Schein, E. “Uncovering the Levels of Culture.” Chapter Two, Organizational Culture and Leadership (1992), San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Book Chapter
In chapter three of Organizational Culture and Leadership, Schein (1992) analyzes organizational culture at three levels, including (1) the surface level of organizational artifacts as they provide insights into (2) a second level of espoused organizational values and ultimately (3) the basic assumptions from which an organization operates. The chapter defines organizational artifacts as physical artifacts such as the architecture, the general items and objects that “lead to an identification of major images and root metaphors that reflect the deepest level of the culture” (as cited in Schein, 1992, p. 18). Artifacts include everything belonging to the physical environment from technology to stories about the organization, the same as with the artifacts that one might encounter in experiencing an unfamiliar culture. From which, as with the author's example of Egyptian and Mayan arhaeology, the artifacts are not readily deciphered and interpreted by themselves. Where Schein (1992) suggests that it is in fact “especially dangerous to try to infer the deeper assumptions from the artifacts alone,” the author maintains understanding the espoused values of an organization is necessary (p. 17-18). Accordingly, the chapter expands knowledge for interpreting the espoused values of an organization alongside its artifacts to understand the assumptions and organizational principles underlying the culture of the organization itself.
Reflection
Though I am short on summarizing it, this book chapter by Schein (1992) genuinely interested me. The idea of a sort of an organizational anthropology was very introspective. However, while Schein is respectable in my mind as an influential organizational psychologist, it does not seem to me that the author develops the three-level analytical construct very well. I remember coming across other authors that directly discuss a concept of organizational anthropology, but I cannot recall them at this point – maybe I am mistaken. The chapter was my initial introspection into the idea. And, the idea is significant where some suggest the need to develop and understand organizational histories.
