3 Ways to Examine 4 Types of Organizational Culture

Mike Pelfini — 04 February 2025

Organizational culture is everywhere, like the air we breathe, and may be taken for granted. To get the most from your organization, examine workplace culture from the foundation up.

Organizational culture is often referred to as “the way we do things around here.” It can also be thought of as “the air we breathe” or “the water in which we swim.” Workplace culture or company culture touches every aspect of an organization, from values and beliefs to policies and behaviors that are expressions of those values and beliefs. And creating a positive, supportive organizational culture is critical to success.

As ever, it takes intention and insight to get the most from organizational culture. Too often, organizations try to engineer “quick fixes” without considering the elements that make them unique. Or they write lofty mission statements without substance to back them up.

This article offers some guidelines for thinking about different types of organizational culture and suggestions to improve them for optimal results. Let’s begin by considering how to look at culture.

Three levels and four types of organizational culture

The three levels of organizational culture

Edgar Schein of MIT’s Sloan School of Management developed a well-known framework for analyzing culture in his book, Organizational Culture and Leadership. Schein writes that culture can be analyzed on three progressively deeper levels:

Artifacts. At the top level are “artifacts,” which include all of the outward expressions of workplace culture, like logos and branding, office layout, dress code, and the like. Artifacts are easy to find but hard to interpret without going deeper.

Espoused Values. The second level consists of espoused values, which Schein calls the reasons or rationalizations for the organization’s behavior. These can be expressed in public announcements, mission and vision statements, written policies, and more.

Assumptions. At the bottom level are the unconscious assumptions that shape how group members think and feel. By definition, assumptions are typically unspoken and unwritten. They are rarely examined. Interviews with leaders and team members can help tease out assumptions, as can observing how people behave and interact.

The four types of organizational culture

While every organization is different, they tend to fall into four broad categories, according to TEP Global. None of the categories is “better” than another, and no organization falls into one exclusively. Organizations may also change with circumstances, and may include distinct sub-cultures within a dominant culture.

Hierarchy. Hierarchical cultures use command and control for stability, standardization, and dependability. They achieve their goals through structure, monitoring, and control.

Market. Market cultures reward productivity and profitability above all, by emphasizing competition and financial advantage.

Clan. A clan culture emphasizes cooperation and favors a flat management structure. Clan culture emphasizes teamwork and individual development.

Adhocracy. Adhocracy prioritizes creativity and innovation. It is risk tolerant and encourages experimentation, giving team members the latitude to try new things.

To understand an organization, look beyond appearances and stated values. Use objective criteria to find the true nature of company culture, such as:

what its leadership focuses on,
what it measures,
how it exercises control, and
how the organization distributes resources and rewards.

How to improve company culture

Whatever type of culture exists in your organization, there are several areas where leaders can focus their efforts to optimize engagement, innovation, and productivity. These improvements can be achieved even without a change of culture, which can be difficult and costly.

Create a sense of belonging. An excellent first step toward optimizing organizational culture is to create a sense of belonging. People want to feel included, accepted, and valued by their co-workers and organizations.

When that happens, organizations benefit from better performance, higher retention, and even a lower use of sick time, the Harvard Business Review reports.

Some of the ways to improve a sense of belonging are ensuring fairness, listening to employee feedback, and accommodating different working styles.

Foster cohesiveness. Cohesiveness is a measure of how well people work together. Cohesive teams show higher levels of trust, are more willing to share ideas, and are better able to “think outside the box” than less cohesive ones.

Cohesiveness begins with evolved leaders, and how they create psychological safety. Leaders can set the tone by sharing a compelling purpose, demonstrating emotional intelligence, and admitting their own mistakes.

Prioritize growth and development. A final way to optimize organizational culture is to make growth and development a priority. Organizations that take development seriously will be better able to attract and retain top talent.

These organizations also enjoy significantly better results in terms of innovation, productivity, and profits, according to Deloitte. Leadership is the key. Leaders must not only allocate resources, but state and re-state their commitment to growth and development, backed with action.

It is easy, and even perhaps tempting to take an organization’s culture for granted. But getting the most from culture requires the insight that comes from close examination. When leaders understand the foundation of their culture, they can build a sturdy structure above it.

If you would like to learn more about organizational culture, please contact us.

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