Strategic Business Leader · Enabling success: organising

Organisational Culture and the Cultural Web for SBL

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Organisational culture is the shared beliefs and ways of working in an organisation. In SBL you use models to diagnose it: Handy (power, role, task, person), Hofstede (national dimensions), Schein (three levels) and the cultural web (six elements around a paradigm). Then you link the findings to strategy and change.

Understand Organisational Culture and the Cultural Web

Culture is the set of shared assumptions, values and habits that make people in an organisation act as they do. It is often summed up as "the way we do things here". You cannot see most of it, but it shapes decisions, behaviour and how people react to change.

The models give you structured ways to describe it. Schein says culture has three levels. Artefacts are what you can see, such as dress, office layout, rituals and logos. Espoused values are what the organisation says it believes, such as in mission statements. Basic underlying assumptions are the unspoken beliefs that people take for granted. The deepest level is the hardest to see and to change.

Handy (building on Harrison) describes four types. Power culture has control at the centre, with a few decision makers and fast decisions. Role culture is built on rules, procedures and clear job descriptions. Task culture is team-based and focused on getting projects done. Person culture exists for the individuals in it, as in a partnership of professionals. Hofstede studied national culture and described dimensions such as power distance, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term versus short-term orientation and indulgence versus restraint. It matters for international businesses.

The cultural web (Johnson and Scholes) shows what holds a culture in place. At the centre is the paradigm, the core set of beliefs. Around it are six elements: stories, symbols, power structures, organisational structures, control systems and rituals and routines. Use it to describe the current culture, show why it resists change and decide which elements to change.

SBL does not reward definitions alone. It rewards use. Pick the model that fits the case, pull evidence from the scenario, say what the culture means for strategy, performance, ethics or change, and make a clear recommendation.

Key rules to remember

Schein's three levels: Artefacts → Espoused values → Basic underlying assumptions; Moves from visible to hidden. Deeper levels are harder to change.
Handy's four cultures: Power | Role | Task | Person; Match the type to evidence such as decision making, rules, teams or individual autonomy.
Hofstede's dimensions: Power distance | Individualism-collectivism | Masculinity-femininity | Uncertainty avoidance | Long-term orientation | Indulgence-restraint; Describes national culture. Use it as a guide to likely tendencies, not as a fixed label for every person.
Cultural web: Paradigm at the centre, surrounded by: Stories, Symbols, Power structures, Organisational structures, Control systems, Rituals and routines; Six outer elements plus the paradigm. Always link them back to the paradigm.

How to solve Organisational Culture and the Cultural Web questions

Use this method for any SBL requirement on culture, whether it asks you to analyse, assess or recommend.

1Read the requirement and note the verb. Analyse, evaluate, advise and recommend need different depth.
2Choose the model that fits. Use the cultural web for a full diagnosis or change, Handy for type of organisation, Hofstede for cross-border issues, Schein for visible versus hidden culture.
3Pull evidence from the scenario for each part of the model. Quote or refer to specific facts.
4Interpret each point. Say what it shows about the culture and why it matters for the organisation.
5Link culture to the issue in the case, such as poor performance, ethics, a merger, an overseas expansion or resistance to change.
6Recommend specific actions. Say which elements to change, who should lead and what could go wrong.
7Add professional skills. Be balanced, sceptical of claims in the case, and write in the format asked (report, memo, briefing).

Quickest way: Web-and-so-what method

When to use it: When time is short and you must produce a focused answer to a culture requirement in a few minutes.

Jot the six web headings and the paradigm in the margin.
Scan the scenario and write one fact against each heading.
Write the paradigm in one sentence.
For each fact, add a short so-what: does it support or block the strategy?
Finish with two or three actions aimed at the elements that block the change most.

Common mistakes in Organisational Culture and the Cultural Web

Listing the elements of the web or Handy's types without using the case.
It feels safe to recall theory, and students run short of time.
Fix: Give a fact from the scenario for every point, then say what it means.
Treating Hofstede's results as true of every person in a country.
The scores look like facts about individuals.
Fix: Say the dimensions show general tendencies in national culture, and check the case for evidence about the actual people.
Leaving out the paradigm or not linking elements to it.
Students focus on the six outer elements.
Fix: State the paradigm first and show how each element reinforces it.
Confusing structure with power structures in the web.
The two names sound alike.
Fix: Power structures are who really holds influence. Organisational structures are the formal design, such as reporting lines and hierarchy.
Describing the culture but giving no advice on changing it.
The requirement is read as only a description task.
Fix: Check the verb. If it says recommend or advise, name which elements to change and how.
Saying one culture type is always best.
Students assume a modern, team-based style must be better.
Fix: Judge fit. A role culture can suit stable, regulated work; a task culture can suit changing, project-based work.

