Method
We make the hidden patterns of corporate culture visible. How do we do this?
- Listen and ask
- Being there and sharing everyday life
- Know and include the framework conditions
Using the classic methods of organisational anthropology – participant observation and qualitative interviews – we examine the complex network that makes up corporate culture. The advantage: employees and managers hardly have to invest any time, the results are highly reliable and provide an insight into the causes and meanings of views and behaviour. On this basis, we present a valid analysis of the corporate culture. The aim is to understand the views of the people who experience, know and shape the company on a daily basis and to use this as a basis for shaping sustainable further developments.
Topics
We often work on topics such as:
- Company merger and integration
- Agile corporate culture
- Gender and diversity – identifying and breaking down barriers
- Dissolving internal boundaries: out of silo thinking
- Cultural change Corporate succession
- Implementing growth successfully: Anchoring a culture of binding processes and structures
We are interested in what exactly your company and your organisation needs in order to develop its full potential – and that is precisely what determines the goal.
Approach
For a long time, it seemed as if companies consisted of measured values and key figures. Measurability seemed to be the basis of successful corporate management. At the latest since we have been working in an increasingly agile way, it has become clear that it is primarily about the people who make up the company – and this often leads to perplexity because it is difficult to measure. We provide an approach that puts people at the centre, with values, meaning and goals that are geared towards life usefulness and sustainability. Strategic planning without a good understanding of the corporate culture is strategic blind flying. We use scientifically sound tools to analyse corporate culture. We make obstacles visible and deliver concepts and measures that are developed on the basis of a precise knowledge of the given corporate culture. The result: you avoid hidden pitfalls and utilise existing strengths – transformation becomes reality.
Leading change management to success: Understanding corporate culture in order to change it change it appropriately.
Publications
Spülbeck, Susanne 2009: Organisationsethnologische Forschung und Beratung: Neue Perspektiven in der Unternehmensberatung
Schwinge, Brigitte und Susanne Spülbeck 2002: Unternehmenskultur und Organisationsethnologie: Warum Ethnologen in der Organisationsentwicklung so erfolgreich sind
Czarniawaska-Joerges, Barbara 1991: Culture is the Medium of Life. In: Frost P. et al. (Hg.): Reframing Organizational Culture. London.
Allaire, Y. und Firsirotu, M.E. 1984. Theories of Organizational Culture. In: Organization Studies 5/3, S. 193-226.
Hofstede, Geert, Neuijen, B., Ohayv,, D.D., and Sanders, G. 1990: Measuring Organizational Cultures: A Qualitative Study across Twenty Cases. Administrative Science Quarterly 35:2, 286-316.
Dewhurst C. Kurt 1988: Art at Work. In Pursuit of Aestethic Solutions. In : Jones, Michael Owen et al. (Hg.): Inside Organizations. Newbury Park.
Das, T.H. 1988. Relevance of Symbolic Interactionist Approach in Understanding Power; A Preliminary Analysis. In: Journal of Management Studies 25/3, S.251-267.
Fiol, C.M. 1989. A Semiotic Analysis of Corporate Language, Organizational Boundaries and Joint Venturing. In: Administrative Science Quarterly 34, S.277-303.
Rafaeli, Anat und Monica Worline 2000: Symbols in Organizations. In: Ashkanasy, Neal M., P. M. Wilderon, and M. F. Peterson (Hg.): Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.