# Organizational Culture By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2024-07-13 Much focus is given to organizational culture. Whereas this focus is understandable, it is often too vague to be useful. A narrower focus might provide more potential benefits. A part of organizational culture that is definable, measurable, and able to be changed is the organization’s incentive structure. Organizational culture is more than its incentive structure, but focusing on incentive structure can give one much of what one desires to know and change when concerned with organizational culture. The organizational incentive structure shapes and constrains what people do. It includes how promotions, raises, and bonuses are determined, what behaviors are sanctioned, and how whistleblowers are treated. These elements are likely documented if an organization has a human resources department. As such, these become tangible ways to analyze and assess a central component of organizational culture. People tend to respond to incentives. It can be gratifying to “win,” and people tend to respond favorably to positive recognition. Conversely, people tend to avoid exposure to negative assessments when they can. Through the organizational incentive structure, it is relatively easy to get most people to do what those in charge want them to do. It doesn’t require much money or punishment to get most people to conform. The degree to which incentive structures vary among organizations is unclear. The degree to which a gap exists between organizational rhetoric and organizational practice regarding the incentive structure is also unclear. This gap is potentially at its greatest when it comes to whistleblowers. There are legal protections for whistleblowers, so the official policy of many, most, or all organizations is likely that they don’t retaliate against whistleblowers. Whereas organizations might be constrained against firing or demoting the whistleblower, it is not uncommon for whistleblowers to be ostracized. People observing such an organizational response are probably less likely to engage in whistleblowing. Ostracism acts as a disincentive. Of course, there are other elements of organizational culture. Some use first names; others are more formal. Some wear blue jeans and T-shirts; others are more traditional. All these things can influence the quality of one’s work. Focusing on the incentive structure will not capture the totality of organizational culture but will reveal a great deal. Noam Chomsky referred to corporations as structures of private tyranny. The organizational incentive structure provides a basis for assessing the degree of authoritarianism. American organizations often incentivize a sense of superficial teamwork rather than a sense of solidarity, as solidarity could form a basis for contesting the authority of private tyrannies. Organizational culture, while important, is often too nebulous to reveal something around which to mobilize resistance.  #### Related Items [[Organization]] [[Culture]] [[Solidarity]] [[Incentives]] [[Structure]] [[Authority]]