Little space is wasted in work areas, although entrances may be de¬ signed to underline fearsome reputation. Office decorations may be dominated by awards, recognitions of achievement, etc. Space allocation is linked to achieve¬ ment and there are no favors in the car park; indeed, the priority may be the customer. |
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Fragmented Space is designed to help individuals work without interruption. Office doors are closed and offices are well equipped so that employees are effectively self- contained. Much of the time these offices may be empty (people are on the road; working from home; at a conference, etc.) but it is hard to tell if they are there or not. Some individuals may make their elusiveness a trademark (a common joke in this context: "What's the difference between Jo and God? God is every¬ where; Jo is everywhere but here!") In the "virtual/fragmented" organization there is very little corporate space— work is conducted from home, the car, etc. > |
Communal Much space is shared either formally (open plan) or informally (lots of move¬ ment in and out of offices). It may some¬ times be difficult to determine whose office you are in, and there are few barri¬ ers between departments or functions. There are unlikely to be big differences in space allocation between people. For¬ mal social facilities are supported by ex¬ tensive informal socializing; food and drink spread into "work" space. The cor¬ porate logo is everywhere; office decora¬ tion will improvise around, extend, or adapt the language of the company val¬ ues, mission, or credo. |
Communication
Now let's turn to the way people communicate. How do people prefer to exchange ideas and information—E-mail, phone, fax? How much time do people spend talking face-to-face? Walk into some businesses and you are overwhelmed by the rich buzz of conversation, and in others there is deathly silence. We know some corporations where you would not think of sending a memo without copying it to at least half a dozen others. On the other hand, many businesses have made a point of the ritual bonfire of unnecessary paper.
Think about just how easy it is to get ahold of others in your organization. Does hierarchy or function get in the way of effective communication? Or is it simply a matter of busy schedules? Do people deliberately make themselves unavailable—including you? In some organizations you may have experienced the infuriating feeling of speaking to five answering machines before you hear a human voice.
As organizations globalize, distance increasingly affects how people communicate.
How does your organization cope with communication across geographical and cultural distance? Does your organization recognize this as a challenge?
Finally, when people meet and talk face-to-face, is it in groups or primarily one-to-one? And are these formal meetings, or do they just happen around the coffee machine? Who is involved in the meetings—is it insiders only, or might customers and suppliers be involved?
Imagine a picture of your communication network. Who are the main players; and who is not in it?
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Communication |
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Networked There is a lot of talk. Although there are for¬ mal hierarchies and processes, much com¬ munication takes place around the formal systems in face-to-face conversation, on the phone, in "meetings before meetings." Paper-based documents may be annotated by hand before being passed on to some oth¬ ers in the network. E-mail may be used to gossip. In highly politicized networked cul¬ tures papers may be copied routinely to key players. Skillfully managed, the networks span the business and assist integration, but often cliques and factions form around func¬ tions, levels, businesses, or countries, which impedes communication. On the other hand, because there is a lot of talk, there is the pos¬ sibility of rapid information exchange and in¬ creased creativity. Considerable attention may be paid to communicating in the "right" way; to style, manner, and presentation rather than content. |
Mercenary Communication is swift, direct, and work- focused. Terse memos and data-laden re¬ ports leave little room for "idle" conversa¬ tion. Conflicts are unlikely to be resolved by gentlemen's agreement; face-to-face con¬ frontation or legalistic dueling (speak to my lawyer) are more common. Communication across boundaries (hierarchy, geography, etc.) is expected and accepted if it is task- focused. Meetings are businesslike—well planned and with a premium on actionable outcomes. The expression of personal prob¬ lems is discouraged. |
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Fragmented Talk is limited to brief one-to-one exchanges in the corridor or on the phone. Meetings are resisted (what's the point?, difficult to arrange, hard to manage for any length of time without boredom, acrimony, or people simply walking out). Individuals will talk only to those who are "worth" talking to (to get rid of a problem; to pick their brains; to ask for resources); otherwise the deal is "I leave you alone if you leave me alone." Key individuals may be difficult to find, even within your own department. Documents may replace talk but there is no guarantee that they will be read. Much communication is directed outside the organization—to clients and professional peers. |
Communal There is communication in every channel, but oral, face-to-face methods are likely to dominate. Nonverbal communication is, nevertheless, important; dress, color, and symbolism may all help individuals to feel close to others. Communication flows easily inside between levels, departments, and across national cultures (the cult encom¬ passes all), but outsiders may feel excluded. Talk is littered with the private company lan¬ guage reaffirming the bonds between "us" and the difference from "them." It is difficult not to talk, and there are few secrets—private or professional. Guilt and shame are used to correct "closed" behavior. |
Time
The third important area to observe is how people manage their time. How long do people stay at work? Are long hours the norm; and if they are, who feels comfortable leaving first? Is it OK to leave before the boss? How carefully does your company measure time at work? Some businesses have made a point of abolishing clocking in, while yet others have extended it to all employees, including top executives.
When do you know you are wasting your time? Does someone have to tell you? How long does it take before you are “found out"? If you go for a drink with your team, is this considered a waste of time?
