Transit Love 2 and Organizational Culture: The Power of Observation -1

My mother recently underwent cataract surgery.

As it is the most common surgery among South Koreans (ranked 2nd among all surgeries for people in their 40s, 1st among rapidly increasing surgeries for those in their 50s, and 1st among surgeries for those 60 and older, based on major surgery statistics from 2020 by the National Health Insurance Service), despite visiting the hospital during the earliest available appointment slots for four consecutive days to check on her progress post-surgery, there were consistently 11 to 18 people waiting.

The appointment times are essentially meaningless (with an average waiting time of 1 hour). This hospital's operating system quickly reveals the 'tension' palpable among the patients in the waiting room.

Then, a nurse shouted towards the waiting room.

The central waiting area had a long four-row bench that could seat about 30 people. It faced two examination rooms in the front, with a small pillar in between. The 'front chairs' the nurse indicated were a few somewhat uncomfortable-looking white folding chairs placed between the pillar and the examination rooms. That's where they were.

One elderly person who moved to the front chairs as directed by the nurse continued to fiddle with the metal watch on his wrist, seemingly due to the ongoing wait. Eventually, he got up and approached the transparent examination room door, which was now closer than before.

The doctor inside briefly looked up from the equipment and glanced at the patient peering in at the door. He quickly returned his attention to the patient in front of him. The nurse, noticing this a moment later, shouted.

The patient, somewhat embarrassed by the nurse's reprimand, turns back to his chair. What might he be thinking at that moment?

'Am I the problem here?'

And more importantly, wouldn't the other patients in the waiting room have felt his awkwardness?

What if this hospital's core values and organizational culture slogan was 'Patient First'? If this idealistic and unified message were consistently and widely disseminated to potential customers through the hospital's website and social media channels, how would patients who actually visit the hospital perceive a similar experience?

The 'Front Chairs' as a Symbol of Organizational Culture Reality

The 'front chairs' are a symbolic representation of the value proposition structure devised by the nursing staff to alleviate the tension experienced by patients in the waiting room. It helps patients see that they are now 6th in line to be seen after more than an hour of waiting, and seeing other patients move to the front chairs reassures other waiting patients that they, too, will soon benefit from this improved waiting system.

However, those patients who moved closer to the examination room due to the nurse's call became less concerned about the gazes of other patients in the waiting room. Given the extended wait, approaching the examination room feels natural and understandable.

But the most important value proposition for the doctors in the examination rooms is focusing on the patient in front of them. Diagnosing and treating issues related to the 'eyes,' a sensitive part of the body, demands extreme precision. Moreover, fully concentrating on the patient being treated is the best way to minimize discomfort for those waiting in the waiting room. Therefore, even though it is understandable that a patient might approach the glass walls of the examination room to look inside and cast a shadow, it hinders the value proposition that doctors are trying to deliver.

It is clear that the nurses and doctors, as two groups of medical professionals, prioritized the value they provided to the patients. However, it is important to acknowledge that these conflicting value systems are manifesting in the real-world work environment. In other words, we need to acknowledge that the reality of organizational culture is a combination of various conflicting subcultures that cannot be easily defined by ideal expressions.

Bad Culture Mindset VS. Good Culture Mindset

'Culture is the tacit social order of an organization: it shapes attitudes and behaviors in wide-ranging and durable ways.'

Based on the above definition of 'culture' found in a Harvard Business Review article, I would like to categorize perspectives on organizational culture into two main groups.

Bad Culture Mindset:

• Fixed in form,
• Mission- or value-driven,
• An ideal single expression; 'Our culture is...'

Often, when defining corporate culture, organizations stop at 'how do we want to be perceived externally?' This is especially evident in corporate responses, such as indifference to the reality of organizational culture experienced by employees in their actual work environments and denial of the gap between the actual workplace culture and the idealized expressions.

"Organizational culture is the shared way in which people passionately pursue something."

• Brian Chesky, co-founder of AirBnB

This example seems to portray a utopian image of culture. In particular, the word 'passion,' while a great expression that is associated with creativity and energy, is not a core description that can lead to the behaviors and attitudes of organizational members within departments, given that organizations are fundamentally structured around purpose and results.

Furthermore, in the attempts of organizational leaders to define culture as described above, we must acknowledge a fundamental misunderstanding of culture: the belief that it can be defined. In fact, culture 'already exists.'

Following the 2008 global financial crisis triggered by the US, in October 2014, William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, used the word 'culture' 45 times in a speech, arguing that "it is essential to improve the culture of the current financial services industry.".

“(It) exists within every firm, whether it is recognized or ignored, whether it is nurtured or neglected, and whether it is embraced or disavowed.” "(Culture) exists within every company, whether it is acknowledged or overlooked, fostered or neglected, embraced or repudiated."

He emphasized that the "Edginess Culture" prevalent in the urgent and anxious environment that bankers were immersed in and the deep-rooted cultural cues of "winning at all costs" within the financial industry were the seeds of the massive financial crisis that could not be solved through government regulations or changes in organizational structure. He also stated that organizational cultural changes commensurate with changes in the organization's structure are key to sustainable change..

Good Culture Mindset = Holistic Mindset as an Observer

• Complex and messy; a constantly evolving flow
• Conflicts arise and can be irrational; through communication and response among individuals
• Subconsciously and organically connected; prompting us to consider who we are and what values we collectively pursue

Interpreting and understanding culture becomes possible by observing the existing culture as it is. The 'front chairs' in the hospital waiting room mentioned earlier are a prime example of how organizational culture is structured and interacts in the real world from a holistic perspective.

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https://ryan-reason.durumis.com/ko/environment-culture-of-transition-romance-2-the-power-of-observation-um9h7vk9