CULTURE

• What is Culture?
EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP • Basic Assumptions
IN EDUCATION • Bonding and Commitment among the members
• Manifestation of Culture
• Culture: result of social interactions
Fr. Alan Scerri
• The complexity of the issue
M.Ed (Educational Leadership) • Tony’s Bush 6 types of models
University of Malta • Need for interpretation.

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• “The socially transmitted pattern of human behaviour How do members adapt to a new culture?
that includes thought, speech, action, institutions and
artefacts.” (New Penguin English Dictionary) • “Culture must be understood not as something
• Culture refers to: static and unchangeable but as an active living
– Shared basic assumptions and ways of doing things that a phenomenon through which people interpret
group has learned during the course of its history that has and give meaning to the world in which they
worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore to
be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive,
live” (Morgan 1978).
think and act.
– Culture has at its foundation a value structure that is Slowly giving way
communicated, shared and enhanced by the members (G. Safeguarding the balance to new interpretations
Morgan ,1978) organisation’s
due to time
core values
– Values are the dominant idea of the business. (A. Campbell, and circumstances
1990)

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• Engagement among the members entail both diversity Moving from periphery to full participation
as well as homogeneity
• this entails not just greater commitment of time, effort
• People of different age groups, different backgrounds
and broader responsibilities but a deeper familiarisation
with different personal aspirations come together to with the culture – an increased sense of identity (lave and
engage in a particular practice within an organisation Wenger, 2002).
(Wenger, 1998).
• It is the stage on which the old and the new, the known a set of basic assumptions
and the unknown…… act out their differences and • As new members move towards full participation they
discover their commonalities (Lave and Wenger, 2002) undergo a process of identification with the culture of
the organisation collaborating in their own way in the
• This gives rise to conflicts and fear of one another and enhancement of the group’s culture. They interact with
the need to discover what is common that will the more experienced members, negotiate new meaning
eventually lead to a collective accord among the and eventually modify or develop new assumptions (
members. Schein, 1992; Wenger, 1998)
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• identification with the culture of the Bonding and commitment among the members.
organisation does not preclude differences
• as people within an organisation construct their history
among the members; nonetheless it may give to they come to share common values, beliefs,
the members “the will to work through their understanding and learning.
differences” (Wenger 1998) • “reality is not something separate from the knowledge
• the more the members accept the core values of its members but it is the result of the active effort
and the greater their commitment towards those and involvement of every individual in collectively
values the stronger the culture is. It becomes a trying to make sense of it” (Lave and Wenger, 2002;
device against which the members can confront Scott, 2004)
themselves with regards to what is appropriate • moving from the periphery to full membership is more
or not, an organisational philosophy members than just a process of learning or greater commitment
of time and responsibility on the part of the new
can adhere to especially in moments of comers. It is a process where what has been established
difficulty. for many years and what is novel come together to
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form a shared history with its hopes and fears. 8

• if the members know what their company stands How does culture manifest itself?
for, if they know which standards they are to • manifestation of culture within organisations highlight
uphold, then they are more likely to feel a certain patterns of behaviour that intrigue the members
in eventually embracing them……. This comes about
stronger sense of belonging as if they are an through traditions, ceremonies, customs and rituals that
important part of the organisation. are meaningful to the members.
• in moving towards full participation newcomers are
• technology and economic resources, given access to mutual engagement with other members
organisational structure, innovation and timing within the organisation, the opportunity to participate
weigh heavily in the success of the basic in their actions and negotiations of the enterprise and
access to the language in use.
philosophy, spirit and drive of an organisation. • by the progressive induction of the individual,
But they are transcended by how strongly the newcomers are integrated into the community, engage
people in the organisation believe in its basic in its practice and eventually, in their own way
perpetuate it (Berger and Luckmann, 1966).
precepts and how faithful they carry them out.
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Culture: result of social interactions The complexity of the issue

