| Prior to the 20th Century, millions of people died | | | | What ways of seeing are the managers teaching to |
| from diseases that could have been easily cured by | | | | new and existing employees? To what extent are |
| an antibiotic like penicillin. For years, the world's leading | | | | managers and key employees all teaching the same |
| bacteriologists had searched for the missing piece to | | | | message, or are they espousing different, competing, |
| this medical puzzle. Many times they were looking | | | | or even contradictory ways of seeing themselves, |
| right at it. But they always "saw" the penicillin mold as | | | | others, and the world? The key is to remember that |
| a pest that contaminated countless bacterial cultures | | | | everything in organizations communicates, including |
| and slowed their progress toward finding a way to | | | | inanimate objects and configurations of structures, |
| save innocent lives. In the late 1920s, a London | | | | systems, facilities, office spaces, public areas, and |
| doctor named Alexander Fleming suddenly began to | | | | geographical location. |
| see this so-called "pest" as exactly the bacterial killer | | | | The Tacit Teaching Process is often experienced as |
| scientists had been searching for. From that moment | | | | a "gap" between the formal (espoused, written) rules |
| on, everyone saw penicillin differently. It was instantly | | | | for how things get done in organizations, and the |
| transformed from a problem, to a resource. The new | | | | informal (behavioral, unwritten) rules for how things |
| challenge then became how to quickly produce it, not | | | | are really done - with this "gap" being the tacit, |
| to protect ourselves from it. This is one example of | | | | unspoken, unquestioned organizational reality which |
| the principle, "what you see is what you get." | | | | managers and staff members are taught through the |
| Something you "see" as a negative can be | | | | See-Do-Get Process. For example, |
| transformed into something positive by changing how | | | | - Managers and employees observe a "gap" between |
| you "see" it. | | | | the formal (espoused) statements that the |
| The See-Do-Get Process® is a meta-model that | | | | organization makes about itself, and the informal |
| describes how organizational culture is created, | | | | (behavioral) ways that things are actually done. This |
| managed, and deconstructed. More specifically, the | | | | forces people into a Pragmatic Paradox where |
| purpose of culture (any culture) is to teach people | | | | employees receive conflicting, contradictory, or |
| how to see the world, and there are active, tacit, | | | | duplicitous messages; and the only way to keep the |
| and disciplinary teaching processes by which | | | | informal rules of how things "really" get done is to |
| organizational culture is promulgated in groups of | | | | break the formal rules that are stated as public policy. |
| people. Using the See-Do-Get Process will reveal | | | | For example, an organization's formal (advertised) |
| underlying patterns-of-interaction and behaviors that | | | | rule-policy espoused to customers is that its sales |
| happen all around you, but are not well-understood or | | | | persons do not pressure customers into buying - |
| seen to be what they are. | | | | "Just come in and look at our selection" customers |
| Active Teaching Process | | | | are told publicly. However, the informal rule-policy that |
| A customer (Curt) walks into a store and a new | | | | is discussed in weekly meetings and seminars on |
| sales person (Sarah) and her manager (Jeff) are | | | | cross-selling and is built into the compensation |
| standing at the register checking an order. Jeff | | | | structure for sales persons is to, "sell, sell, sell..." |
| comments quietly about Curt, "He always gives us a | | | | - If a manager or staff member attempts to discuss |
| hard time", so they ignore him, trying to avoid | | | | the conflicting, contradictory nature of these |
| conflict. Curt reads this emotional message in their | | | | messages they will most likely encounter what Chris |
| behavior and actually feels ignored. After a few | | | | Argyris calls organizational defense routines; e.g., |
| minutes of just standing around, Curt snaps critically, | | | | patterns-of-interaction that protect organizations (and |
| "Hey, young lady! I need some help over here!" Sarah | | | | the people in them) from embarrassment or threat. |
| looks at Jeff and thinks to herself, | | | | Defense routines also make it highly unlikely that |
| See - You said he'd give us a hard time! | | | | "gaps" like the ones discussed above will ever be |
| The See-Do-Get Process is a way of describing how | | | | detected or corrected. More specifically, the |
