Organizational Culture (PRAD233)
An examination of the nature, definitions, theories, and aspects of organizational culture. The goal is to apply knowledge of organizational culture to develop a change-management plan. Analysis covers patterns of behavior and their relationship to organizational culture, especially the impact of the organization's business on employee behavior and culture. Topics include the role of nationality, gender, and race within organizational culture; implications of addressing organizational challenges; theory versus practice; and the relative roles of the individual, groups, and the organization in a cultural context. The objective of the course is to help students think about organization from a cultural perspective. To reach this goal it is necessary to make students familiar with both theoretical frameworks for understanding organizational culture and with some methodological and practical issues of organizational consulting. The course discusses the origin and development of organizational culture as a field of study and outlines the existing methodological and theoretical approaches to organizational culture. It also attempts to raise discussion on the highly debatable issues of post-modern perspectives on organizational culture and multi-paradigmatic approaches to organizational studies.