Norms are directly involved in the

Norms are directly involved in the change process because they allow for
interventions in a field that is very accessible to individuals. Those who want
to understand organizational culture refer to its philosophical and value layers.
Those who want to change culture and use it as a maintenance or develop-
ment tool refer mainly to its normative layer or see it as a normative culture.
A normative culture is based on a set of formal rules, norms, prescriptions,
positions, and hierarchies and emphasizes compliance with the rules.
On the other hand, norms represent one of the premises for cultural unity,
the reference system for managers in personnel assessment. Such assessments
sustain norms strengthening and are often accompanied by bonuses. Norms
are thus a reference system for the personnel as well, whose attitude toward
them represents the framework that produces organizational ethos.
Schein (1999) argues that the pattern of basic underlying assumptions can
function as a cognitive defense mechanism for individuals and the group. As
a result, culture change is difficult, time-consuming, and anxiety provoking.
Cultures are deep seated, pervasive, and complex, and it can be extremely dif-
ficult to bring the assumptions to the surface. He uses the classic three-step
approach to discuss change: unfreezing, cognitive restructuring, and refreez-
ing. The key issue for leaders is that they must become sufficiently marginal in
their own culture to recognize its maladaptive assumptions and to learn some
new ways of thinking themselves as a prelude to unfreezing and changing their
organization.