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Business and Technology · Organisational culture

Other Culture Models: Deal and Kennedy, Johnson and Scholes

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Deal and Kennedy classify culture into four types by two factors: the level of risk and the speed of feedback. The types are tough-guy macho, work hard play hard, bet your company and process. Johnson and Scholes' cultural web describes culture through six elements around a central paradigm. To answer questions, match the clues to a type or element.

Understand Other Culture Models: Deal and Kennedy, Johnson and Scholes

Culture is the shared beliefs, values and habits of an organisation: "the way we do things here". Several models help you describe it. You already know Handy and Schein. This topic adds two more: Deal and Kennedy, and Johnson and Scholes.

Deal and Kennedy sort cultures using two questions. How much risk do the firm's decisions carry? How quickly does the firm learn whether those decisions worked? Two levels of each give four types.

  • Tough-guy macho: high risk, fast feedback. Individuals take big gambles and know quickly if they won. Think stock traders or advertising. It rewards stars, but it can create stress, short-termism and weak teamwork.
  • Work hard, play hard: low risk, fast feedback. Many small sales, lots of activity. Think retail or direct sales. Energy and customer focus are strengths. Quantity can beat quality.
  • Bet your company: high risk, slow feedback. Big decisions pay off over years. Think oil exploration or aircraft building. Careful planning is a strength. Slow feedback can delay learning.
  • Process: low risk, slow feedback. Staff rarely see results, so they focus on how work is done. Think banks, insurers and public bodies. It gives stability and order, but can be bureaucratic and slow to change.

The cultural web by Johnson and Scholes shows how culture is held in place. At the centre is the paradigm: the core set of assumptions about the organisation and its environment. Around it sit six elements that reinforce it:

  • Stories: tales about past events and people that staff repeat.
  • Symbols: logos, offices, titles, dress and language.
  • Power structures: the groups that hold real influence, not always the top of the chart.
  • Organisational structure: formal hierarchy and informal ways of working.
  • Control systems: measures, rewards and rules that show what is valued.
  • Rituals and routines: regular behaviours, meetings and ceremonies.

The web is useful for diagnosis. If you map each element, you see why culture is hard to change: every element supports the paradigm. Change usually needs several elements altered together.

Key formulas to remember

Deal and Kennedy test
Culture type = level of risk + speed of feedback
High risk + fast = tough-guy macho. Low risk + fast = work hard, play hard. High risk + slow = bet your company. Low risk + slow = process.
Cultural web elements
Paradigm at centre + stories, symbols, power structures, organisational structure, control systems, rituals and routines
Six surrounding elements. Remember them as 'SS-POC-R': Stories, Symbols, Power, Organisation, Control, Routines.

How to solve Other Culture Models: Deal and Kennedy, Johnson and Scholes questions

Use this method for any question on Deal and Kennedy or the cultural web.

  1. 1Identify the model the question uses. Look for words such as risk, feedback, stories or symbols.
  2. 2For Deal and Kennedy, judge the risk of the main decisions: high or low.
  3. 3Judge the speed of feedback: do staff see results quickly or after a long time?
  4. 4Combine the two answers to pick the type from the four.
  5. 5For the cultural web, decide which element each clue fits. A tale about a founder is a story. A reserved parking space is a symbol.
  6. 6Check the other options and rule out any that clash with the scenario.
  7. 7If asked about change, remember that the elements reinforce the paradigm, so several may need to change.

Quickest way: Risk and feedback grid, element sorting

When to use it: Use in Section A objective test questions where you have about a minute or two per question.

  1. Underline the clues in the scenario.
  2. Ask: big gamble or small steps? Quick results or slow results?
  3. Place the answer on a 2 by 2 grid in your head.
  4. For cultural web clues, ask: is it told, seen, held, measured or repeated? Told is stories, seen is symbols, held is power, measured is control, repeated is rituals.
  5. Choose the matching option and move on.

Common mistakes in Other Culture Models: Deal and Kennedy, Johnson and Scholes

  • Confusing tough-guy macho with work hard, play hard.

    Both have fast feedback, so students stop after one test.

    Fix: Always check risk. High risk is tough-guy macho. Low risk with many small transactions is work hard, play hard.

  • Calling a bank or public body a bet your company culture.

    Slow feedback is spotted but risk is ignored.

    Fix: Slow feedback with low risk and focus on procedures is process culture. Bet your company needs high-stakes decisions.

  • Mixing up symbols and rituals.

    Both are visible parts of daily life.

    Fix: Symbols are objects, titles, logos and language. Rituals and routines are repeated behaviours and events.

  • Treating the paradigm as just another element.

    It is drawn in the same diagram.

    Fix: The paradigm is the core set of assumptions at the centre. The six elements sit around it and reinforce it.

  • Confusing power structures with organisational structure.

    Both sound like the org chart.

    Fix: Power structures are who really has influence. Organisational structure is the formal hierarchy and ways of working.

  • Mixing up Deal and Kennedy with Handy's types.

    Both models give four culture types.

    Fix: Handy uses power, role, task and person. Deal and Kennedy use risk and feedback.

Worked examples

Example 1

A firm sells home insurance. Staff follow strict procedures, decisions carry little risk and it takes years to see whether a policy was profitable. Which Deal and Kennedy culture is this? Options: A Tough-guy macho; B Work hard, play hard; C Bet your company; D Process.

Show the solution
  1. Risk: decisions carry little risk, so low.
  2. Feedback: years to see results, so slow.
  3. Low risk with slow feedback is the process culture.
  4. Rule out A and C, which need high risk. Rule out B, which needs fast feedback.

Answer: D Process

Example 2

At a company, the finance director's reserved parking space is much admired, and staff often retell how the founder once refunded a customer from her own pocket. Which two cultural web elements do these show? Options: A Symbols and stories; B Rituals and control systems; C Power structures and symbols; D Stories and organisational structure.

Show the solution
  1. The parking space is an object that signals status, so it is a symbol.
  2. The retelling of the founder's act is a tale about a past event, so it is a story.
  3. Option A pairs symbols and stories.
  4. The other options include elements for which the scenario gives no clue.

Answer: A Symbols and stories

Exam tips

  • Learn the two-by-two grid for Deal and Kennedy. It lets you answer in seconds.
  • Link each type to an example industry, as scenarios often hint at one.
  • Memorise the six web elements and what each covers, and keep paradigm separate.
  • Watch for the words 'risk' and 'feedback'. They signal Deal and Kennedy. Words like 'stories' and 'symbols' signal the web.
  • In multiple response questions, read how many answers to select and tick only options supported by the scenario.

Practice questions from Organisational culture

Other Culture Models: Deal and Kennedy, Johnson and Scholes: frequently asked questions

What are the four Deal and Kennedy culture types?

They are tough-guy macho, work hard play hard, bet your company and process. Each comes from combining high or low risk with fast or slow feedback.

What are the elements of the cultural web?

The web has a central paradigm and six elements: stories, symbols, power structures, organisational structure, control systems, and rituals and routines. Together they reinforce the culture.

Why is culture hard to change according to the cultural web?

Every element supports the paradigm, so changing one alone is usually not enough. Staff fall back into old habits unless several elements shift together.

Is process culture bad?

No. It suits settings where accuracy and order matter, such as banks. Its weakness is that it can become bureaucratic and slow to adapt.