• Culture is an active, living phenomenon through which people • “Any realistic approach to organisational analysis must
jointly participate in the creation and recreation of the realities in start from the premise that organisations can be many
which they live – the process of enactment (Morgan, 1997). things at one and the same time” (T. Bush, 1995)
• Members coming into an organisation bring with them their own • Organisational culture is made up of a multiple of
patterns of understanding reality as a result of their prior patterns which vary according to the:
experience….. As the new group is assembled a novel cultural
identity is formed adopting modified or brand new assumptions
¾ size
in its critical areas of its experience. ¾ Structure
• Culture is not an objective, independent existence that imposes ¾ Technology
itself on human beings. It is an active living phenomenon ¾ Leadership
through which people create and recreate their world…… the
“Proactive Process” (Morgan 1998)
¾ the external and internal environment
• This leads us in questioning taken-for-granted assumptions, ¾ the members within the organisation.
raising issues of context and meaning and bringing to the fore • If reality changes as a consequence the frame through
underlying values. which that realty is being interpreted also needs to
undergo change.
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 • each member within the organisation approaches
events with values and assumptions that constitute their T. Bush six models of culture
conceptual modes. It is through these mindsets that
reality is analysed and interpreted.
• the competing spirit among the different models brings • Formal model • Ambiguity model
about the culture which is eventually adopted by the ¾ Structure ¾ Aims and objectives are
organisation. opaque and vague
¾ Set objectives;
• The multiplicity of competing models means that no
single model is sufficient to understand and interpret individuals accorded a ¾ Fragmentation and loose
reality within an organisation. place in the structure coupling characterise the
• therefore the need of a multiplicity of models that will ¾ Leadership at the helm groups within the
allow us to get as much as possible a comprehensive organisation.
picture of reality……. “CONCEPTUAL ¾ Power shared among the
PLURALISM” (Bolman and Deal, 1997) professional
• Different circumstances dictate that different ways of
understanding realty should be applied.
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• Political model • Subjective model • Collegial model • Cultural model

¾ Goals of subunits; conflict ¾ Organisations are social ¾ All members agree on the ¾ Goals and values are the hub
arise as each group promotes constructions – the result of goals and decisions taken of the whole discourse
its goals the interaction of members collegially ¾ Core values determine the
¾ Groups (internal and ¾ Organisations are ¾ Power shared among the vision which is expressed in a
external) may form alliances manifestation of the values members mission statement – an
to press for the adoption of and beliefs of individuals achievable goal to work
¾ A common set of values held
certain policies rather than an established towards
framework constraining the by the members
¾ Leaders are active
behaviour of its members ¾ Aims not imposed but ¾ Leader has the responsibility
participants in the process of
negotiation for decision- ¾ Leader exerts control over emerge as a result of a for sustaining the culture and
making. the members by enunciating participation process communicating its core
institutional policies which values and beliefs both to the
are in line with the personal members and the external
interests of the members. stakeholders.

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Type of models
Elements of Formal Collegial Political Subjective Ambiguity Cultural Links with May be Accountabi Unstable Source of Source of Source of
management environme ‘closed’ or lity blurred external individual uncertainty values and
nt ‘open’ by shared bodies meanings beliefs
Head decision portrayed
Levels at Institutiona Institutiona Subunit Individual Unclear Institutiona accountabl making as interest
which l l l or subnit e groups
goals are
Style of Head Head seeks Head is Problemati May be Symbolic
determined
leadership establishes to promote both c. May be tactical or
Relationshi Set by Agreement Conflict Problemati Unpredicta Based on goals and consensus participant perceived unobtrusiv
p between leader c. May be ble collective initiates and as a form e
goals and imposed by values policy mediator of control
decisions leader
Nature of Rational Collegial Political Personal Garbage Rational
decision can within a
process framework
of values
Nature of Objective Objective Setting for Constructe Problemati Physical
structure reality reality subunit d through c manifestati
hierarchical Lateral conflict human on of
interaction culture 17 18

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 An overarching approach • G. Morgan:
A. Create a “story line” through a diagnostic
• Though each frame offer a different way and a reading of the situation that cast light on the
particular perspective of understanding the key features of the situation. (an open, all-
structure within the organisation, they offer a embracing approach)
partial view of reality. B. Make a critical evaluation of the different
• Each model highlights particular aspects while interpretations resulting from the diagnosis.
others are pushed into the background. To • As we read reality through different frames at
acquire a thorough picture one needs to make the same time we become attracted to one line
the most informed selection of the multiple of interpretation rather than another eventually
moving towards a comprehensive and
truths available.
objective interpretation of reality.
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