ABSTRACT
This chapter explores symbolic boundaries related to organizational culture in the Commission. They refer to expectations about how things should be done within an organization, for example the dominant work routines, patterns of interaction and communication and the exercise of authority. First, Commission officials perceive a symbolic boundary between a “rational-legal” and a “personal and flexible” culture, attributed to Northern and Southern Europeans, respectively. A “rational-legal” approach epitomizes the classic virtues of a bureaucrat according to Max Weber, while a “personal and flexible” culture takes a heterodox approach to these bureaucratic attitudes. Second, officials distinguish an organizational culture attributed mainly to British and Scandinavian officials. It is associated with the managerial ideologies of “New Public Management,” in contrast to more hierarchical and legalistic continental European cultures. Finally, this chapter discusses perceptions of organizational cultural change associated with the Eastern Enlargement, concerning questions related to the exercise of authority.
