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‘How To Think Like An Anthropologist’ — And Why You Should Want To

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In step with Matthew Engelke’s book published Tuesday, Barbara J. King says thinking anthropologically has never been more critical than in today’s world, where assumptions are made and shared widely.

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An EPIC Talk with JOHN CURRAN (JC & Associates)

Overview

What is organisational culture and how does it shape how we work? Why does the business world and organisations tend to misunderstand organisational culture? How can an 'anthropological mindset' give value to organisations? This webinar will set out to answer these three questions by blending a mixture of theoretical and practical approaches to understanding organisational culture; place and space, ritual, symbolism, impression management and conflict. I will show techniques on how to feedback ethnographic insights back to organizations through facilitation and how to empower organizations to understand the culture through multiple lenses through the SLAM cultural audit tool.

John Curran specializes in making organizations highly productive and people centric in order to achieve growth. He combines his expertise in anthropology, executive coaching, facilitation and service design to work with CEO's, senior leaders and their teams to develop dynamic and collaborative organizational cultures that connect their values with those of their customers. John holds a PhD in Social Anthropology and have formal training in executive coaching (EMCC EQA), facilitation, organizational consultancy, qualitative market research, and group psychoanalysis. He is a guest lecturer at Cass Business School in marketing, a Visiting Scholar at the Royal College of Art in design anthropology, a fellow at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), and a TEDx speaker.
Also of interest...
John Curran, "How Culture Is Messy and How That's Good." TEDxHull, June 5, 2017.

John Curran, "Big Data or Big Ethnographic Data: Positioning Big Data within the Ethnographic Space." 2013 Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference Proceedings.

Decoding Culture with John Curran. "This Is HCD" podcast series.

Julia Katherine Haines, "The Ritual of Lean." EPIC Perspectives, December 22, 2014.

Laura A. McNamara, "Organizational Culture as Lazy Sensemaking: What Ethnographers Can Do about Fundamental Attribution Error." EPIC Perspectives, February 20, 2017.

Sam Ladner. "Bodywork and Productivity in Workplace Ethnography." PechaKucha presented at EPIC2014, New York, New York.

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Decoding Organizational Culture: An Anthropological Mindset - EPIC

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An EPIC Talk with JOHN CURRAN (JC & Associates) What is organisational culture and how does it shape how we work? Why does the business world and organisations tend to misunderstand organisational culture? How can an 'anthropological mindset' give value to organisations?

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Ten Ways to think like an anthropologist

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Ten Ways to think like an anthropologist

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This month, PUP is publishing Matthew Engelke's How to Think Like an Anthropologist, a popular introduction to an oft-misunderstood field. Providing ethnographic and theoretical examples from around the world and throughout the discipline's history, Engelke shows readers how anthropology can help us understand ourselves and the world around us. Are you ready to start thinking like an anthropologist? Follow these 10 tips to gain a deeper understanding of how different groups of humans organize their lives and articulate their values!

1. Do your research! Anthropologists conduct ethnographic research using the technique of participant observation. This could mean traveling halfway around the world to live in a tent, learn a new language, and eat unfamiliar foods. Or it could mean working alongside employees in a factory or office in your hometown. No matter where your field site is, make sure you ask questions of those around you, and take notes on how they see the world!

2. Adopt the sensibility of cultural relativism. This doesn't mean you can't have your own values, that you have to agree with everything you see in the field, or that you can't trust hard data. Using cultural relativism as an approach does mean remembering that other groups may have very different ideas of the world than you do. Don't assume that your perspective is universal.

3. Keep some critical distance - even if you belong to the group of people you're studying! Anthropologists need some critical distance in order to perform analysis. Losing this distance can also present ethical dilemmas.

4. Interest yourself in the everyday. How do people greet each other? How do they keep their spaces clean? What material objects do they interact with? These questions may seem mundane, but studying them can help you understand a group's values.

5. Work inductively - build from the specific to the general. Instead of setting out to prove a general idea about the group you're studying, let your observations guide you to any broad conclusions. Present in your work a balance of general claims and specific observations.

6. Avoid falling into the "denial of coevalness" - the idea that certain groups of people are stuck in the past. Everyone in the world right now is living in the twenty-first century, and what it means to live in the twenty-first century looks different for different groups of people.

7. Remember that social and cultural change are not teleological. Every group's way of life changes over time, but it's important to consider these changes on their own terms, rather than as stepping stones toward some inevitable end goal.

