CRITICAL PERPECTIVES ON ORGANIZATION THEORY Postmodernism and Culture

Learning Objectives 1. Discuss the contribution of postmodernism to organizational theory 2. List the strengths and shortcoming of postmodernism with the design and management of organizations 3. Understand the main tenets of organizational culture 4. Discuss the strengths and weakness of the cultural approach to organizations

The Postmodernism Perspective Postmodernism is something that carries on from, succeeds or takes its frame of reference from modernism. Modernism is a term used to describe the values, rationale and institutions that dominate Western society.

Comparison of Modernist and Postmodernist Organizational Forms Modern Organizations Postmodernist Organizations Structure Rigid bureaucracies Flexible networks Consumpti on Mass Markets Niche markets Technology Technological determinism Technological choice Jobs Differentiated, demarcated and deskilled Highly de- differentiated, de- demarcated, and multi skilled Employmen t relations Centralized and standardized Complex and fragmentary

The Implications for Organizations Postmodernism has 3 important implications for organization theory and practices : 1. Concern the nature of organizational culture 2. Concerns of how a particular view or reality comes to the fore and is maintained in an organization 3. Relates to organizational choice

The Cultural Perspective The continuing fascination of business with organizational culture began in 1980s Eldridge and Crombie said, culture refers to the unique configuration norm, value, belief, ways of behaving and so on Much attention has been paid to role of ceremonies, rites and rituals.

As Trice and Beyer (1984) found the role was divided : 1. Rites of passage 2. Rites of questioning 3. Rites of renewal Schein (1985) suggested a 3 level model to identify and categorize the elements of culture : 1. Basic assumptions (deepest level) 2. Beliefs, value, and attitudes (intermediate level) 3. Artifacts (surface level)

According to Handy (1986), typology of culture are : 1. A power culture 2. A person culture 3. A role culture 4. Task cultures The most comprehensive work on the differences between national cultures was carried out by Hofstede (1980);

He said national cultures can be clustered across a range of dimension : 1. The prevailing sense of individualism or collectivity in each country 2. The power distance accepted in each country 3. The degree to which uncertainty is tolerated or avoided Hofstede’s research also found that industrial country could classified into 4 broad clusters : 1. Scandinavia 2. West Germany 3. UK, Canada, USA, Australia and Netherlands 4. Japan, France, Belgium,Spain and Italy

Changing Organizational Culture Dobson identified a 4 step approach to culture change : 1. Change recruitment, selection and redundancy policies to alter the composition of the workforce 2. Reorganize the workforce 3. Effectively communicate the new values 4. Change system, procedures, and personnel policies, especially concerned with rewards and appraisal

Cummings and Huse (1989) identified crucial steps to cultural change : 1. A clear strategic vision 2. Top management commitment 3. Symbolic leadership 4. Supporting organizational change 5. Organizational membership

Summary In summary, postmodernism perspective : 1. Concern the nature of reason and reality 2. Reason and logic have proved illusory and reality is for social construct 3. Organization has create the own view of the world Main conclusions of culture perspective : 1. In the absence of unambiguous guidelines on organizational culture, manager must make their own choice based on circumstances 2. In the absence of strong cultures, manager may find difficult either to agree among themselves or to gain agreement from others