Purpose - This study sought to discuss definitions of organizational culture taking into consideration different views, and the historical and philosophical elements of organizational culture. Research Design, Data, and Methodology - This paper is a relatively conceptual study that has attempted to define organizational culture, a topic that has been debated among scholars and practitioners. Various studies in the literature related to organizational culture have been reviewed in an effort to reduce the complexities and ambiguities in definitions of organizational culture. Results -This study summarized and synthesized different studies related to organizational culture, and identified the main streams for defining organizational culture as being from the historical and philosophical elements of organizational culture. Conclusions -The concept of organizational culture continues to be an important factor affecting organizational effectiveness and initiating organizational development. However, the definition of organizational culture has not been well-established. In this sense, this paper seems to be significant and meaningful as it attempts to define organizational culture from different perspectives.
Adler, N, J. (2008). International dimensions of organizational behavior(5th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western.
Alasuutari, P. (1995). Researching culture. London: Sage.
Alvesson, M. (2002). Understanding organizational culture. London: Sage.
Alvesson, M., & Berg, P. (1992). Corporate culture and organizational symbolism. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Ashkanasy, N. M. (2003). The case of culture. In R. Westwood & S. Clegg (Eds.), Debating organization: Point-counterpoint in organizational studies(pp. 300-311). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing.
Ashkanasy, N. M., Wilderom, C. P. M., & Peterson, M. F. (Eds.). (2000). Handbook of organizational culture & climate. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Barley, S. (1983). Semiotics and the study of occupational and organizational cultures. Administrative Science Quarterly, 28, 393-414.
Barley, S., Meyer, G., & Gash, D. (1988). Cultures of culture: Academics, practitioners, and the pragmatics of normative control. Administrative Science Quarterly, 33, 24-61.
Barnard, C. I. (1938). The functions of the executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (2003). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Brunsson, N. (1985). The irrational organization. New York: John Wiley.
Chia, R. (1996). The problem of reflexivity in organizational research: Towards a postmodern science of organization. Organization, 3, 31-59.
Crossley, N. (2005). Key concepts in critical social theory. London: Sage.
Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. London: Sage.
Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2001). Organization development and change (7th ed.). Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College Publishing.
Davis, S. (1984). Managing corporate culture. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
Deal, T. E., & Kennedy, A. E. (1982). Corporate culture: The rites and rituals of corporate life. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Deshpande, R., & Webster, F. E. (1989). Organizational culture and marketing: Defining the research agenda. Journal of Marketing, 53(1), 3-15.
Elias, J. L., & Merriam, S. B. (2005). Philosophical foundations of adult education (3rd ed.). Malabar, FL: Krieger.
Feldman, M. (1989). Order without design: Information processing and policy making. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
Gregory, K. (1983). Native-view paradigms: Multiple cultures and culture conflicts in organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 28, 359-376.
Hancock, P., & Tyler, M. (2001). Work, postmodernism, and organization: A critical introduction. London: Sage.
Harrison, J. R., & Carroll, G. R. (2006). Culture and demography in organizations. Princeton, NY: Princeton University Press.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across na tions(2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hofstede, G., & Hofstede, G. J. (2005). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Keyton, J. (2005). Communication and organizational culture: A key to understanding wok experiences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Kluckhohn, C. (1967). Values and value-orientations in the theory of action: An exploration in definition and classification. In T. Parsons & E. A. Shils (Eds.), Toward a general theory of action (pp. 388-433). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Louis, M. (1985). An investigator’s guide to workplace culture. In P. Frost, L. Moore, M. Louis, C. Lundberg, & J. Martin (Eds.), Organizational culture (pp. 73-94). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Martin, J. (2002). Organizational culture: Mapping the terrain. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Martin, J., Frost, P. J., & O’Neill, O. A. (2006). Organizational culture: Beyond struggles for intellectual dominance. In S. R. Clegg, C. Hardy, T. B. Lawrence, & W. R. Nord (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of organizational studies (2nd ed.) (pp. 725-753). London: Sage.
Meyerson, D. (1991). "Normal" ambiguity? A glimpse of an occupational culture. In P. Frost, L. Moore, M. Louis, C. Lundberg, & J. Martin (Eds.), Reframing organizational culture (pp.134-144). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Meyerson, D., & Martin, J. (1987). Cultural change: An integration of three different views. Journal of Management Studies, 24, 623-47.
Mills, A. (1988). Organization, gender, and culture. Organizational Studies, 9, 351-370.
Ouchi, W. G. (1981). Theory Z: How American business can meet the Japanese challenge. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing.
Parsons, T. (1956). Suggestions for a sociological approach to the theory of organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1, 63-85.
Pascale, R., & Athos, A. (1982). The art of Japanese management: Application for American executives. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Peters, T. J., & Waterman, R. H. (1982). In search of excellence. New York: Harper and Row.
Pettigrew, A. (1979). On studying organizational cultures. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 570-581.
Preissle, J., & Grant, L. (2004). Fieldwork traditions: Ethnography and participant observation. In K. deMarris & S. D. Lapan (Eds.), Foundations for research: Methods of inquiry in education and the social sciences (pp. 161-180). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Putnam, L., Bantz, C., Deetz, S., Mumby, D., & Van Maanen, J. (1993). Ethnography versus critical theory: Debating organizational research. Journal of Management Inquiry, 2, 221-35.
Riley, P. (1983). A structurationist account of political culture. Administrative Science Quarterly, 28, 414-437.
Robbins, S. P. (2003). Organizational behavior (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Rousseau, D. (1990). Normative beliefs in high and low fund raising organizations. Group and Organization Studies, 15, 448-460.
Ryckman, T. (2005). The region of relativity: Philosophy in physics 1915-1925. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sathe, V. (1985). Culture and related corporate realities: Text, cases, and readings on organizational entry, establishment, and change. Homewood, IL: Irwin.
Schein, E. H. (1985). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Schein, E. H. (1992). Organizational culture and leadership (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Schultz, M. (1991). Transitions between symbolic domains in organizations. Organization Studies, 12, 489-506.
Sergiovanni, T., & Corbally, J. (Eds.). (1984). Leadership and organizational culture. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
Smircich, L. (1983). Concepts of culture and organizational analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 28, 339-358.
Yolles, M. I. (2000). Organisations, complexity, and viable knowledge management. Kybernetes, 29, 1202-1222.