Making Invisible Bureaucracy Visible: A Guide to Assessing and Changing Organizational Culture

Most managers struggle against the flow of overly complex systems and are frustrated by an invisible force that undermines their attempts to effect positive change. Their instincts tell them that the organization's structures, systems, and culture are preventing them from getting the results they want, but 'culture' has remained one of the least understood aspects of organizational life - until now. This book reveals how organizational culture can act like an Invisible Bureaucracy™ that frustrates and undermines organizational performance. The author argues that assessing and changing organizational culture is of little value unless it is focused on real business challenges. Understanding how the forces of Invisible Bureaucracy actually work begins to transform 'culture' into a reliable resource that can be intentionally used to achieve an organization's goals and objectives. Like a pair of infra-red glasses allows you to see things at night, the material in this book will make Invisible Bureaucracy visible. Once you've learned to 'see' differently, you'll never view organizations (or the people in them) the same way again.

"Bodnarczuk makes organizational culture understandable, practical, and usable. His numerous concrete examples give life to a simple yet comprehensive theory of culture, making both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of day-to-day operations in organizations meaningful. Any serious student of culture, change, or organizational assessment will benefit from reading and using this book." Richard Bents, Ph.D., Founding Partner, ShareOn, Corporate Leader Resources 

"In this important new book, Mark Bodnarczuk has given us tools for working objectively with that elusive subject, organizational culture. He frames the subject as an integration of the 'hard' structures-and-systems school, on the one hand, and the 'soft' human-performance perspective, on the other - asserting that understanding culture brings the two together. His rigorous methods ensure that the hidden or auto-pilot aspects of organizations can be brought into awareness to increase flexibility and effectiveness. These are powerful ideas in an era of rapid change and innovation." Don Fowke, SM, P.Eng. FCMC, Co-Founder, New Management Network

"If your organization is interested in sustainability, then culture competence is a must. Mark Bodnarczuk's book is an essential 'radar' system for doing transformational work in today's organizations. Making Invisible Bureaucracy Visible guides and supports the kind of organic cohesion that companies need in these turbulent times. I have waited a long time for an excellent and professional approach like this!" Reiner Blank, Ph.D., Future Systems Consulting, Hamburg, Germany

"I've read as many books as I could find over the years on 'culture' in search of a guide to provide a practical model and guidance for understanding the tacit and explicit forces that drive the cultures that human beings create. Mark Bodnarczuk has provided the most complete guide the reader will ever find. In one of the more remarkable achievements in this field of study and practice, Making Invisible Bureaucracy Visible, will make the invisible and heretofore fuzzy concepts about culture very visible, clear, pragmatic, and ultimately useful." Roger R. Pearman, Ed.D., author of Hardwired Leadership