ABSTRACT
A cultural theory of organizations emphasizes that meaning is constructed through everyday life, that we judge policies and organizations not just in isolation but also for their effects on our ways of life, and that we continually reevaluate our cultural preferences in light of experience. In the organizational context, these cultural dynamics are displayed in the fundamental act of organizations: decision making. Organizations exist to constrain action in line with knowledge and preferences; simply put, "[o]rganization is bias" and it is through decision making that an organization reveals its identity, its bias. Organizational forms are continually tested against the normative preferences of leaders or members and against the hard knocks of reality. Organizations are purposive, although we may not fully understand their derivation or functions. The cultural theory of organizations developed roots prescription in an understanding of the fundamental role of group and grid, of facts and values, and of the appropriate matches of organizations and environments that derive from these variables.
