Cultural Approach to
Organizations
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Chapter 19
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Clifford J. Geertz
Princeton University
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Michael Pacanowsky
Westminster College
Meet the Theorists

Humans are animals suspended in webs of
significance that they themselves have spun.
An organization doesn’t have a culture, it is a
culture – a unique system of shared meaning. A
nonintrusive ethnographic approach interprets
stories, rites, and other symbolism to make
sense of corporate culture. (Socio-cultural
Tradition)
Essence of the Theory
Webs of significance: systems of
shared meaning.
Culture
Actions by which members
constitute and reveal their culture to
themselves and others: an ensemble
of texts.
Cultural Performance
Mapping out social disclosure:
discovering who people within a
culture think they are, what they
think they are doing, and to what
end they think they are doing it.
Ethnography
A record of intertwined layers of
common meaning that underlie what
a particular people say and do.
Think Description
Clarifies what is unknown or
confusing by equating it with an
image that is more familiar or vivid.
Metaphor
Tales that carry management
ideology and reinforce company
policy.
Corporate Stories
Tales by employees that put them in
a favorable light.
Personal Stories
Positive or negative anecdotes about
others in an organization;
descriptions of how things “really
work.”
Collegial Stories
Texts that articulate multiple aspects
of cultural life, often marking rites of
passage or life transitions.
Ritual