8. Don't feel you have to hide your political commitments or shy away from offering moral conclusions. To varying degrees, anthropologists' work is often tied up with their own moral or political ideologies. Acknowledge this rather than deny it.

9. Be wary of your own authority as an ethnographer. Don't just figure out how the people you're studying think - think like the people you're studying. Look beyond your own framing of their perspective.

10. Foreground what is usually in the background, and vice versa. As Engelke puts it, "Upend common sense and question what gets taken for granted.... Reconsider not only what we think we know... but also the terms by which we know it." Open yourself to the "strangeness and surprise" you will undoubtedly encounter as you begin to think like an anthropologist.

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Ten Ways to Think Like an Anthropologist

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Are you ready to start thinking like an anthropologist? Follow these 10 tips to gain a deeper understanding of how different groups of humans organize their lives and articulate their values!

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The Anthropology Education- Classic Readings

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LEADERS AS ANTHROPOLOGISTS - Ivey Business Journal

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Leaders who literally get out and smell the coffee will gather the kind of intelligence about their product and market that they – or the best market research – could never gather. What can a leader learn by observing customers? This author states that by getting out there leaders will find the problem before it…Continue reading →

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It is all perspective taking...

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Transforming results by changing beliefs and behaviours

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast" is a famous quote from legendary management consultant and writer Peter Drucker. To be clear he didn't mean that strategy was unimportant - rather that a powerful and empowering culture was a surer route to organisational success.

One of the key goals in organisational development in the last 10-15 years in both business and not for profit world has been to find a way of creating cultures that are flexible and innovative and where individuals take responsibility for results - moving away from bureaucratic silos where formulaic approaches dominate.

At =mc we've worked with a number of organisations on transforming their culture including Marie Curie Cancer Care, Amnesty International, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Federation, and Diabetes UK.

The culture challenge

The challenge is how to first describe the culture, and then challenge two is how to change it. There have been, over the years, a number of models developed to help map culture. Harrison and Handy, for example, have developed similar models based around the idea of four frameworks or Greek gods. You can find out about that approach here: 8 Gods of Management by Harrison and Handy. The drawback with the Harrison/Handy model, however, is that maybe it's a little too simple and even if it's simple it's hard to decide how and where to change.

One of the most powerful and effective models, however, is the one developed by two UK academics Johnson and Scholes. This model is called the cultural web, and it's the one we use most commonly in The Management Centre when working with customers on culture change.

The cultural web

Johnson and Scholes identified a number of linked elements that make up culture. Importantly, they didn't try and specify any one best culture. Instead they argue that by analysing each element you can decide if the current approach helps to deliver your vision and mission or hinder it.

Diagram adapted from "Fundamentals of Strategy" by G. Johnson, R. Whittington, and K. Scholes. Published by Pearson Education, 2012.

The six elements they defined are:

Stories and myths: covers events and people discussed inside and outside the organisation. So who are the heroes and heroines - and who are the villains? This categorisation guides on what is seen as success. So consider the way in which Steve Jobs was in regarded in Apple. (And John Scully?)

Rituals and routines: covers the patterns of systematic behaviour that are seen as normal. Usually this determines what's supposed to happen in a particular situation. These rituals can be positive - supporting colleagues, responding to customer queries in 24 hrs. But they can be negative - bullying, sexism, etc. So think of some rituals in the armed forces - both +ive and -ive.

Symbols - every office has symbols: from who has a corner or separate office to the daily dress code or who can fly business class. Symbols can extend to the branding - fun or serious - and the ways the organisation portrays itself through what it sponsors. Think of Google's obsession with showing slides and table tennis in the office. The symbolism is college meets work.

Organisational structure: the organogram is one formal representation of structure - who reports to who. But there are other power structures in an organisation - around what Malcolm Gladwell calls social power. Theatres are interesting organisations where the star performer may have more power than the director - who is theoretically in charge.

Control systems: every organisation has 'controls.' These include systems for setting and maintaining standards for finance and quality. They may also include reward and promotion systems. Some organisations have strict standards - office time, use of emails etc. And some are looser. But these can change: consider the impact of Nick Leason-type scandals on banking.

Power structures: some people or groups have significant decision-making powers within an organisation. These structures can be formal - the CEO, the SMT or the Board. Or they can be informal - perhaps a strong trades union able to derail or sanction decisions. Think of the RMT union in the London Transport system.

