Running head: COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL AS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Collegiate Soccer as Organizational Culture
Carson Mckole
Central Washington University
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Table of Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................ 1
Chapter One Theory Introduction ....................................................................................................... 2
Assumptions..................................................................................................................................... 3
Key Concepts.................................................................................................................................... 3
Criteria for Evaluating Communication Theory ............................................................................... 3
Chapter Two Theory Explanation ........................................................................................... 4
Literature Review ........................................................................................................................... 5
Effects of culture on organizations
Organizational culture in the workplace
Organizational Culture ................................................................................................................... 6
COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL AS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Abstract
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COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL AS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
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CHAPTER ONE
THEORY INTRODUCTION
Organizational Culture Theory has with stood the test of time for many years. This theory
has continued to be used throughout history because western-society will never part with the use
of organizations. Today’s society is maintained through the use of organizational structures and
institutions. Organizational life affects the majority of individuals in today’s society because
organizations employ them. Understanding organizational culture is crucial to enjoying success
and diversity within an organization. The Organizational Culture Theory provides an excellent
model for understanding and explaining the complex and dynamic structures involved in
organizations and institutes.
Organizational culture is defined as “the essence of organizational life” (West, 2010).
What constitutes the essence of life within a culture is intricate and varies based on the
significance of the organization. In order to explain and understand the complexity of an
organizational culture, the climate and atmosphere must be taken into account. Culture within an
organization is created through the symbols and their associated meanings. Symbols are enacted
in organizations through routines, actions, conversations, hierarchies and any other interaction
that holds meaning within the organization. Geertz compares cultures with in organizations to the
elaborate web designs of spiders. No spider web is identical to another because each web has a
different strength, history, producer and significant set of variables that constitutes its creation
(Modaff, 2008). Just like the cultures of the world, the cultures within organizations have many
similarities and differences. By focusing on the similarities of these cultures, the Organizational
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Culture Theory provides an effective tool for understanding many different types of
organizations.
Assumptions
The similarities of organizational culture can be identified and better understood through
the assumptions of the Organizational Culture Theory. The first assumption guiding this theory
refers to the creation of organizational culture. Organizational members are actively creating
their climate and mutual understanding of reality, which results in a shared understanding of the
organizations core values (West, 2010). All members of the organization, employees, employees
and supervisors, take part in co-creating the principles and values of their organization. Values
shape the organizational reality by creating standards and expectations for the members. The
values are learned by members through the sharing of information, which is done mainly through
exchanging stories about the work place. When a new employee joins a company they can gain a
sense of the values implemented by the boss based on the stories told by veteran employees.
Active participation is crucial when learning values within an organization, if an employee is
uninvolved in the activities of the workplace they will be unable to hear the stories that depict
values. Active participation is also how organizations maintain their shared understanding of
symbols.
The second assumption refers to the essential need for the effective use and interpretation
of symbols in an organizational culture. The Organizational Culture Theory has adopted the
Symbolic-Interpretive perspective, meaning symbols are used within organizations as
representations of meaning (West, 2010). The verbal and non-verbal symbols organizational
members create, use and interpret can be categorized into three areas. Physical symbols make up
the first category used to classify symbols within an organizational culture. Physical symbols
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include logos, buildings, décor, appearance and material objects. A logo is a commonly used
physical symbol that is created and used by organizations to maintain their culture. If provides
employees and their superiors with a shared identity under one symbol.
Behavioral symbols are the second category used to classify symbols used in
organizational cultures. Behavior symbols often support the ideas visible in the organizations
physical symbols. For example if a company dresses in business attire as opposed to casual, their
organization is more likely to have behavioral customs that include more opportunities for
punishment. Behavioral symbols of an organizational culture include ceremonies, rituals,
traditions, customs, rewards and punishments (West, 2010). Ceremonies and rituals provide the
members of the organization with opportunities to involve themselves in the pre-existing
organizational culture. The consistency of these behaviors allows culture to adapt and grow
through its members.
