Cultural Approach to Organizations
Cultural Approach to Organizations o Theorizes that organizations, like culture, are constructed through communication that "constitutes the taken for granted reality of the world' Social-constructionist Socio-cultural/Semiotic Traditions Interpretive Theory Explored through qualitative research, especially ethnographies o Theorizes how stories told and practices valued in an organization create (effective) collective understanding, meaning, sense-making, etc. Culture o Humans: Are animals suspended in webs of significance that they have spun themselves Use those webs of significance to create shared meaning, understanding and sense-making Use of those webs implies the act of spinning which necessitates a focus on both the structure and creation of webs of significance Use communication as the process by which webs of significance are created o Webs of Significance=Culture Culture is: : Not whole or undivided (e.g. subcultures, countercultures, overlap. and differences) Cultural Performances -- ensemble of texts; actions by which members of a culture constitute and reveal their culture to themselves and others Organizational Culture o Organizational Culture has several meanings The culture in which organizations operate A quality of an organization (an employee-friendly environment) Culture as constitutive of organization o"Organizational culture is not just another piece of the puzzle; it is the puzzle. From our point of view, culture is not something an organization has; a culture is something an organization is" o "People do get the job done.. .but people in organization" also build a culture that defines how the job is done Exploring Culture o Ethnography -- mapping out social discourse; discovering who people within a culture think they are; what they think they are doing, and to what end they think they are doing it Thick Description -- a record of the intertwined layers of common meaning that underlie what a particular people say and do (the product of ethnography)
Thick Description -- describes in great detail, identifies emotions. interactions, motivations, and purpose embedded in cultural performances and connects them to larger themes for readers Thick description isn't interested, necessarily, in prevalence or regularity of performance, but instead in what meanings it reveals about culture o Metaphor: Words We Live By Metaphors clarify what is unknown or confusing by equating it with an image that's vivid or more familiar The metaphors used by organizations provided an insight into their culture : Associates :"Shoulder to the wheel" Metaphors offer "fictional descriptions [that], by the very nature of their implicitness and impressionism can fully capture...both the bold outlines and the crucial nuances of cultural ethos' o Stories as Cultural Theories The script like quality of narratives helps give insight in the roles played by members of a culture and the ways in which those roles are enacted. valued, and improvised - Corporate Stories -- carry the ideology of the management and reinforce company policy; these are "frontstage stories' Personal Stories -- are told by employees about themselves, often defining how they would like to be seen (or feel they are seen) within the organization : Collegial Stories -- are positive and negative a