| our knowledge and beliefs are shaped by how we | | | | fundamental rules of organizational defense routines |
| see ourselves, other people, and the world around us. | | | | identified by Argyris are to: a) by pass such situations |
| First, we are taught to see the world a certain way | | | | and act as if they are not happening, b) give |
| and specific behaviors and emotions naturally flow | | | | inconsistent answers and "manage the meaning" of |
| from that worldview because we believe that it is | | | | the situation by reinterpreting it (we said this, but we |
| "reality." When we act these behaviors out in | | | | really meant that), c) make the bypass, inconsistent |
| relationships, people read our body language and | | | | answers, and reinterpretations undiscussible, and d) |
| respond to the message they see in us. Their | | | | make the undiscussability undiscussable. If a manager |
| response reinforces how we see them, how they | | | | or staff member were to continue to press on the |
| see us, and over time these responses begin to | | | | discrepancy between the formal and informal policies |
| create patterns-of-interaction in our relationships. | | | | on selling, they will likely discover overt and covert |
| In terms of organizational culture, managers and staff | | | | social sanctions against making such situations |
| members are actively taught how to see | | | | matters of public discussion. These social sanctions |
| themselves, coworkers, customers, suppliers, | | | | may even involve real or perceived retribution. This is |
| competitors, and the external environment in which | | | | a form of Organizational Entrapment where the |
| they are embedded. For example, John starts a new | | | | organization and the people who work in it use overt |
| job as an Account Executive in the Sales Department | | | | and covert strategies to keep others from moving |
| at the SciTech Company and as he begins calling on | | | | beyond the impasse of the Pragmatic Paradox and |
| his new accounts, his manager Sally says, "That's not | | | | finding a solution that actually corrects the problem. |
| how we do it around here. Let me show you how | | | | - If circumstances force situations like a duplicitous |
| we want you to see our customers, and the people | | | | customer policy into public awareness (customers |
| in the Production Department." Over coffee and while | | | | reveal it to newspapers) and the organization |
| riding to appointments with clients, Sally teaches John | | | | recognizes the problem and makes a commitment to |
| how to see the Production Department as a major | | | | course correction, this sends a constructive message |
| roadblock to delivering on commitments; the HR | | | | that narrows the "gap" between the formal and |
| Department's lack of business knowledge as the | | | | informal rules of the game. But if the organization |
| reason that they can't attract top talent; and top | | | | maintains its defense routines and survives the |
| managers as being out of touch with the day-to-day | | | | confrontation; the gap widens, trust in the |
| realities of running the business. The Active Teaching | | | | organization decreases, and the level of destructive |
| Process is one of the primary ways that | | | | conflict created by the Pragmatic Paradox is |
| organization-wide and work-group culture is passed | | | | intensified for managers and staff members. Over |
| on to both new and existing employees. So | | | | time as an organization's defenses routines survive |
| work-groups actively teach employees to see the | | | | repetitive confrontations, they are strengthened and |
| world a certain way, with the goal that specific | | | | its climate and culture become increasingly duplicitous. |
| actions and interactions will naturally flow from that | | | | It is important to note that organizational defense |
| worldview. When an experienced manager or more | | | | routines can be acted out by people through |
| seasoned employee models (act out) these cultural | | | | patterns-of-interactions and behaviors like the ones |
| norms, new (or less experienced) employees take | | | | described above - what Argyris calls "first-order |
| note of and absorb their actions, interactions, and | | | | errors." They can also manifest themselves as |
| body language. If the manager or seasoned | | | | "second-order errors" where defense routines are |
| employee is more or less successful in getting the | | | | actually designed into the organization's structures |
| desired results in terms of achieving their | | | | and systems; e.g. the context within which managers |
| performance goals and objectives, this reinforces the | | | | and employees work. For example, the formal |
