I have rewritten this post a few times because the more I read and discuss with experts, the more I realise how many differing views there are on the subject on culture and engagement! Given this, below is a top level collection of thoughts on the subject and some models I found interesting.
Engagement
Generally I have found alignment in my research on the concept of engagement.
Sometimes referred to as an individual construct, engagement can also be referenced in relation to a group or team. Engagement focuses on how motivated and energised staff are in relation to their work and goals. Employees are more likely to be engaged when their values and behaviours are in alignment with their organisations.
A common way to test engagement is though the 'Say, Stay and Strive' concept. Aon Hewitt uses this model. Effectively it looks at employee actions that are indicators of engagement. Aon Hewitt's model as you can see looks beyond this to identify the drivers which generate those behaviours.
Culture
Culture is where there seems to be a much greater divergence in opinion and models. Currently, my take on the matter is aligned with some work from Denison noting that that culture is an organisational construct. In other words, an emergent property that is created from the from all the individuals in a group working together.
An example of some of the differing concepts on culture is below:
Ryder Group sees culture as the intersection of how people think (rational), feel (emotional) and act (behaviour) in an organisation. The former two elements creating a 'climate' that drives behaviour.
As a similar but alternative view Aon Hewitt defines culture as an intersection of beliefs about strategy and business models, behaviours and personal interactions, and finally how decisions are made.
One of the more interesting distinctions i've found is that some models strive to achieve a high performance culture that aligns with certain characteristics (Human Synergystics) while others don't prefer any specific culture over another but rather see them as functional or dysfunctional depending on their alignment with company strategy and employees (Aon Hewitt / Culture Amp). Personally at this stage i'm drawn towards the latter however I wouldn't be surprised if my thoughts continue to change as I work more on the subject.
