Edgar Schein (1985) defines organisational culture as 'the set of shared, taken-for-granted implicit

assumptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about and reacts to its
environment'. He also suggests that the culture of an organisation is grounded in the founder's basic
beliefs, values and assumptions, and embedded in the organisation over time – what Schein calls 'the
residue of success'.
Culture may therefore be identified as ways of behaving, and ways of understanding, that are shared by a
group of people. Referring to it as: 'The way we do things round here’, Schein says that organisational
culture matters because cultural elements determine strategy, goals and modes of operating.
Culture can be discussed on many different levels. The 'category' or 'group' of people whose shared
behaviours and meanings may constitute a culture include:

􀁸 A nation, region or ethnic group

􀁸 Women versus men ('gender culture')
􀁸 A social class (eg 'working class culture')
􀁸 A profession or occupation
􀁸 A type of business (eg 'advertising culture')
􀁸 An organisation ('organisational culture')

Schein suggested that there are different levels at which culture can be understood. For Schein, culture is
the most difficult organisational attribute to change, outlasting products, founders and leaders as the
organisation grows. His model describes three determinants of culture:
(a) The first level: The observable, expressed or 'explicit' elements of culture.
(i) Behaviour: norms of personal and interpersonal behaviour; customs and rules about
behaviours that are 'acceptable' or unacceptable.
(ii) Artefacts: concrete expressions such as architecture and interior design (eg of office
premises), dress codes and symbols.
(iii) Attitudes: patterns of collective behaviour such as greeting styles, business formalities,
social courtesies and ceremonies.
(b) The second level: Beneath these observable phenomena lie values and beliefs and the professed
culture, which give the behaviours and attitudes their special meaning and significance. For
example, the design of office space may imply status and honour, or reflect the importance of
privacy within a culture: it 'means' more than the observable features. Values and beliefs may be
overtly expressed in slogans or the mission statement.
(c) The third level: Beneath values and beliefs lie assumptions: foundational ideas ('unspoken rules')
that are no longer consciously recognised or questioned by the culture, but which 'programme' its
ways of thinking and behaving.

Harrison classified four types of culture, to which Handy gave the names of Greek deities.
􀁸 Power culture (Zeus) is shaped by one individual
􀁸 Role culture (Apollo) is a bureaucratic culture shaped by rationality, rules and procedures
􀁸 Task culture (Athena) is shaped by a focus on outputs and results
􀁸 Existential or person culture (Dionysus) is shaped by the interests of individuals