| cultural norm in the mind of the new employee and | | | | (advertised) statement of the organization about |
| creates a shared understanding that, "this is how | | | | itself is that it welcomes any and all feedback from |
| things ought to be done around here." | | | | customers, but the systems by which customers are |
| Think about it - managers come to see employees | | | | suppose to give that feedback send them into an |
| as lazy. Employees in that same organization learn to | | | | organizational black hole, and any feedback that |
| see top managers as distant and uncaring. The R&D | | | | actually "penetrates" these systems is never |
| Department sees the Sales Department as | | | | responded to by the company. To reiterate, it's |
| incompetent. The Marketing Department sees the | | | | impossible not to communicate, and many of the |
| Sales Department as too short-term focused. The | | | | most powerful lessons that managers and staff |
| Engineering Department sees the Production | | | | members learn about organizational culture are based |
| Department as doing sloppy work, and the | | | | upon tacit, unquestioned, undiscussible actions and |
| Production Department sees Engineering as arrogant. | | | | interactions like those described here. |
| You see your boss as a moron, and then wonder | | | | Disciplinary Teaching Process |
| why she never assigns you to more interesting | | | | One of the most powerful mechanisms for defining |
| projects or gives you the compensation increases | | | | and shaping how people see themselves, others, and |
| you think you deserve. The See-Do-Get Process | | | | the world are disciplinary paradigms. A disciplinary |
| applies to everyone, everywhere. | | | | paradigm is composed of the education, training, |
| Tacit Teaching Process | | | | experience, work-related tools, membership in |
| It's impossible not to communicate, so many of the | | | | professional organizations and unions, disciplinary |
| most powerful lessons that managers and staff | | | | indoctrination, and technical standards that defines |
| members learn about organization-wide and | | | | what it means to be competent in a particular field or |
| work-group culture are tacit; e.g., unquestioned, | | | | profession. Being accepted as a competent member |
| non-verbalized messages that teach powerful lessons | | | | of a disciplinary paradigm requires people to master a |
| about how things should (or should not) be done in a | | | | body of knowledge; learn problem-solving |
| given organization. At an individual level, a person | | | | methodologies; and to adopt the working-level |
| sitting at a table saying nothing is communicating | | | | assumptions of that community of practitioners for |
| because 55% of communication is non-verbal (body | | | | how to effectively analyze and solve work-related |
| language), 38% is tone of voice, and only 7% is | | | | problems. In many organizations, people with |
| word choice; which is why e-mail is often a | | | | different disciplinary paradigms are grouped into |
| problematic form of communication - it leaves out | | | | functional units like R&D, marketing, sales, production, |
| 93% of the message. The overall configuration of an | | | | engineering, and accounting, as well as organizational |
| organization communicates; e.g. the entire | | | | populations that extend from line-level staff up to |
| configuration of non-human structures, systems, | | | | top managers. So whether you are trying to gain |
| facilities, office spaces, public areas, and geographical | | | | insight into organizations composed of customer |
| location. There are specific places that employees | | | | service reps, particle physicists, oil-field workers, |
| feel comfortable going, or not going; ways they are | | | | Information Technology (IT) professionals, sales |
| encouraged to dress, or not dress; and greetings | | | | managers, engineers, telemarketing workers, medical |
| that they give top managers, middle managers, | | | | professionals, or people who provide administrative |
| supervisors, and staff members that are appropriate, | | | | support to senior managers; it's important to |
| or inappropriate. In fact, the underlying purpose of | | | | remember that the disciplinary paradigms to which |
| organizational policies is to encourage specific | | | | managers and staff members belong, and the |
| behaviors, and discourage others - policies are formal | | | | sub-cultures that form around these paradigms, can |
| organizational statements of belief about how things | | | | powerfully shape and define an organization's or |
| should (or should not) be done. It's important to | | | | work-group's culture. |
| identify what messages an organization is sending. | | | | |