Page 19 - MS Perspectives 2014 YIR

are how values are translated into day to day actions by members of the
organization.

Organizational culture is similar to geological rock formations, where there are a
number of layers or strata. The stated values of any company including Huawei
comprise the surface layer of culture. Below the surface layer there is a second
layer of sub-surface values, and finally there is a "bedrock layer of culture," the
ultimate foundation of the culture.

The Surface Level of Culture

Typically the surface level or layer of culture includes what might be termed the
"stated values." This is the set of values that the company presents to the world:
its customers, employees, and shareholders. It usually stated in socially acceptable
terms, as in Exhibit 1 which shows Huawei's stated values. The surface layer also
includes the behavioral norms that people are expected to embody or comply with
as members of the organization. Upon entry into the Huawei campus, we saw a
chart illustrating "acceptable dress code," including examples of women's dress
hem levels.

The Second Layer of Culture

The second or subsurface layer of culture consists of assumptions and values.
These are beliefs about the nature of people, the nature of business, the nature of
competition, the nature of the world in which the organization exists. Beliefs can be
either explicit or implicit. For example, the second layer of culture at IBM for
decades was an unstated value of "organizational reciprocity." It could be
expressed as follows: "You take care of IBM, and IBM will take care of you." it
expressed an unwritten "bargain" or implicit contract between IBM and its
employees. Formally, IBM stated that it had a "no layoff practice," but after more
than 50 year without a layoff, it was tacitly assumed or understood that IBM was a
no layoff company. The use of the words "no layoff practice" was intended to imply
that it this was a practice not a policy, and therefore was theoretically subject to
change. Nevertheless it came to be interpreted that IBM was
committed to no layoffs.

The Third Layer

The third or bedrock layer of culture is the core personality of the organization. It
consists of the deepest values, assumptions, and beliefs of the enterprise. These
can or might not be apparent to the organization itself, and can only be teased out
from its behavior over time. It relates to such things the view of people and how
they should or should not be treated, "view of customers," view of "fairness and
equity," and "the nature of competition."

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