The British Broadcasting Corporation, better known as the BBC is one of those institutions that is so ingrained in the culture where it operates, that it has earned a nickname among viewers for its reliability. The English call the BBC "Auntie" or "Auntie Beeb" in somewhat the same way as Americans of a certain age refer to former CBS Anchor Walter Cronkite as "Uncle Walter". With the largest news division of any network, the network has pursued a fair number of pedophiles and covered an untold number of sexual harassment cases but now BBC correspondents find themselves in the position of reporting on a horrific case unfolding within their own organization.
This week we read Sorenson's Note on Organizational Culture where the author wrote that strong cultures can lead to strong companies, and the culture was reinforced by the organization's leadership and reinforced by employees. But BBC executives are coming to the realization that for decades, the broadcaster's culture may have protected a very popular BBC host as he sexually harassed co-workers and molested children (Lawless, 2012).
Jimmy Savile (pictured) was a popular and eccentric long-time host on the BBC (Lawless, 2012) up until his death at the age of 84 one year ago. Last month UK network ITV aired a documentary investigating the claims of sexual abuse against Savile. The documentary made note of the rumors that surrounded Savile and circulated through the hallways of the BBC as far back as the 1960s. BBC's director General George Entwistle told British lawmakers this week that there has been "a problem of culture within the BBC... that allowed Savile's behavior to go unchecked." (Lawless, 2012). The BBC is now looking into claims from as many as ten current and former employees that they were sexually harassed by Savile, and that he is part of a "wider pedophile ring" within the BBC (Lawless, 2012).
One can only speculate about what exactly the breakdown in culture was at the BBC but recall in Sorenson that an organization can have strong influence on how employees perceive something very objective. Statements of 'fact' are passed from older employees to newer employees and they become fact regardless of how far removed they are from the actual truth. Were the whispers in the hallways of the BBC regarding Savile the "truths" being passed from one generation of employees to the next? Did the 'truth' of Savile as it existed in BBC culture somehow contain just enough doubt that it stopped anyone from stepping forward and blowing the whistle on a popular BBC host? As the saying goes, we've seen this movie before, and it played at Penn State.
Sorenson also warned that a strong culture can make change difficult, especially when it comes to adapting to changes outside the organization. That may have manifested in the BBC's decision not to air its own expose on Savile one month earlier than the ITV documentary. At the time a BBC executive "expressed doubts about the Savile documentary because 'our sources so far are just the women'." (Lawless, 2012). The culture that apparently allowed Savile to victimize co-workers and children also stood in the way of its last chance to get out ahead of the story and perhaps mitigate the damage done to BBC's repuation.
References:
Lawless, J. (October 23, 2012). More BBC staff probed on sex claims post-Savile. Retrieved from
Sorenson, J. (2009) Note on Organizational Culture, Harvard Business School, pp. 1-6
Wow, this is a great example of when organizational culture can really hurt people. I thought it might be interesting to see where Britain lands on the Hofstede dimensions and found this website (http://geert-hofstede.com/united-kingdom.html). One interesting note there mentioned that the UK is the highest scoring country on Individualism in the world; it scored high on masculinity, low on uncertainty avoidance & power distance, and showed to be a short-term goal society. Considering these factors, I wonder how much their national cultural beliefs play into "accepting" this behavior from a "celebrity". It resonants moments when the USA accepts outrageous behavior from our celebrities simply because it's part of the "act" or their "personality". The scores of the USA are extremely similar to those of the UK.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article John!!
Excellent call on applying the Hofstede dimensions to the U.K. and the U.S.! I wish I had thought of that when writing the assignment. I can't honestly say if the individualism of our cultures contribute to these scandals but you rarely hear (or it's rarely reported) of other pedophile rings/scandals in other countries like Japan, Mexico, Australia and the like. And when you do hear of something overseas of this nature, there are usually Americans or Europeans involved.
DeleteHi John,
ReplyDeleteI found this article very interesting. I think we're seeing similar scenarios in the news all over the world, for example you also mentioned Penn State. I think that society can no longer ignore scandals like this because technology makes them well known to everyone. It's easier to turn your head when the news of the scandal isn't on every corner. I also find Ashley's research interesting, do you think the UK's individualsm score contributes to their tolerance of scandals?
Hi Melanie,
DeleteI can't honestly answer whether individualism would account for organizational cultures to break down to a point where they allow what happened inside the BBC or the Catholic church for that matter. I know that what Penn State and the Catholic church had in common is that both operated in very insular surroundings. No one in Pennsylvania, let alone State College would dare challenge Penn State because of what it brought to the state, same with the Catholic church. In a way, the BBC was similar because it employs 23,000 people and it's such a part of England's culture. Maybe there is an infallibility there and maybe people inside the culture want to keep up appearances and blowing the whistle would cause too much damage.