Durkheim and the limits of corporate culture: whose culture? Which Durkheim?

Article Abstract:

Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in Durkheimian perspectives on management. P. Dahler-Larsen uses such a perspective to critique theories of corporate culture. He is particularly critical of corporate culture's claim that the locus of morality can exist in organizations. This, he argues, is inimical to Durkheim's view of morality as a societal phenomenon. This paper argues that this criticism of corporate culture is limited on two counts. First, it is limited in its failure to deal with those proponents of corporate culture who are themselves critical of culture as a form of ideological control. Secondly, it is based on only one of several possible readings of Durkheim. In his later work, Durkheim analyses the construction and destruction of social solidarities. A Durkheimian reading of organizational culture and the related phenomenon of the learning organization allows us to develop a view of management and organization in which culture is conceived as a heterogeneous rather than homogeneous phenomenon. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Criticism and interpretation, Durkheimian school of sociology, Durkheim, Emile

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Corporate culture: the last frontier of control

Article Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to examine the present U.S. use of the concept of 'corporate culture' using the sociology of Emile Durkheim as a conceptual framework. Durkheim was concerned with understanding where potential sources of morality might reside in a rapidly changing, increasingly differentiated society. Proponents of corporate culture do not rely specifically on Durkheim's work but essentially answer his question by suggesting that the corporation is the appropriate site for moral order. In this paper it is argued that the attempted manipulation of a corporation's culture is simply an addition to other forms of control which companies have tried to implement. More than other forms of control, however, corporate culture elicits sentiment and emotion, and contains possibilities to ensnare workers in a hegemonic system. On the other hand, strengthening corporate cultures in the U.S.A. may also lead to increased worker homogenization and activism. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Ethical aspects, Corporations

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The myth of the corporate political jungle: politicization as a political strategy

Article Abstract:

It is argued that the belief that the intraorganizational environment is necessarily a political one represents a myth propagated and entertained to address various needs of organizational members. One consequence of subscription to the myth of the corporate political jungle is a belief in the necessity for, and as a result the performance of, 'political' behaviour itself. 'Political' responses by others to this behaviour empirically support the myth and justify the behaviour. It is argued that political behaviour incurs dysfunctional consequences that warrant its reduction or elimination. Because political behaviour responds to belief in its inevitability, reduction of political behaviour ultimately depends upon acceptance of the argument presented in this discussion that the workplace is not inherently political. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Business, Political aspects

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