organizational culture

What makes us want to be part of an outfit?

What makes us feel good about our work? | Dan Ariely

Did you ever think about how much the structure of organizations is driven by philosophical belief systems?

Back in the 1960s, Friedman envisaged a society in which we’d all be wealthy, thriving entrepreneurs. What we got in reality was a pay cut, reduced holiday or sick leave, a chronic skills deficit, credit-card debt and endless hours of pointless work. If anything, the story of human capital theory in Western economies has been about divesting in people, not the opposite.

What is human capital? | Peter Fleming

You don't have to read these unless you wish to, but we might touch upon them in conversation

  1. Schein, E. H. (1985). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Chapter 1, Defining organizational culture, 3-15.
  2. If that does not satisfy you, you might want to also read the #hypertextual blog article on Edgar Schein and what his work means.

Then to take the thought of organizational culture down to one organization and its culture, read

  1. 1100100 and counting
  2. The test of time

things we'll talk about

  • define organizational culture from the Schein reading
  • plan to discuss your personal experiences with organizational cultures
  • what organizational examples (or companies) can we think of that have been successful because of their organizational culture?

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