Assesment

VTT RESEARCH NOTES 2140

ESPOO 2002

Group
forms
s
Set

Defines

the

Core task

Influences

ies
dar
oun
b

Criteria for
survival in

Culture
Definition of current
culture:
- values
- practices
- artefacts

Field

Environment
The current

Model of core task:

definition of

- critical content of the
work

Validity of current
assumptions

- criticaldemands of
work

- def. of core task

Teemu Reiman & Pia Oedewald

The assessment of organisational culture
A methodological study

VTT TIEDOTTEITA – RESEARCH NOTES 2140

The assessment of
organisational culture
A methodological study
Teemu Reiman & Pia Oedewald
VTT Industrial Systems

ISBN 951–38–5893–6 (soft back ed.)
ISSN 1235–0605 (soft back ed.)
ISBN 951–38–5894–4 (URL:http://www.inf.vtt.fi/pdf/)
ISSN 1455–0865 (URL: http://www.inf.vtt.fi/pdf/)
Copyright © VTT 2002

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VTT Industrial Systems, Tekniikantie 12, P.O.Box 1301, FIN–02044 VTT, Finland
phone internat. + 358 9 4561, fax + 358 9 456 6752Technical editing Marja Kettunen

Otamedia Oy, Espoo 2002

Reiman, Teemu & Oedewald, Pia. The assessment of organisational culture. A methodological study.
Espoo 2002. VTT Tiedotteita – Research Notes 2140. 39 p.
Keywords

organisational culture, safety culture, cultural assessment, nuclear power industry,
organisational research

Abstract
This report examines the assessment anddevelopment of organisational culture in
complex organisations. It covers definitions of organisational culture and safety culture,
and the research that has been conducted. The common definition of organisational
culture is adjusted with the aid of the core-task concept. Organisational culture is
defined as a solution created by an organisation for the demands set by the core task.
Thedevelopment of an organisation’s operations requires an understanding of the
overall dynamics (culture) of the organisation’s activities, but also an assessment of the
impact of culture on operational efficiency. The criteria of organisations’ operational
efficiency must be determined on a case-by-case basis. The Contextual Assessment of
Organisational Culture (CAOC) methodology proposed in thereport uses both
qualitative and quantitative methods. Determining the culture prevailing in a company
at some moment in time requires the study of the company’s values, practices, artefacts
and of the core task defined by them. By comparing these elements an attempt is made
to clarify the underlying assumptions prevailing in a company. Core-task analysis, on
the other hand, helps to determinethe main content of work and the critical demands it
sets for working practices. The research requires close cooperation with target groups
and covers both the practical problems and the resulting research problems which one
strives to resolve. One aim is to commit personnel to ponder and reflect on their own
work and in this way to reduce opposition to change and to create the conditions forthe
continuation of internal development work also after the research is completed.
Operational development seminars organised during the research deepen the
researchers’ picture of the culture and act at the same time as a practical channel for
operational development and as a chance for personnel to exert their influence.
methodology has been developed particularly for application in...