What is dominant culture in organization?

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What is Dominant Culture?

At Be the Change Consulting, we define dominant culture as the practices and beliefs that form the blueprint for behavior. Inside an organization, the dominant culture sends messages to team members about what is important, valued, and rewarded. These messages can be shared explicitly and directly or implicitly in ways that are implied. Creating intentional culture that is clearly expressed and reinforced in a variety of ways is an important step toward building equity and inclusion.

Have you ever heard these phrases at work?

• “Let’s be professional.”
• “That wasn’t respectful.”
• “Please be appropriate.”

Let’s think critically about these for a moment. What ideas come to mind when we hear these common statements? Who defined the expectations for what is considered “professional,” “respectful” or “appropriate?” When and where did we agree to these definitions?

When asked to reflect on what these common terms mean, different people have different opinions. , So the expectations about what it means to behave in a professional or appropriate way change depending on who you ask. In this way, our organizations are held together by agreements that are often invisible. , If the majority of leaders who make the invisible rules are white, male, cisgendered or hold other identities aligned with dominant culture, than there is often a negative impact for those holding non-dominant identities. Dominant culture, as created by those whose identities are most often centered, can be really hard to see or define. Like oxygen, it can become invisible even though we interact with it all the time.

Why Dominant Beliefs are Often Invisible

Here is a metaphor we use with clients. Imagine you are walking down the street, and a bus comes barreling down and hits you. Now imagine you are laying in the street, bleeding, and the bus driver comes up to you and says “what are you doing down there?” And you say “You hit me with your bus!”. And the bus driver says “No I didn’t, what are you talking about? When? Where? Prove it!” Now the person laying on the ground has to both attend to their wounded body, experience the frustration caused by this bus driver, and figure out how to describe something that was so visceral and painful to them, but completely invisible to the bus driver. That is a huge labor.

This is what happens when bodies of culture (Black-identified, Indigenous, or Non-Black people of color) are hit by dominant culture. Deep harm is caused and the people, systems and ideas that inflicted the pain cannot even see it.

The bus driver, from their vantage point, can’t see what’s going on down on the street, or maybe never walks anywhere, so doesn’t even know what the dangers to pedestrians are. But the people walking around on the street know all too well the dangers of the bus, and the powerful ignorance most bus drivers are operating with.

If this example is not resonating for you, you might be more like the bus driver in this example than the pedestrian. You might try sharing this metaphor with three people – perhaps a woman, a Black-identified professional, or anyone who identifies as neurodiverse, and see what they say. Their answers will be a wonderful gift of insight from another perspective.

Our favorite tool to make the aspects of dominant culture more visible is an article called White Supremacy Culture, produced by Dismantling Racism.

This article describes fifteen practices that are the root cause of most problems at work. Organizations are often eager to learn more about how these problems stem from a white supremacy belief system and what to do about it. The article describes dominant culture practices like Right to Comfort, Paternalism and Sense of Urgency. Reading them often gives organizational leaders very concrete examples to take in and get curious about.

Why Common Language is Critical for Antiracism Work

Without intentional language for the behaviors of white supremacy culture,, we have more busses driving out of control, and bus drivers that are unaware of the harm they cause Those of us who have been hit by a bus know that we’ll be expected to describe the accident and educate the one who harmed us. This is exhausting, builds resentment and distrust. Establishing a common language before a conflict, or “bus accident” occurs however, gets us all on the same page. We become equally responsible for ensuring our workplace is equitable and inclusive for all people. The common language we use around antiracism work, bridges the gap across places where we don’t have common experiences.

By giving language to our bus drivers, we can allow everyone in an organization, regardless of identity or position, to explore where dominant culture shows up. We can all hold the labor of naming and taming them together. Wouldn’t that be a relief?

Building Shame Resilience When Dominant Culture is Named

The work of visibilizing dominant culture in our organizations is bound to bring up guilt and shame for those who have positional or identity-based privilege. If we stay curious and open to learning, we will quickly realize many ways that privilege benefits us. , We’ll see the disproportionate impact on our teams, society, and the world at large. As an organizational leader myself, I often struggle to take in the learning, even when there is evidence of dominant culture practices at work.. I sometimes feel exhausted and embarrassed to get feedback around my own lack of awareness- there is so much to learn and unlearn! And the more I do this work, the more I realize that I can move from the heavy weight of embarrassment or shame into an empowered place. I can remind myself of the commitment to do better and not give up. I can breathe through big feelings that come up and build my tolerance for feeling uncomfortable. The more I practice listening to how I can do better, the more I am able to take action and shift my behaviors.

How Privilege Makes it Hard to See the Harm We Cause

From time to time, we are asked to explain why we are using the research. A participant in a training will ask, “Where is this article from? Why are you using it and not something else?” To understand this work will require all of us to grapple with the content. We’re all learners here, engaging our critical minds and there is space to push back or ask questions to better understand the information..

For everyone in an identity that mirrors dominant culture – white people, cis-gendered men, able-bodied folks, those who speak English as a first language, or identify as part of the gender binary, etcetera… we can add our privileged identities in front of the questions we ask, so that we take responsibility for what we aren’t seeing. In those moments, we are driving the bus. And someone from the street is likely doing the labor to explain it to us. Part of making dominant culture visible, is making this kind of labor visible as well

Here is what I mean: Notice what happens when you hear this question: “As a white man, I would love to understand why visibilizing dominant culture is so impactful to antiracism work?” Can you feel the difference? As a woman of color, I definitely do! I want to know YOU know that you’re driving the bus.

