Organizational cultures of libraries as a strategic resource

Level two focuses on values. Although this cultural level can provide insights into what insiders view as the should's of the organization or unit, there can be conflicting interpretation of what the organizational values are. Schein (1985) indicates that if leaders communicate their values, and these values lead to success, then a process of cognitive transformation takes place. This process results in beliefs and then assumptions that are unconscious and automatic. He further suggests that many values remain conscious, explicitly articulated, and form the normative guiding principles for groups. A library's mission statement expressing principles of "user-friendly systems and fast, flexible service" is an example of this. Schein cautions that there can be a difference between deeper underlying assumptions and "espoused values," which reflect either rationalizations or aspirations for the future (Schein, 1985).

Schein's level three, basic assumptions, is equated to Argyris and Schon's (1978) "theories-in-use." Basic assumptions may be so implicit, taken for granted, and unconscious that surfacing them can require intensive interviewing and observation. "Yet when we do surface them, the cultural pattern suddenly clarifies and we begin to feel that we really understand what is going on and why" (Schein, 1985, p. 21).

Another aspect of cultural theory that appears particularly relevant to libraries is the concept of dominant or unitary organizational cultures versus subcultures that coexist with varying degrees of harmony or conflict (Deal & Kennedy, 1982; Gregory, 1983; Martin, 1992). Deal and Kennedy (1982) were among the earliest authors to propose an integrated perspective of culture, identifying four distinct cultural patterns based on primary dimensions of risk-taking orientation and the speed/availability of feedback on actions. They proposed that the rituals, heroes, and practices of a dominant culture created a lack of legitimacy for alternative courses of action or cultural views. These early lessons learned about innovation and culture are important, and they argued that unless an organization already possessed a risk-taking, innovative quality in its culture, it would be difficult to engender it due to cultural resistance.

Libraries are often viewed through a stereotypical lens that might suggest the idea of a single, dominant, or strong culture; however, there is a large body of literature (Frost, et al. 1991; Kaarst-Brown & Robey, 1999; Martin, 1992; Meyerson & Martin, 1987) in other occupational domains that support multicultural frameworks. In particular, Martin's (1992) view of unitary, differentiated, or fragmented organizational culture might provide insights to understanding the subcultures that may exist in academic libraries that are governed by both tenured librarians and unionized staff, as compared to those that serve business, not for profit, or governmental parent organizations. As an example, the unitary or integrationist view of culture focuses on an orientation to organization-wide consensus, consistency in cultural artifacts, and little if any cultural ambiguity. The differentiated view of organizational culture seeks subcultural consensus, may exhibit some inconsistency in its cultural artifacts, and tends to channel ambiguity outside of the main subculture. The view of organizational culture as fragmented reflects the challenges of achieving cultural consensus and exhibits a high level of acknowledgement and acceptance of cultural ambiguity. In the fragmented organizational culture, the cultural artifacts are neither clearly consistent nor inconsistent, and newcomers or outsiders may have difficulty discerning a dominant culture other than the fact that great cultural diversity coexists (Frost, et al, 1991; Brown, 1995; Martin, 1992).