Middle Way Management and Organizational Culture

The Power of Culture
Culture informs our social interactions and how we construct societies and organizations at the collective level. It can determine the outcomes of our pursuit of personal goals and certainly affects our efficacy as organizational members. It is always there, yet it isn't because it's a reified concept of what we believe in the deepest corners of our hearts, and it determines how we behave in every context of our lives.

We belong to several cultures, and sub-cultures, at once. These cultures extend from the personal to the national and include just about every conceivable permutation between the two. Our cultural memberships largely determine our values (and our Values Intelligence), which determine our general and specific focuses in life.

For instance, I belong to the academic culture. Over time, I chose to participate in this culture by acquiring academic credentials and now must take certain steps and measures to maintain my standing in that community. Interestingly, I can opt out of this community in a passive way simply by choosing not to play. Conversely, other cultures are such a part of us that there is no way we can choose to let them go, passively or otherwise.

Some cultures are sodalities with fluid membership and some are so ingrained in us that they affect our decision making processes. A Harley-Davidson group is a sodality, while a religion is a deeply seated culture from which escape can be quite difficult. Regardless of its structural rigor, culture determines who comprises the "in-group" and the "out-group". Cultures are typically reified in hierarchical ways because humans harbor a biological need to organize mental structures hierarchically. It's just how we do things. This means that even within the in-group, sub-in-groups can exist.

The Meaning of Organizational Culture
Organizations as I consider them here are not necessarily profit driven enterprises. An organization is a collection of people committed to meeting agreed upon goals and objectives. Organizations can be created as the result of a culture's need for, well, organization. They can be loosely defined, but it's usually better if they are not. Specific definition provides the sort of clarity that removes barriers and creates common ground upon which organizational members can move forward with confidence.

As organizations grow and mature, even those with the best of intentions develop a unique culture. This can be based upon a shared worldview or preferred language, or, of course, both. I once worked at an organization where I was not allowed to use the word "but". But, I digress. Culture seems to be something that just happens; it is unavoidable. Based upon this reality, my concern here is with two things: (1) Is organizational culture hegemonic by nature and (2) if it is, does it cause suffering among organizational members?

Is Organizational Culture Hegemonic by Nature?
I've always made the assumption that culture is a good thing. As a student of archaeology, the recovery and analysis of material culture and the resulting inferences and assumptions about cultural norms and behaviors were the points of my studies. When cultural norms that challenged my sense of decency surfaced (e.g., cannibalism, slave holding, etc.), they were always viewed as interesting aspects of social-cultural groups long gone. Qualitative judgments about them were never a part of my analytical toolkit. Not so with organizational culture.

While some researchers such as Edgar Schein are content to describe and explain the levels and "dynamics" of organizational culture, others such as Geert Hofstede and Joseph Chilton Pearce have identified the constraint mechanisms of culture. Hofstede recognizes this in the title and body of his major work, Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations. Pearce writes at length about how culture acts as a constraint on individual behaviors--and not always in good ways. The common undercurrent among all of these is a tacit recognition of the hegemonic nature of organizational culture.

Cultural hegemony is about the domination of one group by another. In the case of organizational culture, the in-group will always dominate the out-group. Organizational culture is hegemonic by nature. Those who do not align with organizational practices and behaviors suffer the consequences; they are brought into alignment through non-sanctioned coercion by organizational members, through corrective managerial action, or they are selected for involuntary exit. Members who will not or cannot find their organizational sweet spot endure long days of frustration and outright anguish; they clearly suffer. So, the answers to my two questions above are "Yes" and "Yes".

Relief of Organizational Suffering
The daily, mindful practice of Middle Way Management™ is a way to relieve suffering by overcoming the hegemony of organizational culture. At the individual level, a mindful Middle Way Management practice will result in attention to the details necessary to align yourself with organizational goals and objectives, if this is really what you want to do. The increased conscious awareness of what the organization truly represents can help you make decisions about your career path with--or without--the organization.

The daily, mindful practice of Middle Way Management can help you work to relieve the suffering of those you manage. Behaviors and language are your clues to the cultural alignment of your team members. A consistently negative attitude and behaviors that determine poor task results are often unconscious indicators of an organizational member's need for change. Most of the time, this need does not care if the change is positive or negative. From the member's unconscious viewpoint, it is change that is required--any kind of change.

As a Middle Way Manager™, it is your duty to help relieve the individual suffering of your team members. By relieving their suffering, you relieve organizational suffering, as well as the suffering of anyone with whom your team member interacts throughout the day. This Ripple Effect perspective will help you manage people with compassion, empathy, and understanding. Now that you understand the hegemonic nature of organizational culture, you have added structural clarity to your already vibrant Middle Way Management practice.

Go now, and manage with compassion!

Onward! Darin

Resources Mentioned in this Post

Hofstede, G. (1993). Cultural constraints in management theories. Academy of Management Executive, 7(1), 81-94.

Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Hofstede, G., & Hofstede, G. J. (2005). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.

Pearce, J. C. (2002). The crack in the cosmic egg: New constructs of mind and reality. South Paris, ME: Park Street Press.

Pearce, J. C. (2004). The biology of transcendence: A blueprint of the human spirit. South Paris, ME: Park Street Press.

Schein, E. H. (1990). Organizational culture. American Psychologist, 45(2), 109-119.

Schein, E. H. (2004). Organizational culture and leadership (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Copyright © 2009, Darin R. Molnar, PhD. All rights reserved.