Verbal symbols make up the final category visible in the use and interpretation of
symbols within an organization. Verbal symbols include anecdotes, jokes, jargon, names,
nicknames, explanations, stories, myths, history and metaphors used by members in order to
communicate and describe organizational reality. Nicknames and jargon create a sense of
belonging within organizations because they are based on shared experiences between
organization members. Anecdotes and stories aid in the explanation of company routines by their
ability to provide information on procedures. Supervisors may communicate their expectations
and management styles through stories about past experiences. For example a supervisor may tell
a humorous story about dealing with an uncooperative employee, their story creates a positive
atmosphere while at the same time exposing their expectations for employees. The usage of
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symbols by all organizational members is necessary in order to create and maintain
organizational culture.
The cultural values within an organization must be communicated through the use of
symbols in order to create a separation from the individual values of organization members.
Diverse cultures exist within organizations and this variety of culture creates the possibility for a
variety of meanings associated with actions. The third assumption of the Organization Culture
Theory pertains to the idea that individuals and groups within organizations sometimes have
different values than those of the organization. Different cultures are created within
organizations for example different departments of a company are likely to have more cohesion
than those from separate departments. The accountants with in a company may have accounting
jokes or metaphors that wouldn’t be applicable to other members of the organization.
Organizational culture is extremely diverse because members have many different backgrounds.
Past job experiences also come into account under this assumption because employees often
apply their previous experiences to everyday life.
Key Concepts
The assumptions of the Organizational Culture Theory are better understood through the
understanding and study of communication performances and how they attribute to an
organizations culture. Communication performances play a major part in creating a shared sense
of organizational reality and culture because they provide a script for the behavioral patterns of
organization members. Within this theory, performance refers to the idea that organization
members take on a variety of roles that dictate their behavior. These cultural performances are
generally categorized into five categories, ritual, passion, social, political and enculturation.
(West, 2010)
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Ritual performances within an organization happen repeatedly and on a daily basis. There
are four types of rituals that take place in organizations, personal, task, social and organizational.
Personal rituals are done on an individual level for example, many high school teachers may
check their mailboxes in the front office each day. Task rituals are distinguished by the position
assumed in the organization and result in task completion. High school teachers may have task
rituals that include enacting the lesson plan, assigning homework and presenting students with
educational information. Social rituals are verbal and non-verbal behavior patterns that are
motivated by social relationships, for example when co-workers eat together regularly in the
lunchroom instead of individually. Organizational rituals are traditional planned events within
the organization, the rituals range from staff and department meetings to Christmas parties and
company picnics.
Passion performances form a separate category that is defined by the organizational
narratives used by members. These are stories that all members of an organization, especially
employees can feel passionate about. The stories have emotional connections to shared
experiences that are specific to their organizations (West, 2012). Organizational members can
often relate to each other when it comes to uncomfortable experiences with supervisors. Passion
performances can act as an emotional survival mechanism for employees because their shared
experiences and truths give them the ability to poke fun at painful workplace situations.
Social performances, unlike passion performances, occur daily and take into account the
element of friendliness in member interaction. These rituals can range from encouraging nonverbal communication between employees to the use of manners and etiquette when speaking
with customers. These performances do not always express the true emotions of the organization
members but they display mutual efforts to create a civil environment. Social performances are
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rituals that keep the work place pleasant and are important in times of stress. These behaviors
help in maintaining a professional and constructive environment when organizational emotions
are running high.
Political performances within organizations are defined by the control and power they are
attempting to communicate or gain through recognizable behavior. Organizations most often
include the use of hierarchies, therefore the political performances that demonstrate power roles
are very important to organizational structure. Along with power maintenance, political roles
also include communication performances that seek to influence others. These performances do
not specifically pertain to supervisors expressing power and guidance within organizations, they
can also describe events where employees ask something of their superiors.
