Organizational climate and organizational culture theory and research are reviewed. The article is first framed with definitions of the constructs, and preliminary thoughts on their interrelationships are noted. Organizational climate is briefly defined as the meanings people attach to interrelated bundles of experiences they have at work. Organizational culture is briefly defined as the basic assumptions about the world and the values that guide life in organizations. A brief history of climate research is presented, followed by the major accomplishments in research on the topic with regard to levels issues, the foci of climate research, and studies of climate strength. A brief overview of the more recent study of organizational culture is then introduced, followed by samples of important thinking and research on the roles of leadership and national culture in understanding organizational culture and performance and culture as a moderator variable in research in organizational behavior. The final section of the article proposes an integration of climate and culture thinking and research and concludes with practical implications for the management of effective contemporary organizations. Throughout, recommendations are made for additional thinking and research.

Organizational Climate and Culture

On plebes' first day at West Point, called R-Day, they strip down to their underwear. Their hair is cut off. They are put in uniform. They then must address an older cadet, with the proper salute and with the statement: "Sir, New Cadet Doe reports to the cadet in the Red Sash for the first time as ordered." Plebes must stand and salute and repeat, and stand and salute and repeat, until they get it exactly right, all the while being reprimanded for every tiny mistake. In the summary of David Lipsky (2003, pp. 145-154), who spent four years tracking a company of cadets at West Point: "On R-Day you surrender your old self in stages." But R-day is just the beginning of the training and personal re-engineering that is to come, so that West Point graduates emerge four years later as loyal officers in the U.S. Army. Lipsky shows that, despite some failure, this tough program is remarkably successful in creating officers with the will to lead in battle. Economists' current picture of organizations and work incentives has no place for the West Point program and the motivations it seeks to inculcate in recruits. In a standard economic model, an individual's preferences are fixed, and utility depends only on pecuniary variables. The Army's aim at West Point is to change cadets' preferences. They wish to inculcate non-economic motives in the cadets so that they have the same goals as the U.S. Army. Alternatively stated, the goal of West Point is to change the identity of the cadets, so they will think of themselves, above all else, as officers in the U.S. army. They will feel bad about themselves-they will lose utility-if they fall short of the ideals of such an officer. This change in identity

/pdf/identity-and-the-economics-of-organizations-3cjjrjaibe.pdf

Identity and the Economics of Organizations

http://masachoset.persiangig.com/esfand-91/english.pdf

Linking organizational culture, structure, strategy, and organizational effectiveness: Mediating role of knowledge management

https://www.uvm.edu/giee/pubpdfs/Hart_2011_Journal%20of%20Management.pdf

Invited Editorial: A Natural-Resource-Based View of the Firm Fifteen Years After

In this article, a social theory framework is developed to explain the common themes of recursive and adaptive practice underpinning the existing strategic management literature. In practice, there is a coexistent tension between recursive and adaptive forms of strategic action that spans multiple levels from macro-institutional and competitive contexts to within-firm levels of analysis to individual cognition. This tension may be better understood by examining how management practices are used to put strategy into practice. Such practices span multiple levels of context and are adaptable to their circumstances of use, serving to highlight both general characteristics and localized idiosyncrasies of strategy as practice. The article develops the concept of management practices-in-use into a research agenda and nine broad research questions that may be used to investigate empirically strategy as practice.

/pdf/strategy-as-practice-recursiveness-adaptation-and-practices-2fxj71rg4d.pdf

Strategy as Practice: Recursiveness, Adaptation, and Practices-in-Use

In Search Of Excellence, by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman,1 published in 1982, remains one of the biggest selling and most widely read business books ever. It was then, and still is, touted as a seminal text for those trying to improve systems and deliver quality to the public, mainly in the context of business. I was advised to read it on a senior registrar management course I attended in 1989. It’s not a page-turning bodice-ripper. I didn’t finish it. I tried hard.

I mention this because I came across it the other day while perusing the shelves of the hospital library. Later that day I discussed the book with a friend who runs a successful business. He agreed that it is still widely referenced in business and training seminars. He then asked me the killer question “what are you guys [emergency doctors] excellent at?” He followed this up by asking “don’t you refer everything on to specialists?”. I was well behaved and refrained from pouring a jug of water over him.

So, what are we excellent at? By the nature of our work, we are generalists and are …

/pdf/in-search-of-excellence-5cfuzeoira.pdf

G Hughes

Papers

In search of excellence