LECTURE 1 – 29 OCTOBER 2025 – WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE?
What is culture?
Different kinds of culture
- Consumer culture (= global, over de hele wereld hetzelfde)
o Cultuur gedreven door consumptie
o Waarden, betekenissen, identiteiten en gedragingen die ontstaan vanuit
kopen (merken vormen identiteiten)
- Regional culture
o Cultuur van een specifieke geografische regio
o Bijv. Regionale geschiedenis, dialect of tradities
- Pop culture = (can be local or global)
o Mainstream cultuur van entertainment (muziek, tv, memes, films)
o Je ziet het overall, het is toegankelijk en snel veranderlijk
o Pop culture is wat ‘meeloopt’ en massaal gedeeld wordt
Origin of the term
Textbook says: culture means everything and nothing. So, it’s difficult to define it specifically.
Culture is a fuzzy concept there is an enormous variation in the definition of the term,
and the concept is used to cover everything, and with that, nothing = culture as an umbrella
term (= culture is adapted to different disciplines)
- Colere = to grow
- Cultus = nurtured/cared for
What is organizational culture?
Culture = shared and learned world of experiences, meanings, values and understandings
which are expressed and reproduced partly in symbolic form (shared values, norms, dress
code, rituals, symbols, activities)
Within everything we share (culture) there might be people who stand out more, and have a
more dominant role in the overall culture. They have an ability to shape the culture and have
‘leadership’.
So, leadership has a huge influence on the culture, but culture can also influence the leader!
Shared assumptions about organizational culture
- Related to history/tradition
- Collectively shared by members of a group
- To do with meanings, understandings and beliefs
- Some depth, you cannot always see or catch it
- Difficult to grasp (begrijpen) and must be interpreted
- Emotional rather than strictly rational
- Helps to understand richness of organizational life
Organizational culture = it’s shared and learned between different people/individual, and it’s
not always visible, it’s often more subtle (it’s multi-layered)
- Connection to people to learn the unwritten rules
- Organizational culture generated … shared understanding
,Most significant concepts of organizational culture
Organizational culture = how people act, dress themselves, what their norms are, what
things they value and the language they speak. Culture in organizations is captured in
symbols and meanings.
Symbols iets zichtbaars dat verwijst naar iets anders
o Words, actions, material items that stand for something else
o Object (kantoorinrichting, logo)
o Actie (ritueel, handshake)
o Woorden/slogans (“client first”)
o Rich in meaning: calls for interpretation (symbol niet letterlijk te lezen, maar
interpreteren)
o Collective symbolism of interest
Meanings interpretaties die mensen aan een symbool geven
o How an object or utterance (uiting) is interpreted
o Makes interpretations more homogeneous
o Socially shared meanings are of interest
o Het gaat niet om jouw privé interpretatie, maar om de gedeelde betekenis in de
groep want, cultuur is pas cultuur als meerdere mensen hetzelfde symbool op een
vergelijkbare manier interpreteren (gedrag wordt voorspelbaar en homogener)!!
o Only shared understanding creates meaning, and that creates effect
Culture as social and taken-for-granted
We’re not aware of culture, culture is ‘done’ without anyone thinking about it. So, it’s not
inside people’s heads, but ‘between’ people (shared interaction)
- It’s situationally adaptive, because every situation is different
- Shared interpretations reduce uncertainties in Amsterdam bestaat er een
gedeelde interpretative dat door rood fietsen acceptable is. Niet omdat iemand dat
officieel heeft afgesproken, maar omdat iedereen elkaar het zo ziet doen = cultuur
vermindert onzekerheid: automobilisten verwachten dat fietsers door rood gaan,
fietsers verwachten da took van elkaar daardoor veiliger om mee te doe naan de
norm (hetzelfde gedragen als anderen creëert voorspelbaarheid)
Cultuur is niet bewust (het is vanzelfsprekend), mensen denken niet elke dag na over ‘wat is
de norm’, maar doen gewoon wat ‘normaal’ is. Die normaliteit is cultuur. Het gebeurt
automatisch, in gedrag, tussen mensen.
