Improving Performance: How to Manage the White Space on the Organization Chart

13.9. The Systems Management Culture

We have found that the culture of an organization in which systems are being managed differs from the culture of a typical organization. Table 13.1 contrasts the traditional (vertical) and systems (horizontal) cultures. Within a systems culture, we find that managers at all levels are able to answer yes to the systems management questions contained in Table 13.2.

Table 13.1. Comparison of the Traditional (Vertical) and Systems (Horizontal) Cultures.

Traditional Culture	Systems Culture
Functional needs dominate decision making. Functions have minimal interaction with other functions. Most people understand only the functions in which they work. People do not know the identity of and linkages with their function's ...