Enculturation performance is the final performance illustrated in the Organizational
Culture Theory. It is through these performances that members learn how to become an active
part of their organization and its culture. Examples of these cultural performances include
orientations, seminars and weekly newsletters (West, 2012). These performances provide
understanding on how to effectively and continually perform to the expectations of their
organizational positions. Enculturation performances often include a combination of the cultural
performances found in organizations, provided by the Organization Culture Theory. Daily
routines that provide organizational members with group cohesion and the ability to reach
organizational expectations are all examples of enculturation performances.
Criteria for Evaluating Communication Theory
The scope of the Organizational Culture theory explores multiple communication
behaviors within organizations. This theory covers a wide variety of patterns visible in
organizations, and does not focus primarily on a small number of communicative behaviors. This
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theory mainly references examples that include corporate cultures, yet it does not state specific
boundaries for organizational types.
The claims supporting the organizational culture theory are fairly logical and consistent.
The belief that organizations enact specific behaviors to create diverse and unique cultures is
supported through the explicit presentation of communicative performances and categorization
of critical symbols used by organizations. The concepts are defined specifically through
examples, i.e. physical, behavioral, and verbal symbols, and their effects, which are visible
through the mutually created organizational culture. Researchers Eric Eisenberg, H. L. Goodall,
and Angela Tretheway (2006), believe that Organizational Culture Theory is not logically
consistent due to its dependence on shared meanings. Their criticism focuses specifically on the
concept that assumes narratives told in organizations have shared meanings. Although these
stories may add to the culture of an organization, they do not guarantee shared meaning because
each member tell stories different.
The Organizational Culture Theory provides simple explanations to accompany the
claims presented. There are three claims to support the intricate organizational cultures created
through the use of symbols and shared meanings. The theory includes one major key concept,
communicative performances, which are divided into five sub categories. Intricate examples and
explanations are provided for each type of communicative performance.
This theory demonstrates utility in today’s society due to its connection with corporate
organizations. The majority of society is employed through some type of organization, therefore
the theory can be used by many on a daily basis to understand culture within a workplace. The
explanation of organizational narratives, rituals and symbols also provides employees with a
guide for interpreting corporate relationships. The Organizational Culture Theory proves to be
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practical because the research conducted through field logs, which contain real observations of
employee behaviors in their organizations, is visible and recordable.
The testability of the Organizational Culture Theory is supported through the application
of assumptions in comparison to the intense observational findings. The research needed to
understand an organizations culture serves as a way to test its accuracy. By producing detailed
field logs, researches are able to pin point patterns within organizational cultures. Accuracy is
visible through the comparison of the common cultural patterns and use of symbols and
performances.
The Organizational Culture theory has inspired new ideas in relation to culture and its
effect on behavior within organizations. Closer examination of specific relationships within
corporate organizations, for example pregnant or Muslim employees, arose from the studies of
this theory. A vast majority of researchers have directed their attention to the organizational
culture of higher education systems. These college campuses provide many more opportunities
for organizational culture research expansion for example, gender roles, student discipline and
teaching techniques (West, 2012). The Organizational Culture Theory has withstood the test of
time due to its ability to generate new thought processes that pertain to organizational
communication. Many different types of organizations will continue to use and expand upon the
ideas presented by the Organizational Culture Theory.
CHAPTER TWO
THEORY EXPLANATION
Literature Review
Effects of culture on organizations. “Review on Effect of Culture, Structure,
Technology and Behavior on Organizations” is a journal article expanding on the concepts
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provided in the organizational culture theory. This article covers how management styles affect
the understanding, predication and control of human behavior within organizations. Management
styles are visible particularly through their affects on an organization’s culture.
Cultural patterns become visible through studying the patterns found within
organizations. These patterns form over time through many organizational behaviors for
example, decision-making processes, interaction styles, building layout, member grouping,
processes of implementing decisions and other organizational patterns (Rahmati, 2012).
Alienated, democratic and antagonistic are three types of organizational cultures that can be
determined through analyzing the organizational behavior patterns.
