The Dynamics of Organizational Culture - Essay Example

Mary Jo Hatch (1993) defines cultural dynamics from the origin of anthropologists. She is concerned with the evolution of culture and how that affects organizations today. Ms. Hatch, in her article, compares her theory to Schein's theory and goes on to explain how her theory is different. Cultural dynamics is a way of determining how culture in an organization is determined and changed. It includes such elements as values, artifacts, symbols, and assumptions (Hatch 1993). It is then affected by interpretation, manifestation, realization, and symbolism. Mary Jo Hatch helps us reflect upon culture and gender dynamics and how we personally might reflect on those issues.

Schien, on the other hand, felt that culture was defined on three layers which were the surface which is where artifacts are, underneath the surface of artifacts where values a, and at the core, our basic assumptions. An assumption according to Schien (1985) is a belief that is taken for granted about reality. Values are those principles, philosophies, goals, and standards that are considered important in our society and artifacts are those things that are visible, tangible, and audible. The American flag would be an example of an artifact.

When compared side by side, both theories appear very much the same. Stein sees cultural dynamics as a learning process and Mary Jo Hatch sees it as a change process that describes how an organization defines the things that are important about it and how those things change. Both theories are really a blend of the things that occur in an organization. Mary Jo Hatch notes the importance of the same issues such as values, artifacts, symbols, and assumptions as does Schein.  It is the philosophy of how those things are important that is somewhat different.

Ms. Hatch tells us that what we value in our organizations is developed from what we assume to be true. Values are carried through the organization through the strategic plan and employee evaluations. The employee evaluation then becomes a symbol of the assumptions and values that we value (Hatch, 1993). In today's organizations, there are many catchwords and one of those is cultural dynamics. All of the things that we assign to cultural dynamics are the same as what was originally proposed by Ms. Hatch. She uses a flywheel to demonstrate her theory and today one of the important groups that work on cultural dynamics is the Studor group and they use a flywheel very much the same.

In conclusion, Ms Hatch's theory as well as Stein's theory are still relevant today and they both have become a part of the organizational theories of today. One of Ms. Hatch's wishes was that her articles will lead to further study and development and this writer would say that she got her wish and it has been effective, as organizations push forward in their understanding and cultivation of their culture and how it works.