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ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · Organisational culture

Delta Co's mission statement says 'we put customers first'. Staff, however, routinely ignore complaints because they believe senior management only cares about short-term sales. Which statement best explains the position in terms of Schein's model?

The stated 'customers first' value is only an espoused value, while staff behaviour is driven by deeper underlying assumptions that contradict it. Basic underlying assumptions are the deepest level of culture and usually determine actual behaviour, so the gap shows the culture differs from what is claimed.

  1. AThe espoused values conflict with the basic underlying assumptions that actually drive behaviourCorrect
  2. BThe artefacts and the basic underlying assumptions are identical in this case
  3. CThe espoused values are the deepest level and so override the assumptions staff hold

Explanation

The mission statement is an espoused value, the stated position. Staff behaviour reflects the deeper assumptions they actually hold, which differ. The deepest level is the assumptions, not the espoused values, and behaviour is usually driven by them.

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