Organizations with alienated cultures acknowledge that conflict is inherent, and the
completion of tasks is more important than conflict resolution. This culture is cut and dry, if
employees are unsatisfied they can leave the organization. The principles of the management
culture affect the behavior of the employees. The expression of opinions is not embraced in this
culture therefore the groups within these organizations are fairly withdrawn from one another.
Interaction between the groups within the organization is formal and purposeful due to the
culture implemented through their management. Alienated cultures display patterns that are task
oriented, autocratic and not accepting of disagreement.
The democratic organizational culture describes styles that embrace teamwork and
conflict resolution. Democratic cultures problem solve through discussing and embracing the
opinions of co-workers. This culture includes values based off morals in which there is a concern
for organizational members that are unhappy. The relationships made between co-workers are
affected positively through this culture because decisions are made cooperatively through the
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explanations of opinions. The democratic culture elicits cooperative environments in which
organizational groups form friendly relationships and employee opinions are voiced.
The third type of organizational culture, antagonistic, creates an environment where
minimal interaction is desired. Those within the organization are competitive with each other and
assume a loss of power occurs through association and cooperation. The behavior of the
employees is affected by this culture because they are unreceptive in their interaction with
members.
Each of these categories are defined through studying an organizations culture. This
article is built on the assumption that each culture is unique and maintained through the sense of
reality shared by its members, originally presented in the Organizational Culture Theory. This is
an expansion of the theory because it studies the effects a culture can have on the behavior of its
members. The understanding and acceptance of organizational values, learned through culture,
can alter and affect the behavior of organizational members.
Organizational culture in the workplace. There are many expansions of the
Organizational Culture Theory with regards to its effect on employee behavior in the workplace.
Recently a man named Richard Moniz wrote a scholarly article about this theory, communicating
who we are in the workplace. This article made some key points and brought up some surreal
ideas on how to handle culture theory in the workplace. According to article, there are three ways
that an employee can handle a new workplace, two of which relate to the concepts of the
Organizational Culture Theory
Investiture is one possible route a new employee can take when joining an organization.
Employees acting out investiture will come into an organization and challenge the typical norms
with new ideas and suggestions to improve effectiveness. This is an attribute Harvard looks for
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when hiring a new professor (Jr., 2011). Divestiture however is the opposite of investiture.
Divestiture describes employees and individuals who go along with the average norm and does
not disturb the operations of the organization. An example of this would be McDonalds and their
attempt to hire employees who do not express a want for change or individuality in their
organization. (Jr., 2011)
Organizational Culture. Organizational culture is a part of every organization that is
formed around the world. It is impossible to have an organization with out culture. This brief
article describes how organizational culture can positively impact relationships between
employees and their companies. The exampled used in the article described how an
environmental company is likely to have a large eco-friendly culture visible through the
companies actions. Companies can easily reach a common consensus on morals and values with
in the organization because employees have a shared interest in their professional field.
Unanimous agreement is not always the best thing for organizations to have in a business setting
(publicorgtheory.org, 2011). Problems can arise from having too much or too little diversity in
organizations. It is important to have a balance and be able to embrace the different cultures
existing in a company. Embracing diversity is the difference between a healthy and an unhealthy
organizational culture.
Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Citizenship Behavior. The article
discussed the relationships between workplace spirituality, organizational citizenship behavior,
and affective organizational commitment among nurses. It was found that workplace spirituality
had a positive influence on the nurse’s organizational citizenship behavior and motivation at
work. The article discusses more possible benefits associated with the influences on workplace
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organizational citizenship behavior, and the affective commitment with the nurses. (Farahna,
2012)
Since these nurses have the most frequent interaction with the patients, their
communication needs effective. Hospitals rely on the relationships formed between patients and
nurses therefore they must insure strong communication skills among nurses. Organizational
citizenship behavior is a behavior that has been installed in order to improve organizational
effectiveness. This behavior increases patient satisfaction which in turn helps increase the quality
of healthcare services.
