Agile IT Organization Design: For Digital Transformation and Continuous Delivery

Chapter 13. Norms

This chapter and the next are the only two that address deliberate interventions to influence organizational culture. Other than that, culture change is mostly a by-product of changes in leadership behavior, org structure, policies, and operational practices. This chapter argues for the recognition and reinforcement of a few organizational norms that help with day-to-day decision making. It also describes a set of potentially applicable norms for organizational agility. In terms of the key themes outlined in Chapter 3, the discussion here is about designing for intrinsic motivation (autonomy, mastery, and purpose) and unscripted collaboration.

13.1 What Are Norms?

The work ethic of an organization is partly shaped by unwritten ...