How long do people stay in their jobs? And how long do you expect them to stay? In some organizations, you regard everyone as potentially transient; in others the new arrival is regarded very quickly as a potential lifer.
Think too about how long it takes to get to know someone in your organization. Are people quickly open about their personal lives, or do you have colleagues of several years' standing whose family situations you still do not know? When you get transferred to another office, does your network of previous social contacts help you to gain friends quickly?
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Time |
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Networked People use work time to socialize—and they are not penalized for doing so. To some extent, the reverse applies—"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." In addition, social activities are often extensions to the working day. This may make the "working day" long but some part of it may be in the bar, on the golf course, or at the social club. People get to know each other quickly, and many have known each other for a long time. |
Mercenary Long hours are the norm, although it is acceptable to leave once the job is done. This is clearly signaled, since time and performance measures are explicit. Pri¬ vate time is precious and, where possi¬ ble, protected (it is what's left if you don't cut it at work). It takes a long time to know people other than in their work roles; "idle chat" is regarded as a waste of time. |
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Fragmented People go to the office only when they need to; absence is the norm. Achieve¬ ment, not time, is the measure (and the achievements may take a long time to deliver). Most time is devoted to the pursuit of individual professional and technical excellence; anything that inter¬ feres with this—colleagues, administra¬ tive chores, even clients/customers— can be considered a waste of time. It is possible for individuals to work "to¬ gether" for many years without know¬ ing each other (a common gaffe is for colleagues to reveal their ignorance of each other in front of clients at, admit¬ tedly rare, social events). Careful time management is a key skill—often involv¬ ing complex schedule control. |
Communal People live at work; professional life is so engaging that "conventional" time is ignored. Work and nonwork life dissolve into one; even when at home work can be a preoccupation. Close working rela¬ tionships may be reflected in friendship groups, marriage, affairs, etc. Work be¬ comes a way of life; social activity that is disconnected from professional interests may be regarded as a waste of time (work is relaxation and vice versa). |
Identity
Let's look finally at how people express their personal identifies. This is perhaps the most difficult area of all to get a feel for, and you will need all of your observational skills to tease out all the subtleties. Do people try to look alike with common dress codes and manners of speech? At Pepsi-Cola, there is even a phrase, "Pepsi Pretty," which refers to a strongly accepted code for personal appearance and dress code. Is there only one way to present yourself? Or does the culture encourage expressions of individuality?
Within the organization, do people identify with their team, their function, their division, the whole organization, their profession, their trade union, or perhaps with their customers?
For example: Professionals often see themselves as lawyers or CPAs first, and employees of a particular firm second. Sometimes you will find groups that bind themselves together through opposition to the dominant culture: This is often expressed in a business unit or team uniting in opposition to the corporate office.
When people identify with the organization, what is it that they are identifying with? Is it their colleagues? The vision and values of organization, its traditions? The strategic intent? Or is it with being part of the best marketing or sales team? Is it winning that binds them to the organization? And how all-encompassing is this identification? Can you imagine a life without the business, or are you the latter-day equivalent of the organization man?
Think about what happens when people leave your organization. Is it honored by a celebration? Do those who leave still see themselves as part of the family? Do they spend their time promoting the company's products with their next employers or their friends and neighbors? Do people who leave ever return, or do they disappear without trace? Is there a thriving retirees club?
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Identity |
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Networked People identify with each other; close ties of sociability heighten feelings of similarity as individuals. Differences are understated and if expressed at all they are seen in subtle variations of dress code or speech patterns. Excessive dis¬ plays of personal difference are resisted, and some store is set in long-established social rituals that tie people in even after they have left (social clubs, pensioners associations, alumni associations). Per¬ sonal loyalties persist; although in some contexts the company may be criticized, this is often manifested in dark humor— because it's a little like criticizing your¬ self. |
Mercenary People identify with winning. Although norms of behavior emerge here as any¬ where, differences between individuals are acceptable and encouraged if they assist in achieving the result. What draws people together are shared experi¬ ences, goals, and interests rather than shared sentiments or feelings. Ulti¬ mately, attachments are instrumental— the enemy may eventually be the next employer if it suits personal interests. There is no shame in shifting allegiance or ruthlessly exploiting knowledge of business weaknesses once employees move on. |
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Fragmented People identify with values of individu¬ alism and freedom; with personal tech¬ nical excellence; with organizations that minimize interference. There are signifi¬ cant personal differences between indi¬ viduals, but these are unlikely to impede achievement (there are low levels of in¬ terdependence), and they confirm values of freedom. Allegiance will be profes¬ sional rather than organizational. Private lives are often a mystery; frequently a strong compensation for the loneliness of working in the fragmented. |
Communal People identify with the values and mis¬ sion of their company. The credo is lived; the words are played out, enacted, de¬ bated, applied, developed. Work be¬ comes a way of life. Logos, symbols, war cries abound. Excessive identification (combined with a track record of suc¬ cess) can lead to a loss of perspective, in¬ tolerance of criticism, and complacency. The company attracts fierce loyalty. When individuals leave they continue to be supporters. Indeed, their fervent identification can be disabling in their subsequent careers. Work identity is car¬ ried over into private life—logos on clothes, trying out company products at home, visiting company stores on week¬ ends, etc. |