Organizational Change and Development

The concept of organizational culture can be traced back to the human relations theories in the 1930s, originated from anthropological and sociological research on culture related to societies and groups’ patterned behaviors (Schreyögg, 2008; Keyton, 2005; Bodley, 1994). An organization does not just have a culture, it represents a culture emerging from the social construction of meaning and identity. According to Bodley (1994), culture is learned in mental processes, while people mutually and collectively regulate their organizational culture. Organization has a common history expressed in social heritage, shared in values, ideals, and rules and passed on to new members, the future generations. Being integrated in the organizational culture the members learn how to solve problems of adapting to the environment and of living together. Culture is a series of performances created by decision-making individuals and enhanced by structural changes. Culture emerges from what has been successful for the organization in the balance of internal integration and external adaptation, as seen in Schein (2004). By doing so, people share patterned behaviors, thoughts and understanding of how needs are negotiated to give meaning to their lives in their organizational community. They develop common language, symbols, metaphors, stories, or “common memory” that enable them to set up the basics of consensus of how to interpret and define the world.