Schein’s (1992) theoretical model shows the complexity of organizational culture
by illustrating that on the surface of an organization, there are objective and visible
artifacts. However, on the deeper levels of the organization, there are subjective elements,
such as values, beliefs, and basic assumptions. While dramatic cultural differences
may be observed at the surface level, commonalities may exist at the deeper
levels. Despite the effort to understand both underlying assumptions (Schein, 1992)
and values (Denison, 1996; O’Reilly, Chatman, & Caldwell, 1991), there has been an
emphasis on values as a measure of organizational culture. Researchers focus their
efforts on understanding values because values are more accessible in quantitative
research compared with assumptions. Values are also more reliable compared with
artifacts because artifacts are more amenable to manipulation by external forces, thus
making artifacts less reliable indices of the internal forces of organizational culture
(Howard, 1998).