The struggle to understand all of this is a productive struggle. Don’t give up!

Chapter 18: Organizational Culture

What are you expected to learn?

• Describe institutionalization and its relationship to organizational culture
• Define the common characteristics making up organizational culture
• Contrast strong and weak cultures
• Identify the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on people and the organization
• Explain the factors determining an organization’s culture
• List the factors that maintain an organization’s culture
• Clarify how culture is transmitted to employees
• Outline the various socialization alternatives available to management
• Describe a customer-responsive culture
• Identify characteristics of a spiritual culture

What is Institutionalization? What is Organizational Culture?

Institutionalization = when an organization takes on a life of its own, apart from any of its members, and acquires immortality.  The org is valued for itself, not just for what it produces or sells.  (Ex: Disney, McDonalds, Sony)

Organizational culture = A system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations.

Key Characteristics of an Organizational Culture:

• Innovation and risk taking. The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks.
• Attention to detail. The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail.
• Outcome orientation. The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on technique and process.
• People orientation. The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization.
• Team orientation. The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals.
• Aggressiveness.  The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing.
• Stability.  The degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth.

*Culture is a descriptive term, that is, it is not evaluative. Organizational culture is concerned with how the characteristics of the company/organization are perceived – NOT if they are liked or disliked.*  It is not about job satisfaction.

Do Organizations Have Uniform Cultures?

Organizational culture represents a common perception held by the organization members.

• Dominant culture expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organization’s members.
• Subcultures are “minicultures” which tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common problems, situations, or experiences. These usually are defined by department or geographical separations.
• Core Values or dominant (primary) values are accepted throughout the organization.

Strong vs. Weak Cultures

            Strong = cultures in which the core values are intensely held and widely shared

Culture vs. Formalization

·        Often, rules and regulations re: performance are transmitted through culture – they do NOT need to be formally (explicitly) written in order to function.  Thus, culture can act like formalization in some ways.

Org Culture vs. National Culture

·        National culture has more influence on employees than org culture – so, for multinational orgs, the goal could be to hire applicants who fit the organizational (dominant) culture

What do Cultures “Do”?.....Culture’s Functions

Culture is the social glue that helps hold an organization together by providing appropriate standards for what employees should say or do.

·        It has a boundary-defining role.

·        It conveys a sense of identity for organization members.

·        It facilitates the generation of commitment to something larger than one’s individual self-interest.

·        It enhances social system stability.

·        It serves as a "sense-making" and control mechanism that guides and shapes the attitudes and behavior of employees.

Culture as a Liability

·        Barrier to change

·        Barrier to diversity

·        Barrier to acquisitions and mergers

Creating & Sustaining Culture

• How a culture begins: founders, vision set the pace. First – hire and keep employees who match the vision – then socialize individuals – then the founders’ behavior acts as a role model and the “personality” of the organization (ex: David Packard of Hewlett-Packard, Bill Gates of Microsoft, Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, Mary Kay of Mary Kay Cosmetics, etc)
• How to keep it alive?: There are many ways…First, it’s reflected and sustained via HR policies – selection (after minimum qualifications are established, then hire for “fit”), perf evaluations, training and career development, promotions, reward those who support culture, remove those who do not. Next, top management behavior exemplifies culture (norms filter down – is risk taking desirable? How much freedom do managers give employees to make decisions? What should we wear to work? What behaviors get rewarded and lead to promotions?, etc). Finally, socialization methods (the process that adapts employees to the organization’s culture) are key (pre-arrival, encounter, metamorphosis stages).

How Employees Learn Culture

• Stories – (ex. Nordstrom and car tires, Microsoft and “calling in rich”, and Krispy Kreme’s “minister of culture”)
• Rituals – repetitive sequence of activities expressing and reinforcing key values (ex. Getting tenure, Mary Kay cosmetics annual award meeting)
• Material Symbols – convey to employees what is important, who holds power and what kinds of behavior are appropriate (ex. Limousines, jets, offices, dress)
• Language – identifies members of cultures or subcultures, if used by all then it’s accepted and preserved (ex. Slang used by companies like Boeing)

Matching People With Cultures

• Sociability (friendliness) and solidarity (task orientation) dimensions can be used to understand different “types” of culture: networked, mercenary, fragmented or communal.   Note: Recall the managerial grid???

Creating an Ethical Organizational Culture

• Be a visable role model
• Communicate ethical expectations
• Provide ethical training
• Visibly reward ethical acts and punish ethical ones
• Provide protective mechanisms

Creating a Customer-Responsive Culture

• Select “customer” focused individuals
• Use a structure with a low level of formalization (flexibility to deal w/customers)
• Use empowerment
• Use good listening skills
• Role clarity
• Display “helping” or Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)

Spirituality and Organizational Culture

Workplace spirituality:          The recognition that people have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the context of community. Ex) strong sense of purpose, individual development, trust and openness, employee empowerment, tolerance of expression.

Summary and Implications for Managers

• Employees form an overall subjective perception of the organization based on such factors as degree of risk tolerance, team emphasis, and support of people.
• This overall perception becomes, in effect, the organization’s culture or personality.
• These favorable or unfavorable perceptions then affect employee performance and satisfaction, with the impact being greater for stronger cultures.
• Just as people’s personalities tend to be stable over time, so too do strong cultures. This makes strong cultures difficult for managers to change.
• One of the more important managerial implications of organizational culture relates to selection decisions.  Hiring individuals whose values don't align with those of the organization is not effective for long term objectives.
• An employee's performance depends to a considerable degree on knowing what he should or should not do – socialization provides much of this type of information