Organisational culture: The Incubator organisational culture

In the blog last week, we explored an overview of Trompenaars’s cultural framework model. This week we are going to evaluate the first of his four organisational types called the Incubator culture.

Strengths of the Incubator culture

In this culture, members typically feel that obligations to the organisation is secondary to their concern for personal professional fulfilment and development. In this sense, the culture is very open, tolerant, and egalitarian. Within this culture, there is very limited structure, rules, policies, and what we might call the normal managerial systems, as it functions essentially as an adhocracy.

Such organisations typically focus on developing innovative products or services establishing an environment of intense emotional commitment to both projects and to other members of the team.

Then, motivation does not arise from struggles for power or position but rather from the freedom to demonstrate professional codes of practise while participating fully in problem solving and contributing to the creative process. Moreover, leadership roles are achieved on merit, objective evidence of professional excellence, and respect gained from colleagues inside and outside of the culture.

Weaknesses of the Incubator culture

However, this type of culture can begin to become unstable if it grows too fast and the number of employees exceeds approximately 70. The primary reasons for this are that the leader finds it increasingly difficult to maintain day to day personal control over employees and events while the much-loved opportunities for spontaneous communication are also disrupted.

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Question 1

Why do members of these cultures tend to ignore the organisational management hierarchy?

Question 2

How might other members of the organisation feel about these rather elite employees?

Question 3

What might be the preferred organisational style for small enterprise business cultures?

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We shall explore Question 3 in the next blog.

Reference

Trompenaars, F. & Hampden-Turner, C. (1997). Riding the waves of culture: understanding cultural diversity in business. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.