CULTURAL THEORY Turi, Maddie, Krista, Coloton, and Cole

Origin of Cultural Theory  1980 competition between US and Japan  Automotive and Electronics  Japanese products out selling and outperforming Example of Cultural Theory: Dr. Collins  Changing environments

Definitions of Organizational Culture  “Culture is the system of such publicly and collectively accepted meanings operating for a given group at a given time” –Pettigrew  “Shared assumptions, values, and beliefs of a social group…” –Pizer and Hartel  “The way we do things around here.” –Deal and Kennedy

Culture  Concept derived from the field of anthropology  Study of groups of people and attempt to understand their culture  Used to describe groups of people or geographic regions  Example: American culture  Used to describe certain behaviors for certain groups of people  Does not determine how you behave in a situation, but helps explain patterns of behavior

What is Cultural Theory?  Organizational Culture  Organizations have the same characteristics as societies  Traditional explanations (classical and humanistic theories) too limiting Unable to explain all forms of behavior within organizations Cannot explain differences among organizations

“Cultural Lens”  Focus less on systemic and structural issues  Focus more on values, attitudes and beliefs of members Communication Organizational Culture

Communication  Communication in the organization depends on the culture  Communication is impacted by every member  Different organizations have different cultural norms

Model of Organizational Culture  Edgar Schein  Model of organizational culture Articulates three interrelated levels of culture  Level 1: Artifacts and Creations  Level 2: Values  Level 3: Basic Assumptions Five Basic Assumptions

Model of Organizational Culture  Five Basic Assumptions 1) Humanity’s relationship to nature 2) The nature of reality and truth 3) The nature of human nature 4) The nature of human activity 5) The nature of human relationships

Competing Perspectives  Linda Smircich  Explaining two competing perspectives on organizational culture 1) Culture as a variable 2) Culture as a root metaphor

Competing Perspectives  Culture as variable-  Something an organization has  Four key components Values Heroes Rites and rituals Cultural network

Culture as a variable- Heroes  Heroes- people who best represent or personify the cultural values  Provide members of organization with a concrete role model for behavior  May be extraordinary individuals  Often times founders of an organization, who despite great difficulty, succeeded through hard work

Examples of Heroes  Harland David Sanders- Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Had difficulty selling chicken at first  Recipe was rejected 1,009 times before a restaurant accepted it  Employee of the year

George Draper Dayton, founder of Target  Creates The Dayton Foundation with a $1 million donation to aid in promoting the welfare of mankind anywhere in the world.  1946-Establishes practice of giving 5 percent of pretax profits back to the community.  1970-Earth day volunteers  1973-Holiday helpers program  1983-Awarded by Ronald Reagan  1997-Awarded-Good Neighbor volunteer program  2012-Giving reaches 4 million a week

Roles within an organization  Not specific roles  Culture influences elements in an organization  Rites and rituals  Public performances that display the values of the organization  Day-to-day activities  How to address others, who may call a meeting, when the meeting is held, etc

Competing Perspectives  Culture as a root metaphor-  Something an organization “is” Not a material entity  Three Primary Elements Complex Communicative Construction Subcultures and Countercultures

Strengths and Weaknesses  Strengths  Cultural lens  Human Behavior  Weaknesses  Organizational culture  Culture as a Variable  Culture as a root-metaphor

Works Cited  through-the-years through-the-years  Modaff, Daniel P. Organizational Communication. Diss. Ohio University, Print.