Organizational Culture and Communications Styles
Maria Simpson, Ph.D.
Maria Simpson, Ph.D.
Dr. Maria Simpson is an organizational consultant specializing in executive coaching, and team and leadership development. Her goal is to bring the skills and techniques of mediation into the workplace, improve conflict resolution skills to reduce the fear of disagreement, and increase the productive and creative outcomes of organizational conflict.
As an executive coach she works with organizational leaders to help them define their roles and develop management communications and leadership skills. As a team coach, she has worked to improve team collaboration and decision-making. As an OD consultant, she has designed projects that create organizational change and include methods of conflict resolution as part of the process.
Since 2003 Dr. Simpson has written a weekly email on management communications and conflict resolution called “Two Minute Training” and speaks frequently on the topics of management communications and conflict resolution. She is a mediator for the Los Angeles County Superior Court, and now serves on the boards of directors of the South Bay Center for Dispute Resolution and NEAS: Western, an EAP provider.
Dr. Simpson received her Ph.D. from New York University, has held a variety of senior management positions, and teaches communications and conflict resolution at CSUDH in the graduate program on Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, and Peacebuilding. Among her clients are Kaiser Permanente, Bank of America, Easter Seals Southern California, and Toyota Financial Services USA.
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For a more extensive exploration of the connection between organizational culture and communications style, go to and click on Organizational Culture to get a complete table of contents for Is This a Good Fit? The Connection Between Organizational Culture and Communications Style.
This white paper synthesizes established concepts of culture and communications, and creates a new approach to organizational understanding. (The cultural models are from Riding the Waves of Culture by Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, and the communications model is based on the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument.)
Using a case study, the white paper first explores the definition and models of organizational culture, and includes examples of each type. Then, conflict and communications styles are discussed, especially which styles work best in which cultures, and how these styles impact all aspects of organizational functions. In addition, the implications of this level of understanding on benefits, performance, and organizational values, among others, is demonstrated. Finally, there is a detailed analysis of the case study, and tips on how you can apply the concepts and insights to your own organization.
For those in Organizational Conflict Resolution or mediation, understanding organizational culture as the context for conflict can help resolve employment disputes and team conflict. For those in OD, this information will help you design projects and processes that will fit well and will be successful in your culture. For those in HR, this information will add another layer of understanding to hiring and evaluating employees.