- (Rarely visible, but it’s in unwritten rules and taken-for-granted)
- (Culture can be different things at once)
Call for analytical depth
But… often culture refers to little more than a social pattern, it goes deeper Edgar
Schein’s Model of organizational culture: the things we can see, the artifacts, are driven by
the underlying things, like values and basic assumptions
, - - Most things we take for granted/unconscious =
under the ice
- The things we see (Starbucks, Apple products) = the top
Artifact = what we see
o Buildings, logo, dress code, rituals, rewards, stories, jargon
Values = what we can talk about
o Social principles, ideals, ethical code
o Values they are not rational, but emotional charged (tension when values
between people are different)
Basic assumption = what we take for granted (what we think and feel)
o Onbewuste overtuigingen (vanzelfsprekendheid), ze zijn niet zichtbaar of expliciet
uitgesproken (zoals values), maar ze liggen eronder
o Assumptions about human nature (motivated vs lazy people)
o Assumptions about human relationships (competitive vs cooperative)
o Assumptions about truth, reality, knowledge (wat wordt als ‘waar’ gezien)
The ice burg can change, depending on the situation new normal (COVID and working
from home)
Why do people study organizational culture?
(Organisaties presteerde niet meer goed, ze wilden kijken hoe ze dit konden veranderen.
Hoe kunnen we werknemers bijvoorbeeld weer motiveren?)
In the 1980s, the US industry was facing a crisis, while Japanese firms were highly successful
Japanese companies focused on shared values, commitment and high-quality output =
culture pop-management authors suggested that Western countries learn the ‘art of
Japanese management’
- Because of this, organizational culture became a central management topic. Later,
when companies failed/scandals happened, people again blamed ‘the culture’, which
kept the interest in organizational culture alive. Culture became a kind of explanation
tool for failure
So, even though the culture hype didn’t fully deliver, culture stayed important because it us
used to explain scandals, becomes visible in big change situations like when companies
merge, and is crucial to coordinate behavior in modern knowledge work where direct
control is harder (modern work is less about machines, which you can monitor)
, Three interests for studying phenomena (IMPORTANT EXAM!!)
Vanuit welke motivatie/doel onderzoekers ‘cultuur’ bestuderen:
1. The technical interest (most dominant) = a way to control the organizational culture,
in order to improve the efficiency and productivity of organizations Alvesson find
it problematic, “this is not how it works”, culture is not something you
instrumentalize towards a measuring instrument for more effectiveness
a. Cultuur onderzoeken om het te controleren, managen en performance te
verbeteren (doel = organisaties beter laten werken)
b. Maximum output
2. The practical-hermeneutic interest = trying to understand what’s going on. You want
to understand how shared meaning is created in organizational communities, and
what the natives/members think they are up to how is the culture created and
what is meant by it, so knowledge for the sake of knowledge
a. Cultuur onderzoeken om te snappen hoe gedeelde betekenissen ontstaan in
organisaties (niet verbeteren, maar begrip krijgen)
3. The emancipatory interest (critical interest) = critique of the technical interest: not
interested in the profitability of the organization, but in the fact if there is any harm
of the employees. So, not in the disadvantages of the organization, but for the
employees. It targets taken-for-granted beliefs and instrumentality
a. Opposite of technical interest
b. How can we create a safer organization
Relationship between technical and emancipatory interest is antagonistic (tegengesteld)
How to study organizational culture?
Culture is a complex and fuzzy concept, so it’s not easily to measure, that makes it tricky to
study.
Alvesson suggest: be focused on what you want to measure, but keep balance between rigor
and flexibility
- Flexibility = no formula or model for studying culture, casual links lead to
oversimplification
o Blijf open en maak niet te simpel oorzaak-gevolgrelaties
- Rigor = be focused and precise, analyze specific cultural phenomena, seek
interpretive depth, examine motives and objectives
o Duidelijk afbakenen wat je onderzoekt, diep graven en goed interpreteren
Alvesson: it requires careful reflection of one’s cultural bias bewust zijn van je eigen
culturele bril (eigen achtergrond beïnvloedt interpretatie). So, it is important to observe the
day-to-day functioning of an organization: patterns of interaction between individuals and
groups, language use, topics in conversations, habits and rituals of their daily routines
Fine balance between precise and flexible
- It is important to know what to focus on, and go in dep
- But at the same time: there is no clear formula how to study
Studying culture articles, movies, ethnography (observing day-to-day)
What is culture?
