Defining "Culture" and "Organizational Culture": From Anthropology to the Office - by: Bruce M. Tharp
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Defining “Culture” and “Organizational Culture”: From Anthropology to the Office by: Bruce M. Tharp
Defining “Culture” and “Organizational Culture”: From Anthropology to the Office / 04.09
The topic of organizational culture is Usually the domain of top executives and upper-
management, for most within an organization its
increasingly understood as a company culture remains implicit — often with only its effects
asset that can be used to increase and implications discussed. Despite this, as decades of
business performance. While important, research suggest, an explicit, integrated, accepted, and
consistent organizational culture seems important in
organizational culture is a slippery concept achieving long-term health and other performance
to concretely define. This paper deals with successes. Yet, as in most arenas of social science
where the intricate webs of various and varying human
the historical development and foundational
influences exist, distinct and conclusive causal links are
understandings of both the term culture, difficult to establish. Keeping this in mind, it is still very
from anthropology, and its appropriation likely that the richness and dynamism of organizational
activity—the life of an organization—may be seen, and
by industrial organization researchers to therefore shaped and improved, through the lens of
organizational culture. A foundational culture.
definition by Edgar Schein of MIT’s Sloan Anthropological Origins of “Culture”
School of Management is arrived at as well
as the notion that culture can be observed What exactly is culture? Unfortunately a fixed, universal
understanding does not exist; there is little consensus
at three levels of the organization: artifacts, within, let alone, across disciplines. Often “culture” is
espoused values, and basic assumptions. applied so broadly, merely as “social pattern,” that it
means very little. Highly specific, idiosyncratic definitions
Contents: also abound where the term is used in various contexts
in support of any agenda.
• Anthropological Origins of “Culture”
• Understanding Culture When “culture” first appeared in the Oxford English
• Origins of “Organizational Culture” Dictionary around 1430 it meant “cultivation” or “tending
the soil,” based on the Latin culture. Into the 19th
• Understanding Organizational Culture century “culture” was associated with the phrase “high
culture,” meaning the cultivation or “refinement of mind,
taste, and manners.” This generally held to the mid-20th
For some, culture is considered the “glue” that holds
century when its meaning shifted toward its present
an organization together and for others, the “compass” American Heritage English Dictionary definition: “The
totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts,
that provides directions. beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human
work and thought.”
The culture of an organization eminently influences its
myriad decisions and actions. A company’s prevailing Aspects of Culture
ideas, values, attitudes, and beliefs guide the way in
which its employees think, feel, and act—quite often INVISIBLE
unconsciously. Therefore, understanding culture is VALUE . ATTITUDE . ASSUMPTIONS . BELIEFS
fundamental to the description and analysis of
organizational phenomena. For some, culture is
considered the “glue” that holds an organization VISIBLE BEHAVIORS:
together and for others, the “compass” that provides ARTIFACTS: FINANCIAL REPORTING
direction. These are but two of many such metaphors HIRING /
(e.g., magnet, lighthouse, exchange-regulator, EMPLOYEE DRESS FIRING PRACTICES
affect-regulator, need satisfier, sacred cow), illustrating PRODUCT LINE EMPLOYEE TRAINING
that organizational culture is indeed very important, SIGNAGE RECYCLING PROGRAMS
but whose definition is slippery and often contested. PUBLICATIONS
INTERIOR
ARCHITECTURE
FURNITURE
2Defining “Culture” and “Organizational Culture”: From Anthropology to the Office / 04.09
While the dictionary definition helps to Understanding Culture In 1973 anthropologist Clifford Geertz
close in on its meaning in general published, The Interpretation of
parlance, the term is also used by many While the complexities of the culture Cultures, in which he writes: “Culture
disciplines in unique ways. To move concept were being debated in the is the fabric of meaning in terms of
toward a more specific and applied mid-20th century, surveys of its which human beings interpret their
understanding of “culture,” anthropology different definitions yielded a few experience and guide their action” and
can be helpful. It is this social scientific common threads that are helpful in that culture is “an ordered system of
discipline that has contributed the most organizational research. Most simply, meaning and of symbols in terms of
to its practical application within the culture involves three basic human which social interaction takes place.”
