The first article focuses on how organizational culture has changed,
beginning with the 1930s and working its way forward. Much of the changes
that have been undertaken in organizational culture have to do with various
models of this culture that have been developed at various periods in
history. The definitions of what actually make up organizational culture
are numerous, and many people have different ideas about this culture and
all of the things that are involved in it. Because of this, there is no
way to simply state what organizational culture is, since something would
undoubtedly be added or left out when a simplistic definition is agreed
upon. In general, however, it involves a pattern of basic assumptions that
is agreed upon by all and validated enough to be shared by those in the
organization and passed on to those who are new to it (Avallone, 2003).
This culture has many dimensions and functions, and these vary
depending on the business that is being discussed, because the cultures of
various businesses are quite different from one another. This is something
that those in the workforce must be prepared for. Even if they remain
within the same industry, they will encounter a slightly different form of
organizational culture whenever they change jobs and move to a new company
within that same field of expertise.
Organizational culture is not as simple as the basic definition above
indicates. There are many subtleties that must be dealt with in various
organizations, and there are also subcultures that have to be considered.
Different departments in a large corporation may have their own subcultures
and someone transferring to a different department due to promotion or
other reasons must spend some time becoming familiar with the subculture of
the department in which he now finds himself in order to ensure that he
fits in with those that have been in ...