By having strong organizational communication, hospitals increase their effectiveness by
ensuring their patient’s happiness. Hospitals want to provide quality service for their patients
therefore the must always be actively focusing on improving communication between nurses and
patients.
Stimulating organizational citizenship behavior. In the article “Stimulating
Organizational Citizenship behavior research for theory development: exploration of leadership
paradigms” how to maintain effective organizational communication within work place
relationships is explained in depth. This article refers to the importance of having strong
organizational and relational communication techniques and their effect on business success
(International Journal, 2011). When businesses have strong organization and relational
communication it encourages and maintains employee participation and interaction. According
to this article, having negative relationships and unethical attitudes in the work place can lead to
less success for the company.
Organizational citizenship behavior has become a rapidly studied concept by theorists.
These researchers have found that member behaviors make important contributions to individual,
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group and organizational effectiveness. Organizations will receive positive feedback if they
effectively communicate on a relational level within the organization.
Organizational Culture in Higher Education. Diversity leadership in higher education
is a chapter from an ASHE higher education report from 2006, which explains the relationship
between organizational culture, leadership and diversity (Diversity, Leadership, 2006). This
chapter discusses the idea of solving the diversity issue within higher education by changing the
organizational culture of higher education. Within this reading diversity refers to racial and
ethnic minority groups. The leadership within higher education is targeted in this article because
they are perceived to have the most capability to illicit change in a culture.
Diversity cannot be attained through simply supporting or rejecting programs designed to
increase diversity. It is attained through experiencing and embracing diversity within all
sanctions of the organizations. Organizations with diverse members in all positions are able to
respond to diverse demands of today’s society (Diversity, Leadership, 2006). This corresponds to
higher education systems in the sense that diversity creates educational opportunities. Diverse
education institutions increase choices, accessibility and interdependence through ideas.
Encouraging and valuing diverse participation increases the loyalty and cohesion within the
organization. The members of the education system are intellectually safe from discrimination in
diverse learning environments.
Organizational cultures that wish to incorporate more diversity can do so by changing
their cultures. This reading assumes that organizational cultures are created through the
assumptions provided in the organizational culture theory (Diversity, Leadership, 2006). In order
for higher education systems to change their current diversity representations, the patterns used
to create organizational reality must be examined. The use and interpretation of symbols must
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also be altered to embrace a wider variety of cultural understandings. The communicative
performances described in the Organizational Culture Theory can also be changed in order to
promote diversity. There is a significant correlation between the Organizational Culture Theory
and the implication of diversity in higher education systems
CHAPTER THREE
STUDY DESIGN
Study Introduction
The organizational culture is applicable to collegiate soccer teams through examining
their direct correlation to the Organizational Culture Theory. I believe collegiate soccer teams
replicate the Organizational Cultural Theory through their use of symbols and organizational
culture within their athletic environment. I will focus on several of the theory’s fundamental
themes, i.e. culture creation and symbol use, by examining college athletic teams and their
organizational structure and how it directly relates to organization culture theory. In our study
the employers will be the athletic directors of the collegiate football teams, supervisors are the
head coach along with assistant coaches, and finally the employees will be the athletes that are
competing. The reason for labeling each group this way is because college football programs are
made up of hierarchies that include all members. The president has the most power in this
hierarchy while the athletes have the least. This hierarchy mimics the organizational structures
visible in major corporations because coaching soccer is comparable to a business, one error can
significantly impact the rest of the team. College football teams utilize numerous organizational
tactics in order to function effectively. Members on a sports team create a shared sense of
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organizational reality on their teams. College football teams are diverse groups made up of
athletes who come from varying football cultures.
Scope
The scope for this study is narrow because we are focusing on communicative behaviors
within college football teams. We are attempting to explain the creation of culture and nature of
communication practices within college football teams. The boundaries permit only
organizations in the form of collegiate football teams. These teams incorporate supervisors and
organizational members.
