Nonprofit Organizational Assessment

Stories and Myths: build up about people and events, and convey a message
about what is valued within the organization.
These elements may overlap. Power structures may depend on control systems, which
may exploit the very rituals that generate stories which may not be true.
Stanley G. Harris
Schemata (plural of schema) are knowledge structures a person forms from past
experiences, allowing the person to respond to similar events more efficiently in the
future by guiding the processing of information. A person's schemata are created
through interaction with others, and thus inherently involve communication.
Stanley G. Harris (1994) argues that five categories of in-organization schemata are
necessary for organizational culture:
1. Self-In-Organization Schemata: a person's concept of oneself within the
context of the organization, including her/his personality, roles, and behavior.
2. Person-In-Organization Schemata: a person's memories, impressions, and
expectations of other individuals within the organization.
3. Organization Schemata: a subset of person schemata, a person's generalized
perspective on others as a whole in the organization.
Page 79 of 211