Organizational Supergenes: Transmission Distortion and Drive Reversal in Cultural Bundles

Conceptualize “cultural haplotypes”—bundles like “metrics-first, move fast” versus “deliberate, stakeholder-first”—that replicate through mentorship, evaluation rubrics, and algorithmic filters. Measure “transmission ratio distortion” (TRD) in decision lineages (e.g., which bundle’s promoters get promoted beyond base rates), and identify “drive reversal” when countervailing governance (ethics offices, DEI programs, unions, professional standards) attenuate bias. This reframes organizational culture as a selfish bundle capable of biasing resource transmission, treating replication bias and its suppressors as measurable, dynamic processes. The framework builds on status processes and algorithmic management, predicting when algorithmic “suppressors” (audits, transparency) induce drive reversal. International organizations provide ideal cases to test how bureaucratic norms function as suppressors against dominant cultural haplotypes. This offers a formalizable lens to diagnose why certain cultural configurations persist despite counter-pressures, and when interventions equilibrate rather than overcorrect. It establishes a new category—“transmission distortion in organizational cultures”—with methods to audit biased replication and design suppressors that stabilize healthy cultural pluralism.

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