Cultural Approach to Organizations

Cultural Approach to Organizations

Example: An Organization or Group's Culture

Some of My Greatest Friends in the World

The example of an organization or group's culture supports the Cultural Approach to Organizations. This theory is all about how groups operate. In this theory, the group is in the middle of its life cycle as a group. In order to understand organizational culture, one must realize that the key is not to look at culture as part of an organization but to understand that an organization is a culture. Culture isn't a whole or undivided.    It is also important to remember that that an organization's culture is made up of stories, rites, and symbolism. This theory helps groups who have been together for a long time stay together by understanding how these groups operate and how they can keep the strong bonds they have developed so far. This was one of my favorite theories because it helped me get a better feel for how groups I have been involved in for awhile operate and how our rituals, stories, and metaphors keep us closer and make our culture different from other groups.

I see this theory playing out in my life every day based on the groups I am involved with that day. One of the groups is my friends from high school. There are about 10 of us that played sports together and we have continued to stay best friends while in college. We have certain rituals we are always doing, especially during the summer and baseball season. We also have so many stories because we have been together for so long. This theory has helped me understand my group of friends because it has opened my eyes to the culture we have. It is a culture that is very laid back, has a lot of inside jokes, is heavily involved with sports (baseball being #1), and always hanging out on breaks when all of us are home (especially over the summer). This theory has helped me realize our group is one of a kind and that no other group I am a part of will be able to communicate to each other like we do. Our group is at a point in time where we can communicate with one another and know exactly what the other is thinking or going to do without even saying anything. We are unique and I am so thankful that God has blessed me with these friends and allowed our group to stay so close together over the last 6 years.

In the end, this theory has made me realize that communicating between different groups is not an easy task. It is quite difficult because different groups have different stories, rituals, and metaphors that separate themselves from other groups. These three things help create the culture of the group. Each group or organization is a different culture. If you look at people from the Midwest, East Coast, West Coast, and the Deep South you can see that each acts and speaks differently than the other people group. This is because they all live in different cultures that make them unique from the other cultures out there. It is important to be understanding this point because it will help one communicate better with people living in different cultures than your own. One needs to be patient and understanding when communicating with another group because your stories, rituals, and metaphors might mean something completely different to the other groups stories, rituals, and metaphors. In the end, I enjoyed studying this theory and hope it helps others realize that culture is unique and special.