Worked examples

Example 1

Karta Foods, a family-owned manufacturer, has a founder who makes nearly all decisions. Managers wait for his approval, even for small items. The founder tells stories of how he built the firm from one shop. Staff who question him are quietly sidelined. A new strategy needs faster, more innovative decisions. Using Handy's model, assess the current culture and the fit with the new strategy. (8 marks)

Show the solution

Identify the type. Control sits with one person, decisions go through him and loyalty to him is rewarded. This fits a power culture.
Give evidence. Managers wait for approval, questioning is punished and the founder's stories are central.
State the strengths. Power cultures decide quickly when the leader is sure, and they react fast to a clear threat. This suited a firm building from a single shop.
State the weaknesses for the new strategy. The firm needs innovation and speed across many decisions. The founder becomes a bottleneck, managers are not used to taking initiative and ideas are discouraged.
Judge the fit. The culture is a poor fit with a strategy that needs distributed decision making.
Recommend. Move gradually toward a task culture for innovation projects, delegate defined decisions with clear limits, and reward managers who take initiative. The founder's support is essential, so involve him in setting the limits.

Answer: Karta Foods has a power culture centred on the founder. It helped the firm in its early years but is a poor fit with a strategy needing fast, innovative decisions. The firm should delegate, create project-based teams and reward initiative, with the founder's visible backing.

Example 2

Meridian Bank, a long-established lender, wants to become more customer-focused. Currently: staff tell the story of the 'golden years' when no loan was ever refused outside head office rules; senior managers have reserved parking and a top-floor dining room; promotion goes to those who follow procedure; a large rule book controls lending. Using the cultural web, explain why change will be hard. (10 marks)

Show the solution

State the paradigm. Staff believe that safe, rule-following, head-office control is how the bank succeeds.
Stories. The golden years story praises rule-following and protects the old way. It makes flexible, customer-led lending look risky.
Symbols. Reserved parking and a top-floor dining room show status and distance between senior managers and staff. They signal hierarchy, not customer service.
Power structures. Power rests with senior managers and head office who value procedure. They may resist changes that reduce their influence.
Organisational structures. The structure is formal and hierarchical with decisions at head office, so branch staff cannot respond quickly to customers.
Control systems. The large rule book and promotion for following procedure reward compliance, so staff have no incentive to serve customers differently.
Rituals and routines are not described, so say so and advise checking how meetings and lending reviews run. Do not invent facts.
Conclude. Every element supports the same paradigm, so they reinforce each other and make change slow. Change must be made across several elements together, for example new promotion criteria, delegated lending limits, changed symbols and new customer success stories.

Answer: Change will be hard because stories, symbols, power structures, organisational structures and control systems all reinforce a rule-following, head-office paradigm. Meridian needs coordinated change across these elements, starting with the control systems and power structures, and with senior managers visibly modelling the new behaviour.

Exam tips

Do not write the model out in full. Use only the parts that the scenario gives you evidence for.
Say when the case gives no evidence for an element, and suggest what you would check. That shows scepticism.
Always end with a so-what: how culture affects the strategy, performance, ethics or change in the case.
For overseas expansion, use Hofstede but also check for subcultures and the firm's own culture.
Use professional skills marks wisely. Keep the answer in the format asked and make your recommendation clear and practical.

Practice questions from Enabling success: organising

Organisational Culture and the Cultural Web: frequently asked questions

What is the cultural web in SBL?

It is Johnson and Scholes' tool for describing an organisation's culture. It has a central paradigm and six elements: stories, symbols, power structures, organisational structures, control systems and rituals and routines. You use it to explain why culture resists change and where to act.

What are Handy's four culture types?

They are power, role, task and person. Power is centred on one or a few leaders, role depends on rules and procedures, task is team and project based, and person exists to serve the individuals in it. Match each type to evidence in the case.

How do I use Hofstede's dimensions in an SBL answer?

Use them when the case involves different countries, such as an overseas subsidiary or a cross-border merger. Pick the dimensions that matter, for example power distance or uncertainty avoidance, and explain the likely effect on management style. Warn that they are general tendencies.

How does Schein's model differ from the cultural web?

Schein splits culture into three levels from visible artefacts to hidden underlying assumptions. The cultural web is a more practical tool that lists specific elements around a paradigm. Schein explains depth, and the web helps you plan what to change.