ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Organizational Culture and Leadership, 3rd Edition

212 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND LEADERSHIPof its members may be put at a disadvantage because data thatwould ordinarily remain private now may become public. For variousreasons the members of the organization may not want theirculture laid bare for others’ viewing. If the information is inaccurate,potential employees, customers, suppliers, and any other categoriesof outsiders who deal with the organization may be adverselyinfluenced.Here again we can draw on the analogy that culture is to theorganization as character is to the individual, in that we clearlywould not publish an accurate personality profile of a living individualunless that person, for reasons of his or her own, wanted sucha publication. If it is important to the scientific community to havesuch material published or if psychiatrists or clinical psychologistswant to inform their colleagues about the cases they have treated,the cases must be sufficiently disguised to ensure the absolute anonymityof the individuals involved. Paradoxically, cases used inbusiness schools are rarely disguised, even though they often includerevealing details about an organization’s culture. If the organizationfully understands what it is revealing and if the informationis accurate, no harm is done. But if the case reveals material that theorganization is not aware of, such publication can produce undesirableinsight or tension on the part of members and can create undesirableimpressions on the part of outsiders. If the information is notaccurate, then both insiders and outsiders may get wrong impressionsand may base decisions on incorrect information.For example, when I was teaching at the Centre d’Etudes Industriellein Geneva in the early 1980s they were using a case aboutDEC that was outdated and gave an entirely incorrect impressionof what was going on at DEC, yet students were influenced by thiscase in terms of whether or not they would apply for jobs at DEC.Furthermore, most cases are only a slice through the organization ata particular time and do not consider historical evolution. The casematerial about DEC may have been accurate at only one point intime but may be presented as a general picture.