Thursday, June 19, 2008
Week 3, Blog #4
In the web lecture, Metaphors and Culture, and in Chapter 5, the fragmentation approach toward organizational culture is discussed. The ambiguities associated with this concept are important parts of the organizational culture. I can corroborate the story of a university’s selection of CAO (Eisenberg et al., 2007, pp. 145-146) with my own experiences in a government agency and the hiring of a particular manager. Depending on with whom one spoke, one would receive different responses about this process. Some thought the employee had the necessary knowledge and experience to manage the unit. Others, however, believed the employee was the wrong fit for the group; some even suggested that preferential treatment may have been involved. The takeaway message for me here is that as long as I acknowledge that fragmentation occurs in an organization, I can better understand that there really is no one right answer to a particular question.
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I concur; fragmentation must be recognized as part of organizational culture. While some would like to have us believe that it would be nice to live in a cut and dry society where everything is absolutely understood, and all communication is clear, human nature negates us the possibility of that reality. Fr example, ambiguity is rampant in the public sector, everyone is always looking to protect themselves, thus dialogues is always tainted with the possibility of double meaning. However, leaving the negative aspects of ambiguity aside, it is essential to understand that ambiguity exists and that it is a part of organizational culture. Once we are cognizant of the existence of ambiguity we can work through it to dialogue and ensure that all parties comprehend each other.
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