The SIO Culture Model is a framework for understanding organizational culture across three dimensions - Social Culture, Ideological Culture, and Operational Culture. It was developed by organizational culture expert Jessica Jaymes Purdy.

The model provides a methodology for deeply understanding organizational culture dynamics. It identifies 18 specific cultural elements to assess. This allows for tailored culture initiatives based on granular insights.

It distinguishes between intended and permitted culture gaps as well as macro and micro culture alignment issues. This facilitates targeted culture interventions.

It is designed to work with the Organizational Culture Quality Assessment survey which assesses culture across the 18 elements. The assessment provides data to inform culture initiatives.

Social Culture looks at how employees experience and feel within the organizational culture. It covers areas like diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, authenticity, and psychological safety.

This dimension examines the values, principles, hierarchies, communication, decision-making, and collaboration that shape the culture.

Operational Culture focuses on how work gets done within the existing cultural values and environment. It looks at innovation, productivity, agility, ethics, community, and wellbeing.

The SIO Model examines culture along three dimensions with many nuanced elements within each, allowing more complexity and realism. Handy's mutually exclusive types don't address inclusivity, diversity and employee experience like the SIO Model's Social Culture dimension.

• Handy's model identifies four distinct culture types, while the SIO Model examines culture along three broad dimensions with many nuanced elements within each

• Handy's types are mutually exclusive, whereas the SIO Model allows an organization to have qualities of multiple culture types. This provides more complexity and realism.

• The SIO Model focuses more on inclusivity, diversity, and employee experience through its Social Culture dimension. Handy's types don't explicitly address these.

• Both models acknowledge culture flows from leadership styles and organizational priorities. The SIO Model expands this by differentiating intended vs permitted culture.

The SIO Model provides more granular analysis with 72 distinct qualities across macro and micro cultures. Quinn and Cameron's theoretical types lack the focus on inclusivity, diversity, equity and belonging covered in the SIO Model's Social Culture dimension.

​

• Quinn and Cameron's model maps four culture types, while the SIO Model looks at culture through a multidimensional lens.

• The SIO Model provides a more nuanced view by assessing 72 distinct cultural qualities across macro and micro cultures.

• Quinn and Cameron's types are theoretical abstractions, while the SIO Model draws from extensive organizational research to identify elements that shape real employee experiences.

• The inclusion of Social Culture in the SIO Model allows a focus on inclusivity, diversity, equity and belonging missing from Quinn and Cameron's types.

While both models see culture flowing from underlying assumptions to espoused values to artifacts, the SIO Model makes this actionable through measurement and emphasizes assessing alignment of intended and permitted cultures.

​

• Both models recognize culture flows from underlying assumptions to espoused values to artifacts and behaviors. The SIO Model makes this actionable through the audit.

• Schein's model identifies culture levels, while the SIO Model identifies cultural dimensions and elements. This provides greater specificity.

• The SIO Model emphasizes assessing alignment of intended and permitted cultures. Schein's model does not address this distinction.

• Schein's model is descriptive, while the SIO Model ties directly to culture measurement and initiatives.

The SIO Model provides greater specificity on culture with 18 elements across three dimensions. It also brings a lens on inclusivity and diversity absent from the Denison Model through its Social Culture component.

​

• The Denison Model focuses on four cultural traits, whereas the SIO Model identifies 18 specific cultural elements grouped into three dimensions. This provides greater granularity.

• The SIO Model's inclusion of Social Culture brings a lens on inclusivity and diversity missing from the Denison Model.

• The Denison Model does not address microcultures or the gap between intended and permitted cultures like the SIO Model does.

• The SIO Model is tied directly to measurement and improvement of culture qualities through the audit.

The OCAI provides a useful starting point, but the SIO Model delivers greater nuance, emphasis on DEI, integration with measurement, and examining gaps between intended and permitted cultures.

​

• The OCAI Model has 4 theoretical culture types based on internal/external focus and flexibility/stability. The SIO Model examines culture across 3 dimensions with 18 specific elements.

• The SIO Model provides more depth through 72 distinct culture qualities. The OCAI Model may lack nuance.

• The OCAI is primarily an assessment tool. The SIO Model emphasizes measuring and managing culture.

• The SIO Model addresses gaps between intended and permitted cultures. The OCAI does not.

• The SIO Model highlights diversity, equity and inclusion. The OCAI does not explicitly cover these.

• The OCAI can provide a useful starting point for assessing culture. But the SIO Model offers a more robust framework for diagnosing and transforming organizational culture.

The SIO Model draws from extensive research on real organizations, providing more nuance with 72 culture qualities. It also emphasizes diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, which are not addressed in O'Reilly and Chatman's types.

​

• O'Reilly and Chatman's model has three theoretical culture types, while the SIO Model is grounded in extensive research on real organizational culture dynamics.

• The 72 distinct qualities of the SIO Model provide more nuance than three broad culture types.

• O'Reilly and Chatman's model does not address diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, which are central to the SIO Model.

• The SIO Model facilitates culture measurement and change through its pairing with the audit survey.

The principles specifically elevate the employee experience through human-centered policies. The SIO Model measures culture broadly, so together they can diagnose issues and drive improvements.

​

• The SIO Model provides a framework for diagnosing and transforming organizational culture across three dimensions - Social, Ideological, and Operational.

• The 9 Principles of Employee Care focus specifically on elevating the employee experience through more human-centered policies and practices.

• The SIO Model emphasizes understanding macro and micro cultures. The 9 Principles shape interactions between employers and individual employees.

• While the SIO Model measures organizational culture broadly, the 9 Principles address specific aspects of the employee experience like relationships, respect, recognition, and representation.

• The 9 Principles provide guiding tenets for employee treatment and engagement. The SIO Model offers a process for analyzing and evolving organizational culture.

• Used together, the SIO Model could help diagnose gaps in employee care, while the 9 Principles give direction for addressing issues to improve the employee experience.

The models overlap in some areas but the SIO Model provides more depth on culture while the 7S Framework takes a broader view of organizational effectiveness. The two can be complementary.

• The McKinsey 7S Framework identifies seven key elements that influence organizational effectiveness. The SIO Model focuses specifically on defining and assessing organizational culture.

• The SIO Model divides culture into three broad dimensions, while the 7S Framework has seven distinct elements. However, there is some overlap in the elements covered.

• The SIO Model goes into greater depth on organizational culture, with 18 specific cultural elements and 72 potential culture qualities. The 7S Framework takes a higher level approach.

• The Social Culture dimension of the SIO Model addresses areas like diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging that are not explicitly covered in the 7S Framework.

• The SIO Model emphasizes assessing alignment between intended and permitted cultures. The 7S Framework does not make this distinction.

• The 7S Framework is a strategic analysis tool, while the SIO Model is tied directly to culture measurement through the audit survey.

• The SIO Model focuses on the employee experience and microcultures, while the 7S Framework takes a top-down view of organizational effectiveness.

• Shared Values in the 7S model overlaps with the Ideological Culture dimension of the SIO Model. Both look at organizational values and norms.

• Overall, the SIO Model provides a more granular and actionable analysis of organizational culture, while the 7S Framework is a broader strategic analysis tool. The two can complement each other.