Different kinds of culture
- Consumer culture (= global, over de hele wereld hetzelfde)
o Cultuur gedreven door consumptie
o Waarden, betekenissen, identiteiten en gedragingen die ontstaan vanuit
kopen (merken vormen identiteiten)
- Regional culture
o Cultuur van een specifieke geografische regio
o Bijv. Regionale geschiedenis, dialect of tradities
- Pop culture = (can be local or global)
o Mainstream cultuur van entertainment (muziek, tv, memes, films)
o Je ziet het overall, het is toegankelijk en snel veranderlijk
o Pop culture is wat ‘meeloopt’ en massaal gedeeld wordt
Origin of the term
Textbook says: culture means everything and nothing. So, it’s difficult to define it specifically.
Culture is a fuzzy concept there is an enormous variation in the definition of the term,
and the concept is used to cover everything, and with that, nothing = culture as an umbrella
term (= culture is adapted to different disciplines)
- Colere = to grow
- Cultus = nurtured/cared for
What is organizational culture?
Culture = shared and learned world of experiences, meanings, values and understandings
which are expressed and reproduced partly in symbolic form (shared values, norms, dress
code, rituals, symbols, activities)
Within everything we share (culture) there might be people who stand out more, and have a
more dominant role in the overall culture. They have an ability to shape the culture and have
‘leadership’.
So, leadership has a huge influence on the culture, but culture can also influence the leader!
Shared assumptions about organizational culture
- Related to history/tradition
- Collectively shared by members of a group
- To do with meanings, understandings and beliefs
- Some depth, you cannot always see or catch it
- Difficult to grasp (begrijpen) and must be interpreted
- Emotional rather than strictly rational
- Helps to understand richness of organizational life
Organizational culture = it’s shared and learned between different people/individual, and it’s
not always visible, it’s often more subtle (it’s multi-layered)
- Connection to people to learn the unwritten rules
- Organizational culture generated … shared understanding
,Most significant concepts of organizational culture
Organizational culture = how people act, dress themselves, what their norms are, what
things they value and the language they speak. Culture in organizations is captured in
symbols and meanings.
Symbols iets zichtbaars dat verwijst naar iets anders
o Words, actions, material items that stand for something else
o Object (kantoorinrichting, logo)
o Actie (ritueel, handshake)
o Woorden/slogans (“client first”)
o Rich in meaning: calls for interpretation (symbol niet letterlijk te lezen, maar
interpreteren)
o Collective symbolism of interest
Meanings interpretaties die mensen aan een symbool geven
o How an object or utterance (uiting) is interpreted
o Makes interpretations more homogeneous
o Socially shared meanings are of interest
o Het gaat niet om jouw privé interpretatie, maar om de gedeelde betekenis in de
groep want, cultuur is pas cultuur als meerdere mensen hetzelfde symbool op een
vergelijkbare manier interpreteren (gedrag wordt voorspelbaar en homogener)!!
o Only shared understanding creates meaning, and that creates effect
Culture as social and taken-for-granted
We’re not aware of culture, culture is ‘done’ without anyone thinking about it. So, it’s not
inside people’s heads, but ‘between’ people (shared interaction)
- It’s situationally adaptive, because every situation is different
- Shared interpretations reduce uncertainties in Amsterdam bestaat er een
gedeelde interpretative dat door rood fietsen acceptable is. Niet omdat iemand dat
officieel heeft afgesproken, maar omdat iedereen elkaar het zo ziet doen = cultuur
vermindert onzekerheid: automobilisten verwachten dat fietsers door rood gaan,
fietsers verwachten da took van elkaar daardoor veiliger om mee te doe naan de
norm (hetzelfde gedragen als anderen creëert voorspelbaarheid)
Cultuur is niet bewust (het is vanzelfsprekend), mensen denken niet elke dag na over ‘wat is
de norm’, maar doen gewoon wat ‘normaal’ is. Die normaliteit is cultuur. Het gebeurt
automatisch, in gedrag, tussen mensen.