field of organizational research. activities: what people think, what This semiotic (symbolic or language
Originally the notion of culture people do, and what people make. based) notion of culture gained great
described the rituals, myths, languages, Further, several common properties popularity in the postmodern
values, beliefs, and practices of distant arise: culture is shared, learned, movement of the 1980’s, when the
peoples often in exotic places—the transmitted crossgenerationally, relatively mature discipline of
objects of traditional anthropological symbolic, adaptive, and integrated. organizational behavior first began
inquiry. Even within the field however, to talk broadly about “organizational
numerous approaches to culture To speak of culture as being shared culture.” Geertz’s anthropological
abound as evident in one seminal 1952 narrows the field of relevant activity to definition was the most cited in the
study that identified 164 different that which is common and social. A literature at that time and still has great
definitions. particular action is not cultural if it is purchase in contemporary research.
unique to one or relatively insignificant
British anthropologist Edward Tyler is number of individuals. Also, culture is Origins of “Organizational Culture”
widely credited with the first (1871) learned (actively or passively) and is
“modern” definition of culture: “that transmitted cross-generationally The field of organizational behavior and
complex whole which includes through formal or informal social the related discipline of management
knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, interaction—we are not born with the science began investigating
custom, and any other capabilities and understanding that stealing is wrong or organizations in terms of culture as
habits acquired by man as a member of that “diamonds show you care.” early as the 1930s. The final phase of
society.” Undoubtedly this definition the famous Hawthorne studies at the
influenced the shift toward current One of the primary characteristics of Western Electric Company marked the
dictionary definitions. human life, over animal life, is that we first systematic attempt to use a
assign symbolic meaning to ideas, concept of culture to understand the
behavior, and objects, as well as have work environment. While an important
For some, culture is considered language and speech. We say that step forward in qualitative research, the
humans have culture while animals do investigation was rather blunt and the
the “glue” that holds an not. This is largely due to their inability understanding of organizational culture
organization together and to ascribe arbitrary symbolic meaning remained fairly primitive during the
to their world—a chimpanzee could following decades. Most mid-century
for others, the “compass” that not designate his banana to signify attempts at understanding were
honesty, for example. Culture is also conducted by scholars steeped in
provides directions. adaptive in that it can and does change quantitative psychology and sociology,
in response to various influences and though by the 1970s researchers more
conditions. No culture is truly static— explicitly and emphatically appropriated
Subsequent to this new interpretation many aspects of American culture are the theories and methods of
and vision of a “complex whole,” radically different in the wake of the anthropology. The late-century upsurge
academics attempted to build upon Internet, the dot-com bubble, and of interest in organizational culture is
this by creating universal lists of all global terrorism. And finally, culture is credited largely to the economic
of the elements of culture, the most integrated in the sense that it conditions of the 1970s when
exhaustive of which (first published in permeates society and becomes international competition had
1938) lists 79 major divisions and 637 part of the social machinery. Culture heightened and more foreign
subdivisions. While comprehensive and is the ever-present, ethereal medium companies were operating factories
still useful for social science researchers in which members live and through in the United States. Specifically, the
today, it is ineffectual for most general which they act. success of the Japanese in many
applications as well as corporations and industries sparked curiosity about
other organizations.
