Organizational Theory – Part 3 Cultural Studies Chapter 5 Lecture/Recap

Culture New Focus Language of Workplace Performance of manager and employees Meaningful artifacts Formal and informal practices of organization

Organizational Culture “…the actions, ways of thinking, practices, stories, and artifacts that characterize a particular organization” (p. 122) Relationship between communication, individuals, and social context Symbolic constructions Controlled by managers? Employees? Both? Sub-cultures

Rise of Cultural Approach Competitive pressures Organizations must adapt to surrounding culture (Theory Z; William Ouchi) Desire for more interpretive methodology for examining organizations Culture = “is” not “has” Example of method: ethnography Told as a story Can stimulate cultural change Reveals taken for granted practices and beliefs Aims to set definition of workplace as a community Social trends Growing importance of cross-cultural understandings

Dr. G’s Experience; Cultures and Sub-Cultures CVHS CVCHC Dental Nursing Doctors X-ray Front Desk and Medical Records Birthday parties, gossip, loyalty Younger Employees Hanging outside of work, gossiping, loyalty SAFP WHC AFP

Learning the Culture Role of communication Structure (roles, rules, policies, communication networks) Vocabulary Cultural elements Stories Rituals Values Performances Metaphors Artifacts

Example Gordon The Office Your examples? Example of practices? Language in mission statement? Artifacts? The Office Your examples?

Practical View of Organizational Culture Culture as “an organizational feature, like technology or management style, that mangers can leverage to create more effective organizations” (p. 131) Quasi-causal relationships Excessive positivity Research  suggestions

Interpretive View of Organizational Culture Managers and members create culture; culture emerges through organizational life “…communication works to build, reproduce, and transform the taken-for-granted reality of organizational culture” (p. 134). Role of narratives (must consider context and narrator)

Critical View of Organizational Culture Challenges power relationships and status quo Are any cultural elements operating in a way that favor those already in power? Role of ethnographers Key features of cultural study Integration Culture = consistency and clarity ‘appears cultural members agree on what and why’ No room for ambiguity Culture as monologue; not dialogue Often favors stories of those in power Differentiation Focuses on differences across units and subcultures “Cultural manifestations as predominately inconsistent with one another” (p. 139) Issues with communication between subcultures Fragmentation ‘Certainty replaced with ambiguity, contradiction, tension, and irony Use of ambiguity: tool of manipulation for management; coping mechanism for employees

New Members Socialization Anticipatory socialization Vocational (more general) Organizational (more specific) Organizational assimilation How do things really work? Strict rules vs. rules we can ignore Level of familiarity Sources of info: ‘company messages, coworkers/peers, supervisors, other organizational members, customers and outsiders, assigned tasks’ (p. 144) Especially important for High-Reliability Organizations Role of technology

Communication Perspective on Organizational Culture Communication = core process = forms and transforms culture Importance of daily communication and symbolic expressions Consider verbal and nonverbal (words, actions, artifacts) Organization culture = cultural nexus = national, local, familial, other external forces Various motives for studying organizational culture

Group Activity Organizational narratives. What can we learn about the organizational culture?