- (Rarely visible, but it’s in unwritten rules and taken-for-granted)
- (Culture can be different things at once)
Call for analytical depth
But… often culture refers to little more than a social pattern, it goes deeper Edgar
Schein’s Model of organizational culture: the things we can see, the artifacts, are driven by
the underlying things, like values and basic assumptions
, - - Most things we take for granted/unconscious =
under the ice
- The things we see (Starbucks, Apple products) = the top
Artifact = what we see
o Buildings, logo, dress code, rituals, rewards, stories, jargon
Values = what we can talk about
o Social principles, ideals, ethical code
o Values they are not rational, but emotional charged (tension when values
between people are different)
Basic assumption = what we take for granted (what we think and feel)
o Onbewuste overtuigingen (vanzelfsprekendheid), ze zijn niet zichtbaar of expliciet
uitgesproken (zoals values), maar ze liggen eronder
o Assumptions about human nature (motivated vs lazy people)
o Assumptions about human relationships (competitive vs cooperative)
o Assumptions about truth, reality, knowledge (wat wordt als ‘waar’ gezien)
The ice burg can change, depending on the situation new normal (COVID and working
from home)
Why do people study organizational culture?
(Organisaties presteerde niet meer goed, ze wilden kijken hoe ze dit konden veranderen.
Hoe kunnen we werknemers bijvoorbeeld weer motiveren?)
In the 1980s, the US industry was facing a crisis, while Japanese firms were highly successful
Japanese companies focused on shared values, commitment and high-quality output =
culture pop-management authors suggested that Western countries learn the ‘art of
Japanese management’
- Because of this, organizational culture became a central management topic. Later,
when companies failed/scandals happened, people again blamed ‘the culture’, which
kept the interest in organizational culture alive. Culture became a kind of explanation
tool for failure
So, even though the culture hype didn’t fully deliver, culture stayed important because it us
used to explain scandals, becomes visible in big change situations like when companies
merge, and is crucial to coordinate behavior in modern knowledge work where direct
control is harder (modern work is less about machines, which you can monitor)
, Three interests for studying phenomena (IMPORTANT EXAM!!)
Vanuit welke motivatie/doel onderzoekers ‘cultuur’ bestuderen:
1. The technical interest (most dominant) = a way to control the organizational culture,
in order to improve the efficiency and productivity of organizations Alvesson find
it problematic, “this is not how it works”, culture is not something you
instrumentalize towards a measuring instrument for more effectiveness
a. Cultuur onderzoeken om het te controleren, managen en performance te
verbeteren (doel = organisaties beter laten werken)
b. Maximum output
2. The practical-hermeneutic interest = trying to understand what’s going on. You want
to understand how shared meaning is created in organizational communities, and
what the natives/members think they are up to how is the culture created and
what is meant by it, so knowledge for the sake of knowledge
a. Cultuur onderzoeken om te snappen hoe gedeelde betekenissen ontstaan in
organisaties (niet verbeteren, maar begrip krijgen)
3. The emancipatory interest (critical interest) = critique of the technical interest: not
interested in the profitability of the organization, but in the fact if there is any harm
of the employees. So, not in the disadvantages of the organization, but for the
employees. It targets taken-for-granted beliefs and instrumentality
a. Opposite of technical interest
b. How can we create a safer organization
Relationship between technical and emancipatory interest is antagonistic (tegengesteld)
How to study organizational culture?
Culture is a complex and fuzzy concept, so it’s not easily to measure, that makes it tricky to
study.
Alvesson suggest: be focused on what you want to measure, but keep balance between rigor
and flexibility
- Flexibility = no formula or model for studying culture, casual links lead to
oversimplification
o Blijf open en maak niet te simpel oorzaak-gevolgrelaties
- Rigor = be focused and precise, analyze specific cultural phenomena, seek
interpretive depth, examine motives and objectives
o Duidelijk afbakenen wat je onderzoekt, diep graven en goed interpreteren
Alvesson: it requires careful reflection of one’s cultural bias bewust zijn van je eigen
culturele bril (eigen achtergrond beïnvloedt interpretatie). So, it is important to observe the
day-to-day functioning of an organization: patterns of interaction between individuals and
groups, language use, topics in conversations, habits and rituals of their daily routines
Fine balance between precise and flexible
- It is important to know what to focus on, and go in dep
- But at the same time: there is no clear formula how to study
Studying culture articles, movies, ethnography (observing day-to-day)
