D4: Focus

By using the word “internal” it implies that we also make use of “external normative windows”.

The internal normative windows have been defined by us. Some of the answers given by respondents when measuring their culture may, per definition, be dysfunctional. Thus, until now we have not met clients who claim that it is functional that managers and non-managers alike don’t keep their promises. The size of these internal normative windows are fixed and don’t change.

The external normative windows are defined by the client. This is done by assessing the environment in which the culture is embedded, such as the number of employees, degree of seniority, type of technology, degree of competition, etc. The sizes of these windows vary according to the answers given online. These questions are unrelated to the questions used to measure the actual culture. The internal and external windows together define the strategic window

The actual culture is the culture as it is now. Whereas the optimal culture is the culture as one would like it to be, in order to realize one’s objectives in the best possible way.
We measure the actual culture online by asking respondents to answer 76 questions. This is done in such a way that respondents will give socially desirable answers as little as possible.

In the case of measuring labour satisfaction, the aim is to know how respondents feel about their work situation. In the case of culture one wants to describe objective reality in comparative terms as adequately as possible, therefore trying to avoid socially desirable answers.

The strategic window is that part of the dimension in which management can position its optimal culture successfully. If management would position the optimal culture within the internal normative window, then management would make its culture dysfunctional. If management would position the optimal culture within the external normative window, it may suck away too much energy as it is either not feasible or it may backfire. Thus, in a nuclear power plant safety is of the utmost importance, whereas productivity is only defined by whether the plant is in operation or not. Preventive maintenance and control is therefore most important, but next to that productivity cannot be increased by the way people relate to their work. In that case, the external normative window will push the optimal culture into a means-oriented direction, leaving a strategic window of not more than 10 points.

We make a distinction between actual culture, i.e. the culture as it is now, and optimal culture, i.e. the culture, which, if put in place, will enable the realisation of your objectives in the best possible way.

• Clarification 1
• Clarification 2