This section will help you understand the organizational culture of your agency and allow you to identify the formal and informal culture that impedes or facilitates the implementation of the TJC model.

What is organizational culture?

Stanley Herman, a well-known organization development consultant, defined organizational culture as the prevailing assumptions, values, and norms that characterize the management and interactions that occur in the daily operation of the organization.¹

The organizational culture dictates how things are done, the type of people it attracts, who exercises authority, what behavior is rewarded (both formally and informally), and how the staff view their job and role in the organization.

Herman also introduced the idea of the organizational iceberg to depict the strength of the informal and hidden cultural elements in organizational life, which are often as powerful as the formal elements in dictating how the organization operates and changes over time. In other words, you must consider how the formal and informal aspects of your organization are interrelated when developing and implementing the TJC model.

The iceberg metaphor is quite simple:

First, picture an iceberg and remember what we were taught as kids; only a small part of an iceberg is visible above water. The tip that we see seems like the entire iceberg, but it's actually less than 10 percent of its mass.

The formal aspects of an organization (e.g., mission, goals, policies, procedures, physical facilities, and financial resources) are the iceberg's tip, floating above the water. Everyone pays attention to the tip without remembering that what lies under the water—the human, cultural, informal aspects of the organizational culture. These aspects often control the organization.

The Organizational Iceberg

Above the Water: Formal Organizational Aspects

Waterline: Interorganization Aspects

• How people outside the organization view it

Below the Water: Human Aspects

After reviewing the organizational iceberg, think about how important it is to identify and address the “waterline” and “below the water” aspects of your organization. Remember that implementation of the TJC model will likely fail unless these human aspects support it.

Waterline

• How is your organization perceived by other organizations with which you interact?
• How is your organization perceived by the community?
• Do you receive open and honest feedback from other organizations about your organization?
• Do others perceive your organization and staff as committed to helping people transition from jail to the community?

Below the Water

• Are the formal and informal structures in your organization consistent?
• Who has informal power in the organization and may influence how the TJC model is perceived?
• Are there differences among the staff with regard to the roles and mission of the agency?
• Will the TJC model disrupt any power and influence patterns at your agency?
• Do you know the individual needs, desires, and feelings of your staff?
• Are the staff willing supporters of the TJC model? If not, why?
• Are the staff willing to partner and share power and resources with staff in other stakeholder agencies?

Institutionalizing the TJC model in your agency

How do you develop an organizational culture supportive of the TJC model that becomes so strong and institutionalized that the leaders can leave and the new organizational culture continues?

The answer lies in the leaders' ability to articulate the application of the TJC model; but more importantly, institutionalization is won or lost based upon what the leaders actually do. When implementing a model that requires change, leadership modeling is essential. Even a very articulate, charismatic leader who says all the right things cannot fool people into buying into and integrating these practices unless the leader lives, eats, and breathes the model on a consistent basis.

Other key points to remember when changing the organizational culture

• The organizational environment must be safe, secure, and stable before change can take place.
• Articulate every single initiative in the context of your mission and vision.
• Build strong relationships with external stakeholders, communities, internal stakeholders, those incarcerated, and service providers.
• Develop a culture that focuses on learning for the purpose of obtaining the best results and enhancing long-term public safety.
• Commit to measurement, self–assessment, monitoring, and change as needed.
• Develop a sense of ownership by all staff.
• Provide staff incentives for being part of the TJC model.
• Deliver organizational transparency.

For more information:

1. Christensen, Gary, E. 2004. Leadership within Corrections: The Creation of Learning Organizations. Corrections Managers’ Report. Available: http://www.correctionspartners.com/articles/Lead_w-in_corr.orgs_learning_orgs.pdf.

2. Flaherty-Zonis, Carol. 2007. Building Culture Strategically: A Team Approach for Corrections, published by National Institute of Corrections.

3. Foxall, Mark,. 2006. “Analyzing Our Culture to Improve Our Jail,” Douglas County Department of Corrections, Omaha, Nebraska. In National Institute of Correction's Proceedings of the Large Jail Network Meeting.

¹ Stanley M. Herman, “What Is This Thing Called Organization Development?” Personnel Journal 50 (1971): 595–603.