Good Essay On Edgar Schein Case Analysis

One of the most known and widely commended and respected organizational development consultants is Edgar Schein. Organizational development is the deliberate planning and rallying of the entire organization in order to increase efficiency and help the organization achieve its goals. Schein has been credited for a lot of widely used and acclaimed models practices in the area of organizational development. Many of theories and methodologies are widely used by various organizations and corporations including governments to date. Apart from organizational development, Edgar Schein is also known for career development, coercive persuasion, corporate and organizational culture and group process consultation.
Edgar Henry Schein, was born in in March 1928 to a University of Chicago physics professor. Schein attended University of Chicago where he received a BPhil degree, he then went on to Stanford University where he got a master’s degree in psychology. For his Ph.D., Schein went to the prestigious Harvard University where he earned a Ph.D. in social psychology in 1952. Schein is not only a consultant but also a writer, researcher and teacher. He counts various multinational companies and government organizations in his client list, past and current. Among them are Procter and Gamble, the Economic Development Board of Singapore, International Atomic Energy Agency, Motorola, Helwett-Packard, Shell and many other large companies. He is currently is an MIT Sloan Fellows Professor of Management Emeritus and is a similarly named society. In addition to that, Schein also serves on several board including the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Environmental Quality Review board of New York and the advisory board of Nuclear Power Operations.
One of the best known models put forward by him is the Schein’s organizational culture model. Schein’s model originated in the 1980s. In this model, Schein distinguishes three levels in organizational culture that refer to the degree to which various cultural phenomena are perceived. The first level is artifacts and behaviors, that is, any tangible, verbal or openly done element in an organization. The second level is exposed values, that is, what the organization represents and stands for and the last is shared assumptions, referring to the un-conscious actions and behaviors usually taken for granted in an organization. This model is useful in helping an organization find out how it is perceived by employees and clients and find ways in which the organization can better present itself and continue to evolve and improve itself. He is also known for coming up with ‘career anchors’ that help form constructs of ones values and motives in a career. In an organization this can be helpful in finding out what will keep employees and clients motivated and how to best take advantage of it.
Edgar Schein has published a large number of books and articles covering various aspects of organizational development and organizational culture. He has also conducted various research studies on these topics through the course of many years from as far back as the 1960’s. His research and publications are still widely used and referred to when it comes to organizational management and organizational development. For his work, Schein has received a remarkable number of awards. Some of his most notable awards include: the Life Time Achievement Award which he received from the International Leadership Association in 2012, a 2009 Distinguished Scholar-Practitioner Award of the Academy of Management and an honorary doctorate from IEDC Bled School of Management. Edgar Schein still continues his work in organizational development to date.