Organizational culture: An examination of its effect on the internalization process and member performance

Organizational culture permeates organizational life in such

a way as to influence every aspect of the organization (Saffold, 1988). There are many examples of recognizable organizational cultures in the United States. General Motors, IBM, and I. E. DuPont Nemours are just a few of the organizations that communicate a strong sense of culture not only to their members, but to outsiders as well (Peters & Waterman, 1982; Rodgers, 1969). These organizations, and others like them, maintain a strong identity that is constantly communicated to their members.

It has been suggested that organizational culture affects such outcomes as productivity, performance, commitment, self confidence, and ethical behavior (Deal & Kennedy, 1982; Denison, 1984; Ouchi, 1981; Posner, Kouzes, & Schmidt, 1985; Pritchard & Karasick, 1973; Sathe, 1985). However, little has been done to develop theory that attempts to explain the process through which individuals are affected by the organization's culture. Instead, a large portion of the research has concentrated on the "strong vs. weak" culture dichotomy (Deal & Kennedy, 1982), suggesting that culture manifests varying degrees of influence over the members of an organization. While there have been attempts to examine culture's influence over the cognitive process through which individuals interpret their environment (Denison, 1990; Harris, 1989), further work in this area is needed. However, research into the transmission of cultural values and norms remains as a neglected area in the study of organizational culture (Ostroff & Kozlowski, 1992). It is the object of this research to present a model of organizational culture that examines the effect on the cognitive process and helps explain the influence that organizations may have in creating and maintaining a distinct and recognizable culture.