How to Manage the Tricky World of Subcultures

Is it better for an organization to have one unified culture or a collection of mini ones? What are the benefits and drawbacks of each approach? 

Organizational culture experts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava are back with more research insights, real-world examples, and tips for company leaders, this time about the complex world of subcultures. 

Do you have a vexing question about work that you want Jenny and Sameer to answer? Submit your “Fixit Ticket!” 

Find the full transcript and learn more about the podcast at www.haas.org/culture-kit.

*Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*

Jenny & Sameer’s 3 Main Takeaways:

1. Awareness – know what subcultures exist within the organization and anticipate the possibility that they conflict in dysfunctional ways.
2. Agility – be willing to try out different cultural priorities. Before deciding that the counterculture is necessarily problematic you should look at what it is solving for.
3. Alignment –  prioritize one cultural norm that applies to all units and unifies the organization rather than trying to be perfectly aligned on everything.

Show Links:

• The Role of Subcultures in Agile Organizations [Leading and Managing People in the Dynamic Organization]
• Maersk: Driving Culture Change at a Century-Old Company to Achieve Measurable Results [Berkeley Haas Case Series]
• Identifying Organizational Subcultures: An Empirical Approach [Journal of Management Studies]
• A Language-Based Method for Assessing Symbolic Boundaries [Sociological Methods & Research]
• The Lasting Leadership Lessons From The Challenger Disaster [Forbes]
• 5 Ways to Create a Culture of Innovation in Your Organisation [Salesforce Blog]
• Full Episode Transcript

Do you have a vexing question about work that you want Jenny and Sameer to answer? Submit your “Fixit Ticket!” 

Learn more about the podcast and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation at www.haas.org/culture-kit.

*The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation. It is produced by University FM.*