At the centre of the web sits the summary of these - the culture paradigm. (Johnston and Scholes call this 'the paradigm' or 'the recipe' - the summary of how these elements interconnect.

How the elements interact

One of the key elements of the web model is that all the above issues interact and even overlap. (So, for example, many elements are expressed in the symbols element)

NHS Case Study

The illustration below shows a cultural web drawn up by managers in one part of the UK's National Health Service. In our experience it would be similar to many state-managed health care systems in other countries. Note, however, that the view expressed below is primarily that of managers. Clinicians or nursing staff might well have quite different view. And so might you!

Routines and rituals

Many hospitals have routines for consultation and prescribing drugs. Rituals have to do with what the managers described as "infantilising." These processes "sorted patients out" - putting them to bed and waking them up at certain times, addressing them informally, having fixed mealtimes/menus and so on. The subservience of patients was further emphasised by the role of clinicians with ritual-type consultation ceremonies and ward rounds. These routines and rituals emphasise it is the professionals who are in control.

Stories

Many stories in the groups engaged concern 'cures' - particularly from serious illnesses. (Notice many TV medical shows involve the A and E role.) So the heroes of the health service are not so much in caring, which is maybe where the focus should be. There are also constant stories about villainous politicians trying to change the system, and of heroic acts by the medical staff defending the system against the 'bean counting bureaucrats.' There is often a reference to a 'golden age' when the service was great - but no-one knows exactly when it was.

Symbols

Symbols reflect the various roles in the service. So uniforms are a key part of the role for some clinical and nursing staff. Senior clinicians have status symbols such as their own office or diary secretary. Many have their certificates displayed. Outside the building senior staff have designated parking places by name. Very senior clinicians even lose the 'Doctor' title and become plain but prestigious 'Mr.' The soubriquet 'teaching hospital' attached to an organisation makes it much more prestigious.

Power structures

Power is seen as fragmented between clinicians, nurses and administrators and managers. Historically, senior clinicians were the most powerful and managers were seen as "admin" or "bureaucrats." But as with other organisations, there was also a strong informal network of individuals and groups that coalesced around specific issues. Trades unions, for example, were at one time powerful, but their power has been in decline. Patient power is talked about but is really non existent.

Organisational structures

Many services were organised by diseases or even body "bits': so ENT or oncology. Structures were seen as hierarchical and mechanistic. There was a clear pecking order between services, with the "caring" services low down the list - for example, community health professionals. Mental health was seen as well outside the mainstream. At the informal level there was lots of "tribalism" between functions and professional groups. So different groupings would go to different pubs after work. Organograms were complex with lots of matrix reporting.

Control systems

In hospitals the key measure has historically been "completed clinical episodes", i.e. activity, such as operations completed, rather than results. There has also latterly been an obsessive focus on targets - especially for waiting times. Control over staff is exerted by managers based around these targets. Worse still there is pressure to be 'seen' to make these targets - despite possible negative impact on other aspects of care. At the same time budget targets are often ignored - leading to huge overspends and losses in specific trusts.

The culture paradigm

So the assumptions which constitute the culture paradigm in the example above reflect the common public perception in the UK that the NHS is a "good thing" and public service which should be provided equally, free of charge at the point of delivery. (Though almost everyone agrees that it's too expensive to run.)

However, in our experience and from the case above, there is an emerging tension between a culture where medical values are central so the dominant view that "medics know best" and managers and patients need to 'fit in.' On the other hand there is an emerging view that the culture is changing to one where the obsession is with meeting bureaucratic targets set by managers or worse still politicians. Sadly in both these cultures 'patient need' is secondary.

Regardless of the overall power dynamic the NHS is an organisation concerned with curing illness rather than preventing it. For example, pregnancy is not an illness, but pregnant women often argue that hospitals treat them as though they are ill. Overall, the NHS is seen as belonging to those who provide or manage the service.

Of course the NHS isn't the only sector in transition. In many charities fundraising is seen as almost 'dirty,' a necessary evil. This culture has prevailed in the UK arts and culture until recently - but cutbacks in state funding mean that this is changing. In many development charities there is a move to a more 'development in partnership with local people' culture away from a simple 'emergency relief/foreign experts know best' culture.

Is your paradigm changing? Do you want it to change? Does a change in your environment mean you have to change?

