ABSTRACT
People often talk about the culture of their particular organisation in terms of ‘the way things are done around here’. In requesting an itemisation of such ‘things’, one would anticipate a heterogeneous list of factors, ranging from the extent and depth of emotional attachments among staff, to generic work practices and the shared values that underpin them. In fact, some might go as far as to suggest that their culture is unique – not to be found in other organisations. Such heterogeneity is equally evident in organisation theory. The problem with such a heterogeneous conception of culture is that we gain limited explanatory purchase on, inter alia, the reasons why people share (or do not share) values and beliefs, whether such ‘sharing’ is imposed, and how values and beliefs change and their interplay with social structure. In fact, on the whole, distinct irreducible levels are so tightly compacted that any workable entrée into organisational reality is precluded. This chapter will argue that (a) a substantial increase in explanatory power is gained by a focus on the propositional components of culture, i.e. beliefs, theories, arguments, values, which (b) possess irreducible properties and powers among their relations that predispose their upholders to respond in specifically conditioned ways.