3Defining “Culture” and “Organizational Culture”: From Anthropology to the Office / 04.09
whether their differing corporate values, • Pascale and Athos, 1982, The Art of
attitudes, and behaviors were responsible Japanese Management: Applications for
for their often superior performance. American Executives
The 1982 publication of Peters & • Deal and Kennedy, 1982, Corporate
Wasserman’s In Search of Excellence stirred Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of
both popular and professional interest Corporate Life
through its suggestion that organizations
with strong cultures were more effective. Since the early 1980s, academic and
applied exploration of organizational
Corporate culture was offered as an asset culture has steadily increased and
that could be managed to improve even now there is little indication
business performance. While definitely of abatement as changes in data
the most popular book on the subject management, work organization, values,
(outselling all other non-fiction books for lifestyles, demographics, knowledge-
the year), three others were seminal to intensive work, outsourcing, and a
the development of the field: host of other social, economic, and
technological factors continue to impact
• Ouchi, 1981, Theory Z: How American the relationship between organizations,
Business Can Meet the Japanese Challenge workers, and the workplace.
CULTURE IS FOUND IN:
OBSERVABLE ARTIFACTS:
ESPOUSED VALUES: Architecture & Physical Surroundings
Those values championed Products
by a company’s leadership. Technologies
Style (clothing - art - publications)
Published Values / Mission Statements
Myths / Stories / Rituals
BASIC ASSUMPTIONS:
Underlying (often unconscious)
determinants of an organization’s attitudes,
thought processes and actions.
4Defining “Culture” and “Organizational Culture”: From Anthropology to the Office / 04.09
Understanding Organizational Espoused values are those championed
Culture by a company’s leadership and
management. They are distinguished
Definitions of “organizational culture” from enacted values, which are those
are almost as numerous as those that employees’ actual behavior reflects
of “culture”— a 1998 study identified 54 (just because the CEO claims that her
different definitions within the academic company values its customers does not
literature between 1960 and 1993. One mean that the employees necessarily
helpful, though general, definition act accordingly). While the role that
offered by Edgar Schein of MIT’s Sloan values play in organizational culture is
School of Management is that undeniable, many scholars claim that it
organizational culture is: is erroneous to ascribe values, which are
a pattern of shared basic assumptions inherently human and located only in
that the group learned as it solved its individuals, to a corporate entity or to a
problems of external adaptation and group of individuals. Such a position
internal integration, that has worked well maintains that the values of a few
enough to be considered valid and, particularly influential leaders are what
therefore, to be taught to new members rally other employees and subsequently
as the correct way to perceive, think, influences company behavior. Basic
and feel in relation to those problems. assumptions are underlying, often
unconscious, determinants of an
Delving deeper, three common attributes organization’s attitudes, thought
seem to arise across the varying processes, and actions. These
perspectives within sociology, assumptions are central to its culture.
psychology, anthropology, and Values that gain long-term acceptance
management science. One is that the often become so ingrained and
concept of shared meaning is critical; taken-for-granted that individuals are
secondly, is the notion that organizational usually unaware of their influence. They
culture is constructed socially and is usually provide a tacit sense of security
affected by environment and history. The and an unquestioned impetus for
third common feature among the many perceptions and behavior.
definitions is that organizational culture
has many symbolic and cognitive Scholarly understanding the social
layers—culture is thick and resides at and symbolic processes of the
all levels. workplace continues to expand in
breadth and refine in depth as
To help understand these symbolic and organizational behavior and
cognitive layers, Schein has categorized organizational management scholars
the places where culture is found build upon social scientific theories and
into three fundamental categories: methodologies. A function of industry
observable artifacts, espoused values, type, national culture, environmental
and basic underlying assumptions. factors, as well as the vision, goals, and
Observable artifacts represent an strategy, an organization’s culture affects
organization’s attitudes, behaviors, its structure, practices, policies, and
and beliefs— how it sees things, what routines. Evaluating and understanding
is important and meaningful. These organizational culture holds perhaps
include the architecture and physical the best promise for corporate
surroundings; its products; its leadership being able to influence
technologies; its style (shown through individual and group performance,
clothing, art, publications, etc.); facilities performance, organizational
its published values and mission performance, and ultimately the
statement; its language, gossip, jargon, ever-important financial components
and humor;its myths and stories; of business performance.
and its practices, rituals, ceremonies,
and taboos.
5You can also read