Goals
We are looking to explain how collegiate football teams communicate with respect to the
organizational culture theory. We will explain this by examining and applying the
communication patterns we observe and experience, to the assumptions found in the theory. We
hope to find that the cultures within collegiate football teams can be explained and predicted
through the organizational culture theory.
Assumption 1. Collegiate football teams create a shared sense of reality through the
learning and understanding of team values. Team members find these values through actively
participating in the organization and the team. Team member’s battle together, endure
uncomfortable situations together, and grow together which creates a sense of reality within the
team. Coaches and players learn to value their team members as family members, the moral
values used within families are equal to those used within the team. At times, teams spend more
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time with their team then they do with their families. Players will also support one another
outside of football, if someone is in trouble or in an altercation, a nearby teammate will always
be standing by to help his family member.
Assumption 2. The use and interpretation of verbal, physical and behavioral symbols is
critical to a college football team’s culture. Examples of verbal symbols found in the
organizational culture of football would include the use of team jargon, which consists of jokes,
nicknames and team sayings understood by the players and coaches. Using nicknames gives
players a sense of belonging and acceptance with the organization. Nicknames usually originate
from memorable, shared experiences within the team. Jargon is used to simplify plays or put the
coach’s unique touch on a play. The use of jargon and nicknames makes players feel accepted
and a part of the team.
Physical symbols such as logos, buildings, dress and appearance are also visible on
college football teams. All football team members wear their logos proudly knowing that it is
associated with their team and its legacy. Team members are proud of their cooperative
accomplishments implied by the football symbol on their apparel. Players tend to dress similar to
each other because they are provided with team clothing that depicts their team logo and sport.
This is unique to the student population because some students take pride in identifying
themselves with specific styles, while athletes wear their assigned gear to show team
membership and feel a sense of pride. Another physical symbol used by football teams is their
stadium and training facilities. These facilities function as a home away from home for athletes.
Football team members spend the majority of their time at these facilities participating in teambased activities.
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Behavioral symbols are visible in the rewards and punishments received on college
football teams. Rewards and punishments are an essential part of football’s organizational
culture because they teach players the difference between accepted and rejected behaviors.
Punishments and rewards can be given out for activities that take place on and off campus.
Assumption 3. The third assumption pertains to the variety of college athletic teams and
their cultures. Different teams have diverse cultures within themselves that cannot match any
other culture in the same sport or a different one. Every team has a one of a kind culture that is
created amongst them and can change every season. Although culture can change, it would not
change completely unless a new coach takes over with different perspectives. What we mean by
this is that as players come and go they bring different cultures and perspective with them that
are visible through the team’s culture. However, a change in the head coach can cause a
completely new culture to be introduced through the implication of his coaching strategies.
Smaller organizational cultures are also created and developed within college football
teams. A team has multiple units that come together and make it a whole. Although everything is
done as a team, members with similar task roles often create their own cultures. For the most
part, the strongest bonds are built between teammates who have similar positions or higher levels
of interaction. One example of is would be the small groups football teams break into for
conditioning drills. Every off season a football program has a strength training program which
includes extremely physically challenging exercises practice in early morning. The groups of
teammates that do these activities at the same time will become closer with one another than they
would with teammates in a different work out groups. Another example of this would be a
cultures formed between a specific position group i.e. offensive line and defensive line. Other
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cultures can form as well, offense as a whole and defense as a whole. Each of these sub cultures
would include different types of language.
