Overview

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Organizations thrive when leaders understand how culture is formed, sustained, and transformed over time. This course explores the evolution of organizational culture, focusing on how leadership shapes shared values, behaviors, and long-term business success in dynamic professional environments. Learners will gain practical insights into how cultures emerge through external adaptation and internal integration, and how leaders actively embed and transmit cultural values across organizations. By examining the stages of organizational growth, maturity, and decline, participants will develop the ability to recognize cultural patterns and guide meaningful organizational change. The course combines foundational leadership and organizational theory with real-world cultural dynamics found in modern organizations. It provides a balanced approach that connects strategic leadership concepts with practical applications for managing evolving workplace cultures. This course is ideal for managers, team leaders, HR professionals, business students, and aspiring executives seeking to better understand organizational behavior and cultural transformation. A basic understanding of workplace structures and leadership concepts is recommended. This course is part two of a three-course Specialization designed to provide a comprehensive learning pathway in this subject area. While it delivers standalone value and practical skills, learners seeking a more integrated and in-depth progression may benefit from completing the full Specialization. From Organizational Culture and Leadership. Copyright © 2017 by Edgar H. Schein. All rights reserved. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Syllabus

How Culture Begins and the Role of the Founder of Organizations

This module explores how organizational culture emerges from group dynamics and the pivotal influence of founders. Through real-world examples, learners will examine the stages of group development and analyze how leaders' backgrounds and values shape company culture.

How External Adaptation and Internal Integration Become Culture

This module explores how organizations develop culture through the processes of external adaptation and internal integration. Learners will examine how mission, goals, structure, power distribution, and group norms shape organizational identity and effectiveness. The module also addresses how organizations handle measurement, correction, and unpredictable challenges.

How Leaders Embed and Transmit Culture

This module explores the various ways leaders shape, reinforce, and transmit organizational culture through their actions, decisions, and the systems they establish. Learners will examine key mechanisms such as resource allocation, crisis management, selection processes, and the design of physical spaces to understand how culture becomes embedded and sustained over time. By the end, participants will gain insights into the interconnected nature of culture and leadership within organizations.

The Culture Dynamics of Organizational Growth, Maturity, and Decline

This module explores how organizational culture evolves as companies grow, mature, and decentralize. Learners will examine the emergence of subcultures, the challenges of maintaining a unified culture, and the impact of structural changes such as divisionalization and hierarchical differentiation. The module also delves into the unique perspectives of operator, engineering, and executive subcultures.

Natural and Guided Cultural Evolution

This module explores the dynamic processes by which organizational culture evolves, both naturally and through intentional leadership actions. Learners will examine how factors such as leadership succession, technological change, mergers, and the infusion of outsiders can drive cultural transformation and impact organizational maturity. Practical strategies for guiding and sustaining culture change are also discussed.