Organizational Culture

1. INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

The idea of viewing organizations as cultures- where there is a system of shared meaning among members – is a relatively recent phenomenon. Until the mid 1980’s, organizations were simply thought of as rational means by which to coordinate and control a group of people. But the organizations too have personalities like individuals; they can be rigid or flexible, unfriendly or supportive, innovative or conservative. By the time, Harvard and MIT started studying and found that both individuals and groups have unique feelings and character beyond its structural characteristics.

The origin of culture as an independent variable affecting an employee’s attitudes and behavior can be tracked back more than 50years to the notion of institutionalization.

When an organization becomes institutionalized, it takes on a life of its own, apart from its founders or any of its members. For example, Ross Perot created electronic data systems (EDS) in the early 1960’s, but he left to found a new company, Perot systems. EDS has continued to thrive despite the departure of its founder. When an organization, it becomes valued for itself, not merely for the goods and services it produces. It acquires immortality.

The concept of organizational culture has its roots in culture anthropology. Just as there are cultures in human society, there seems to be cultures within organizations. The concept of cultures in organization was alluded to as early as the Hawthorne studies, which described work group culture. The topic came into existence during 1970’s, when managers and researchers alike began to search for keys to survival for organizations in a competitive and turbulent environment. Then, in the early 1980’s, several books on organizational culture were published, including deal and Kenney’s corporate cultures, Ouchi’s Theory Z, and peters and waterman’s In search of excellence.

Organization culture has become increasingly important to firms...