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National and organizational cultures

“Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiment in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values. Culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, on the other hand, as conditioning elements of future action”. 

Alfred Louis Kroeber and Clyde Kluckholn (1961).

There are several concepts bound by the concept of culture like "nation", "national culture", "organization" and "organizational culture" among others. In other words, the culture have different stages to be assumed. beginning by a wider scenary, the nation envolves shared feelings, a common religion (sometimes), and specially a general common sense of belonging.

A national culture is  subject of deeper analysis of nation with the the same characteristics but driven by a total historical recognition of the nation and an official  society which recognize the roots of the nation in terms of etchnis.

The organization is a more compact group of people whom pursue several kinds of goals by a team work managing the organizational relational trough different mechanism from outside, in other words, the human dynamic of the organization is totally different from the dynamic of  the homes or beteween the families. The organizations also pursue benefits for the society.

Talking about the organizational culture there is no better explanataion about this like Charles W. L. Hill, and Gareth R. Jones give us: “Is the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization".

The concept of culture, how does it survive in  the contemporary times?

There is a clear crisis of culture today starting by the point that people used to live their cultures by different ways than nowadays and the different rules and ideologies become harmful for the concept.

Sometimes the people try to build a culture trough their thoughts, behaviors and also try to protect it because finally it results of the idea of a better society.

For example the different trade unions of South Africa have been fighting to make respect their national, economic, and labor environment. the fight has a clear motive which is the trying of the government to apply standards of unions of the western countries in tha national unions with rare reforms and political pressures.

The huge presence of the trade unions of the country limits the ideas of the government and this show the strong participation of this group which think in the collectivist organization.

The election of Barack Obama is a clear example of how culture not only change but also evolve with  the merge of new figures, in that case Obama, representing a crossing of different cultures.

References:

Poniewozik, J. (2009, February 2). Pop Goes Washington. Time, 173(4), 30-30. Retrieved March 8, 2009, from Business Source Premier database.

Buhlungu, S. (2009, March). The Rise and Decline of the Democratic Organizational Culture in the South African Labor Movement, 1973 to 2000. Labor Studies Journal, 34(1), 91-111. Retrieved March 8, 2009, from Business Source Premier database.

 

 

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