Observation and Participation
We will be studying how collegiate football represents that of the Organizational Culture
theory through observation, participation, and by taking notes. Since organizational culture
presents shared values and understanding collegiate football falls under that category. A football
team uses many different forms of organization in order to be successful individually, but mainly
as a team. Without this organization, the players participating cannot represent the ethics of a
team sport. Through observation, one can see in a practice or game situation how collegiate
football players form together as one to be successful. Understanding the plays that are called
and what each player individually has to do at the same time in order for another teammate to be
successful. For example, in the huddle a play is called and the linemen understand that they need
to do their job at blocking the defender in order for the running back and/or quarterback to be
successful. By participating in this action, one understands firsthand what they have to do in
order to get their job done right. If a player is unsuccessful in a play, they will see and hear this
from other players because a certain play may be unsuccessful. Taking notes is also a huge factor
in this equation because one can observe another player and learn from ones success and failures
in certain plays. The fact that college football uses 11 players on the field in order to form a
team, they need many different forms of organization to achieve this success. Through
observation, participation, and note taking, collegiate football represents that of organizational
culture theory in order to perform as a team and win games.
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Through participation, players know and understand they have to do their part in order
for their team to do well. This is why collegiate football falls into this category of organizational
culture. A team player is not so much worried about what other players are doing well or not, as
long as what that individual player does brings success to the team. A wide receiver needs to
understand his route on the field, because many times, a quarterback will throw the football
before the receiver is even looking back for the football. These two players need to be on the
same page so to speak so that they can move their team down the field to score. If the receiver
doesn’t know where he is going and turns the wrong way, the quarterback can throw it in the
wrong place which can turn into a loss of a down or an interception, which hurts the team. While
these players are participating on the field, they all need to be familiar with the playbook so that
they can perform together. Each player has a role on a team and they each individually need to
understand what it is their role is to achieve this success. Participation in organizational culture
plays a big part as a lineman. They need to know who they will be blocking on every play so that
the running back has a lane to run threw, or so that the quarterback has time to throw the football
before the defense can get to the quarterback. Once a play is called in a huddle, those 11 players
are working together to move one object, the football. If this team can’t play as one and move the
football down the field to score, then they are not showing strong organization skills. Through
participation, the players learn firsthand what they need to do. It’s one thing to see it on film, or
on a whiteboard, but once they experience it, they will learn and understand how it works.
Participation plays a big part in working as a team and showing the values that organizational
culture theory represent.
Observation is a key ingredient to form this organizational culture shown by college
football teams. These players can learn from their other teammates what not to do as well as
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what to do. They pay close attention in practice and game situations to what a player in their
position could be doing right, and they can learn from it. They can also see what that player
could be doing wrong so they learn what not to do in a situation similar to that. For example, on
defense a safety can be readying for a tackle against the other team, and he might put his head
down, or try to tackle to high, and this would be an example of a bad tackle, as he might miss the
other player. As a teammate you notice this from the sideline or even the field, which this is not
how you tackle. A linebacker on the other hand could fill a gap on a running play to clog up that
hole for the other team, and stop the running back with a strong tackle to stop his forward
progress. A teammate on or off the field can see this and know that is what he was supposed to
do and it turned out successfully with a good tackle. These are all simple observations of how a
team can work together and learn from one another on the field. It helps lead them to the overall
goal of working as one and winning a game.
Another main point of collegiate football representing the organizational culture theory is
the taking notes aspect. A field journal will help individual players write down what works and
what doesn’t work on a team. This can lead to the player studying and improving his abilities as
a team player. Working as a team is a huge factor in college football, so taking notes in order to
help yourself understand the do’s and don’ts is a must. This doesn’t mean just the physical
aspect, but the speaking ability of a team. By seeing and understanding how a team
communicates with one another is big. The quarterback at any point can change the play, and as
a player needs to understand what he is changing the play to so that you and everyone else on the
team understand what’s going on.
COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL AS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
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CHAPTER FOUR
LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE IMPLICATIONS
This theory can be studied and applied to unlimited amounts of sports teams all around the
nation. To name a few of these examples, it can be applied to teams in the Pacific Northwest
culture which can be compared to the culture of teams down south in Texas. It’s also applied to
different conferences in football, basketball, baseball, and lots of other sports. The idea of the
theory can be used by just about any sports team. What’s missing from our theory is how there
are different genders, different sports, and different levels of teams. There is such a variety of
sports, and levels to apply it to, that this theory can’t apply to all of them.