Organizational culture, like societal culture, operates at a deep
level of beliefs, expectations, and values. These are manifest in the
behaviors,
rituals, and symbols shown in the workplace, and form the context for
much
of organizational behavior. At a time when mergers and acquisitions are
increasing, and competitive organizations are leaving behind old
traditions
and attempting to create new ones, culture change is an essential
understanding
for change agents, managers, and leaders. At the same time that
organizational
change is necessary, it must be recognized that changing culture is the
equivalent of changing individual personality-- there needs to be a
very
good reason for it and it still takes time (5-7 years for most
organizations).
Looks like our work is cut out for us...
Objectives: You should be able to do the following--
to define culture and give examples of how it is
manifested in
the organization
to describe an organizational culture using a descriptive
system (e.g.,
Schein, Hofstede, Kennedy & Beal, etc.)
to explain the relationship among personality, norms, and
culture (e.g.,
different levels of system)
to explain how a culture may become dysfunctional
to formulate a strategy for examining and changing culture
