Culture survey

Christine Whitney Sanchez milagro27 at cox.net
Sun Jul 17 09:41:00 PDT 2005


Re: Culture surveyHi Jack!  Thanks for these questions.  They will be great
additions to the library of questions for the Strategy Cafes at the Girl
Scout Convention, especially the one focused on culture.

Hot, hot, hot (but of course, it's a dry 115 degrees) greetings from Phoenix

Christine

Christine Whitney Sanchez
Triune Milagro, LTD
480.759.0262
VISIT OUR WEBSITE:  www.triunemilagro.com

Invoking the wisdom and capacity of the human spirit!

  -----Original Message-----
  From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Jack
Ricchiuto
  Sent: Sunday, July 17, 2005 7:43 AM
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
  Subject: Re: Culture survey


  Here are some questions I think your client and the select group of folks
included in the conversation should consider – some are better than others,
all are valid.

  Who else should  be in the conversation about culture?
  What matters most to us about the culture of this organization?
  What do we believe about the role of culture in the success of the
organization and its stakeholders?
  Why are we talking about culture?
  What’s going well in the culture now and who’s talking about that?
  If we weren’t talking about culture, what else would we want to talk
about?
  Do people in the organization feel like their strengths are engaged in
their work?
  Do people feel like their work aligns with their passions and dreams?
  Do they feel like the organization inspires passion and dreams?
  What does it feel like to be a part of this organization?

  Jack


  On 7/17/05 9:50 AM, "Esther Ewing" <EwingChange at aol.com> wrote:


    Harrison and others;
    I imagine that I was not entirely clear about my needs. In fact, while I
need the elements of a culture survey (i.e. what kinds of continua would you
put in one) I and my client have no intention of actually surveying. Rather,
it is a talking point for facilitated conversations that one of my clients
needs (with my help) to have with some others of the internal folks. So I'm
not really setting out to do a big complicated culture survey. I'm trying to
arm my client with some of the elements they need to consider which is why I
posted to the list. I hoped that I would get some elements suggested by the
list members.

    Thanks
    Esther


      Esther -- Truth to tell, I am not much of  a survey person. Probably
emotional immaturity on my part, but in most cases I  find it gives me
information I (they) already knew or information that was  interesting but
basically irrelevant. And then of course there is the matter  of time and
expense. I think it (the survey) may also just set you up for  failure when
it comes to making some useful and needed change. What I have in  mind here
is the fact that most surveys I have seen give you results in bits  and
pieces, where as culture is always a "whole." Specifically, I  remember one
massive survey done in a massive organization -- which after many  months
and mucho bucks came up with the finding that, "We are a culture  of
secrecy." Basically this translated into the fact that nobody talked to
anybody else, and when they did it was usually to supply mis-information.
K  -- Now what? Well I suppose you could do training of various sorts --
communications, personal integrity etc. And they did just that. Result? No
change. Except for lots more time and money down the hole (into the
consultants' pockets). It finally became clear to folks that this "problem"
had no single, simple solution. Every part of their life together (culture)
either created or supported their malady. If you were going to do something
useful, you would have to change everything all at once! How is that for a
prescription for failure? A job you would rather not take on? Speaking just
for myself -- this is a road I would not travel.



      Alternative? Just do an Open Space. Or you  might call it Action
Research. Theme: "What are the issues and opportunities  for building a
business we would all like to be a part of?" Invite everybody  who cares --
and that could be a lot of people. Results? -- Well I am sure you  can fill
in the pieces, but. . .



      First off, the organization will essentially  "map" itself. All those
"issues and opportunities" will be the critical  cultural issues, at least
as the people see it. I sometimes think of Open  Space as a community
Rorschach Test. Since there is no content to begin with  (just a question)
whatever shows up is what the people see. Also, the critical  issues will be
in the language of the people, not in some pseudo-psycho-babble  (pardon my
bias). This becomes important when you start to talk with folks.  They can
actually understand what you are talking about and do not have to  learn a
whole new esoteric technical language.



      But most important (as I see it) -- they will  actually be the change
they seek. And it will have happened everywhere and all  at once. At least
that was the experience of the organization I was talking  about above.
Suddenly all those folks who knew that they were condemned to be  a,
"culture of secrecy," experienced something radically different. In the
closing I noted this "fact," and followed up with, "Your culture change has
happened. You can continue and get better -- or just go back and be
miserable  the way you were. The choice is yours." Sad to say, they chose to
go back and  be miserable, or at least most of them did. But they never
could deny that  alternatives existed -- and the smart ones (I think) sought
those  alternatives, which in most cases meant choosing alternative
employment. But  they did have a choice.



      Harrison









      Harrison Owen
      7808 River Falls Dr.
      Potomac, MD   20854
      USA
      301-365-2093
      207-763-3261 (summer)
      website www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com/>







        ----- Original Message -----

        From:  Esther  Ewing <mailto:EwingChange at aol.com>

        To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU

        Sent: Saturday, July 16, 2005 9:17  AM

        Subject: Culture survey



        Dear all:

        I wondered if anyone can help me. I have a client with  whom I am
engaged in an exercise in making a culture change. We want to  create a
survey that allows their people to rate their organization on a  number of
continua.



        Picture, for example, a scale which goes from one to five  where one
is "shares information openly" and five is "information is shared  on a
need-to-know basis".



        What I need to do is to measure the major continua that we  would
ask people to rate the organization.



        I could really use some suggestions for this and/or  examples of
culture surveys. I would be glad to compile them and give the  results to
anyone who would like to have them (assuming that the donor was  comfortable
with that).



        Can you help me?



        Regards

        Esther



        Esther Ewing
        The Change Alliance - Building Organizational  Capability
        330 East 38th St., Suite 53K
        New York, New York 10016,  USA

        Phone: 212-661-6024
        Fax: 866-296-6712

        Distributor of  Panoramic Feedback (www.panoramicfeedback.com)
        Kolbe Index  (www.kolbe.com)
        Certified Network Member - Team Management  Systems
        (www.teammanagementsystems.com)
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    Esther Ewing
    The Change Alliance - Building Organizational Capability
    330 East 38th St., Suite 53K
    New York, New York 10016, USA

    Phone: 212-661-6024
    Fax: 866-296-6712

    Distributor of Panoramic Feedback (www.panoramicfeedback.com)
    Kolbe Index (www.kolbe.com)
    Certified Network Member - Team Management Systems
    (www.teammanagementsystems.com)
    * * ==========================================================
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unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
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  Jack

  ~~~~~~~~~~
  jack ricchiuto
  two.one.six/three.seven.three/seven.four.seven.five
  www.DesigningLife.com / www.AppreciativeLeadership.com
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