ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Observable Aspects of Organizational Culture
Andrea Rodriguez
University of Phoenix
MGT 331
Professor Paul Smith
February 22, 2007
Abstract
In this paper observable aspects of organizational culture at the Department of Social Services will be described. Perception of how communication flows, organizational diversity, organizational policies, and technology will be addressed. The perceptions are of the author and may contradict with another, agree with another, or not critical enough for another.
Observable Aspects of Organizational Culture
Culture within an organization is somewhat hard to characterize mainly because a great deal of aspects of culture are intangible and unseen. . Organizational culture is unique to each organization. It has many objectives and subjective dimension, and concerns with tradition and shared beliefs and expectations. The culture of an organization is a powerful determinant of individual and group behavior. Organizational culture affects practically all aspects of organizational life from the way employees' interact with each other, work performance, attire, decision making in the firm, policy and procedures, and strategy. (Buono et al. 1985, p. 482) (Schraeder, Tears, Jordan, 2005)
Edgar Schein (1985) is generally considered the father of organizational culture. The issue of culture is complex and profound; " the idea that culture is a deep phenomenon, that culture is complex and difficult to understand, but that the effort to understand it is worthwhile because much of the mysterious and the irrational in organizations suddenly becomes clear when we do understand it," (Schein, 1987; p. 383). Within an organization's culture there are observ ...