How Visible Forces and Invisible Forces Shape Culture - The Safety Master

Edward Stack, CEO of one of the biggest retail stores, Dick's Sporting Goods has taken a stand to stop selling assault rifles after the events of the massacre in Parkland, Florida. Additionally, the firearms that they continue to carry will be only sold to people who are 21 or older. In a moment when the nation is divided on the second amendment as well as gun control and public safety, how could such a firm as Dick's make this decision? Did it come from the fact that Nikolas Cruz the 19-year-old who committed the attack, bought the gun previously from Dick's? Was it due to the young people protesting against gun violence? What are the implications for culture? These answers are available through examining how the environment affects the way we make decisions, public opinion as well as leadership and even culture. You Can opt for  Safety Software company in India for more information.

When people discuss culture they usually refer to the inner environment as well as "the ways we conduct ourselves within our own communities." But the concept of culture is much more than the environment that surrounds us. One of the most renowned experts on culture is Dr. Edgar Schein, said in an interviewthat "Culture is the way a group learns to be as a means to survive and also being able to get along internally and addressing its issues externally. What's often not understood is how external influences affect the culture ."

In this article, we introduce the notion that both the inside and external environment influence culture and that culture is much more than the environment you work in and is more than what's visible to the eye. In this you can take help from Behavior-Based Safety Training form the best safety training institutes in India.

The internal environment

The inner environment can be spoken of in 2 different subsets the visible and the hidden internal.

The environment visible in the workplace is comprised of construction, lighting, furniture equipment, space, and. Space, resources, and equipment can drastically affect the way people behave.

For instance, I can remember my time as a front-line worker in a factory in which employees would debate over who was allowed to be the first to sit in the few chairs along the line. Because of the perceived lack of resources, the employees were competitive, irritable and hostile. One could blame the employees for being negative or accuse managers of being uninformed, but either creates a negative environment.

It is also possible to "change the society" by offering seminars about how to end the drama. But, the leader who knows how the physical environment influences the culture can simply spend some hundred dollars to acquire the necessary amount of chairs. It is important to remember that we frequently try to "change our culture" even though a small change within the physical environment can make a significant difference.

The invisible inner environment can be harder to understand. The components of the invisible inner environment comprise the processes, history of the past, implicit assumptions, and assumptions. While you aren't able to discern any of these things through your physical eyes the invisible components ultimately manifest in the physical realm of behavior and "the ways we conduct ourselves within our own lives." The relationships in the workplace reside in the shadows because relationships are based on how we view others. How you view yourself as well as the way you view others affect your connection or lack of it.

Furthermore that status and identity influence how people view one another and how they perceive each other. These perceptions influence the cultural practices. For instance when working on the factory floor there was usually an unspoken"us-versus-them" mindset in the case of those working in production and those in the sanitation department even though we all worked for the same firm.

The External Environment

The external environment can also include both invisible and visible influences. The visible external comprises your location, your customers and even your competition. For instance, if Wendy's opens a store just across the street from an Burger King, we see how the forces that are present in the external environment affect the company for better or for the worse.

See how the intangible elements of relationships, politics and the current political climate are influencing the decisions of executives. Stack as well as Dick's Sporting Goods were willing to take a strong political stance, even though they could be at risk of other alliances with political parties, such as the NRA.

Another instance of how legislation impacts the environment was when Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services were allowed to penalize healthcare providers who didn't switch in to the use of electronic medical records. From large hospitals to small clinics across the country were required to conform as sanctions were imposed on those who didn't and rewards were awarded to those who adhered to the rules. It's not hard to imagine the strain on relationships at work as healthcare workers attempted to master and use new technology at their own pace and at their own pace.

Conclusion

It's more than "how we conduct ourselves in our daily lives" or "a collection of beliefs that guide our behavior." Corporate leaders can take a major role in shaping not just the culture of their workplace, but possibly the cultural norms of a nation. When Dick's Sporting Goods took a position on guns, Walmart and Kroger swiftly adopted the same position "defying and ignoring the NRA" as reported on ABC News.

In other words the end, culture isn't only about the outside the workplace. The culture is formed by both the invisible and visible forces and some of them that the leaders are in control of and others that require leaders to respond. To comprehend culture it is essential to study the influences from the environment, both visible and the invisible, both external and internal.