What to do? Five steps to change and align culture

Understanding culture is not enough. The point is to change it. And to do this you need to follow five steps.

1. Analyse culture as it is now (and be honest!)

Job one is to sit down and work out accurately what the culture is now. There are a number of ways to do this. Focus groups, especially externally facilitated ones, can be a great way to get a real handle on this. You also might want to run an anonymous survey monkey study. (See below for suitable questions to ask.) It's essential that this is a candid 'warts and all' approach. You can map the results using the web model.

2. Imagine the culture as you want it to be

With the picture of your current cultural web complete, think next about how you would like things to be - ideally. (It will never be perfect in action.)

In the case of the NHS example above, we might suggest putting the patient literally at the centre of the culture to change the mindset.

Starting from your organisation's strategy, think about how you want your culture to work, if everything was correctly aligned. To make it concrete we often then list the key stakeholders and describe how things will be better for them in the new culture. These stakeholders could include: staff, beneficiaries, service users, donors and others.

3. Map the differences between the two

Now compare your two cultural web diagrams, and identify the differences between them. Considering your vision, mission and values:

What strengths are clear from your analysis?

What factors work - and you just need to encourage and reinforce them?

What weaknesses are hindering your vision and mission, or are misaligned?

Which factors do you need to change - and what are the key few?

Who needs to agree, be informed about, or sign off any changes?

What new beliefs and behaviours do you need to promote at different levels?

4. Make an action plan

You need an action plan to make sure that the culture change actually takes place. This plan should establish:

The key issues to address - both to reinforce and change

Who should take action - senior commitment to action is essential

How you will track and measure changes

Explain exactly how this will help deliver strategy and beneficiary payoffs

This plan should ideally be published and available to everyone. (Provided transparency is a part of your culture!)

5. Measure differences over time

You need track that your approach was actually implemented and that it has had the desired effect. (So what you do may not have had the impact you hoped for.)

Put in place a timeline to measure changes in beliefs and associated behaviour over an appropriate period - a week, a month, and a year. (How long depends on the scale and scope of the change.)

Where's the data to say this produced the results you wanted? Are the key beneficiaries - the donors, the service users, the staff members - experiencing the payoffs that the change was meant to deliver?

Questions to help when mapping culture

To undertake the mapping of the actual and desired culture it can help to have some questions to focus your thinking. Start by looking at each element separately, and ask yourself other questions that help you determine the dominant factors in each.

Stories

What stories do people tell about your organisation - internally and externally?

What do existing employees talk about when they think of agency history?

What stories do they tell new people who join the agency?

What heroes, villains and mavericks appear in these stories?

Example of an environmental campaigning charity:

Rituals and routines

What do volunteers expect when they walk in - a hippy welcome or formal receptionist?

What do employees expect when they start - a welcome from the CEO or being slotted into a systematic process?

When a problem is encountered, what rules do people apply when they solve it: act and then ask permission? Or seek permission first?

Example of an environmental campaigning charity:

Symbols

Is specific jargon or language used? How well known and usable by everyone is this?

Are there any obvious status symbols? Or even anti status symbols?

What's the image of your organisation, from the viewpoints of donors, stakeholders and staff?

Example of an environmental campaigning charity:

Organisational structure

Is the structure flat or hierarchical? Formal or informal? Organic or mechanistic?

Where are the formal lines of authority? And who can challenge what?

Are there informal lines of power or communications?

Example of an environmental campaigning charity:

Control systems

What process or procedure has the tightest controls - finance, fundraising, ethics, quality?

Is the agency generally loosely or tightly controlled?

What reports are issued to keep control of operations, finance, etc....?

Example of an environmental campaigning charity:

Power structures

Who has the real power in the agency? Is it the same as the formal power?

Who makes or influences key decisions? (What's the role of Board, SMT, and CEO?)

How is this power used or abused?

Example of an environmental campaigning charity:

The CEO believes in engaging staff very widely in decision making on all key issues.

Hmmm some people have special access to the senior management team.

The whistleblowing code is widely respected and used - anyone can challenge anything.

(This article draws on material from www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_90.htm)

What's next?

If you've found this article interesting and want to talk to us about transforming the culture at your organisation, visit our Management Consultancy pages, contact us online, or call 020 7978 1516.

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Culture eats strategy for breakfast - The Management Centre

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Management, leadership, fundraising & communications skills training for charities, local councils, public sector, arts & higher education organisations.