June 2017 Bar Bulletin
By Amy J. Stephson
Every organization has a culture. It may be hard to describe but everyone feels it. Culture is the organization’s character and personality. It is the sum of its values, traditions, beliefs, interactions, behaviors and attitudes. It is affected by leadership roles and actions, organizational systems, management philosophies and practices, the physical environment of the workspace, and so on. It is pervasive.
Having a “civil” workplace culture is, of course, the bare minimum. If an organizational culture is not even civil, it’s in trouble. Most organizations, fortunately, are not downright hostile and are even better than just civil, but they still are not as positive and...