How long does it take to change an organisation's culture?

Edgar Schein explains that organisational culture is a group of shared assumptions that have been demonstrated to work well and therefore are passed on to future generations of employees. Hence it is a group understanding, not just an individual’s, which are not written down, although there may be written statements that contribute to the culture.

Having demonstrated their effectiveness, future members of the group are also provided with a similar understanding so that they too will think and act in the desired manner. Siehl and Martin see that organisational culture can be thought of as “the glue that holds an organisation together”.

Cultures are considered weak or strong, depending on the alignment between an individual’s values and those of the organisation - the greater the alignment the stronger the culture. Organisational culture is an alternative to the detailed micromanagement of employees since it helps them to determine how to behavior in each situation rather than relying on a rule book.

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