Contents -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Culture in Organization Theory -- Position within Organizational Theory -- Culture as a New Metaphor -- Culture as a New Approach -- Contribution to Organizational Theory -- Cultural Diversity -- Variable or Metaphor -- Integration, Differentiation and Ambiguity -- Rationalism, Functionalism and Symbolism -- Choice of Competing Perspectives -- Functionalism and Symbolism -- Empirical Field of Study -- Choice of Focus -- Empirical Material -- Chapter 2. A Functionalist Perspective -- The Functions of Organizational Culture -- The Functional Existence of Culture -- The Functional Explanation of Culture -- The Functions of Organizational Culture -- The Levels of Culture -- Three Levels of Culture -- Internal Relations between the Levels of Culture -- The Cultural Paradigm -- Relations between Cultural Levels and their Functions -- Sorting out Cultural Data -- The Specific Functions of Organizational Culture -- A Functionalist Analytical Model: The Funnel -- Subcultures in Organizations -- A Clinical versus Ethnographic Method -- Chapter 3. Functionalist Diagnosis of Organizational Culture -- Artifacts and Values in a Department -- The Artifact Level: A Stratified Paper Pyramid -- The Value Level: Means -- The Value Level: Power and Status -- Summary of the Value Level -- Basic Assumptions in the Department -- The Method of the Analysis of Basic Assumptions -- Nobody Does it Better than We Do! -- The Members of the Organization are at the Center! -- This Belongs to Us! -- The Organization's Members are Able and Ready to Passively Adapt Themselves! -- There is only One Truth, which Can Be Discovered from Within -- The Organization Members Constitute a Family which Works -- The Cultural Paradigm -- The Core of the Cultural Paradigm -- Consistency and Inconsistency of the Cultural Paradigm.

Tracing Backwards from Basic Assumptions -- Relations between Basic Assumptions and Values -- Inconsistency between Values and Basic Assumptions -- Consistency between Values and Basic Assumptions -- Unclarity between Values and Basic Assumptions -- A Mixed Culture -- The Effects of Artifacts in Relation to Values and Basic Assumptions -- Consequences for the Functionalist Funnel Model -- The Diagnosis of Organizational Culture -- Chapter 4. A Symbolic Perspective -- Symbolism -- The Creation of Meaning -- Symbols: The Expression of Meaning -- Symbols in a Semiotic Context -- The Multidimensional Reality -- Culture as System -- A Multiplicity of Interpretations -- Webs of Meaning -- Symbols -- Physical Symbols: Objects -- Behavioral Symbols: Rituals -- Verbal Symbols: Myths, Sagas and Stories -- Patterns between Symbols -- World View and Ethos -- Metaphors and Metonyms -- The Actant Model -- Relations among Key Symbolic Expressions -- Key Symbolic Expressions -- Associative Relations between Symbolic Expressions -- A Methodological Model for Interpretation -- The Spiral -- Thick Description -- Summary -- Chapter 5. A Symbolic Interpretation of Culture -- Organizational Culture in a Department -- Meeting Rituals -- A Further Cultural Interpretation -- Myths and Tradition -- Metaphors: House, System or Machine -- A Spiral of the Department -- Criss-crossing the Webs of Culture -- Organizational Culture in a Directorate -- 'Process' as Dominant Metaphor -- 'Experimenters' and 'Seedlings' -- 'Natural Cycle' in the Directorate -- The A-team and the B-team -- Myths about Labelling -- A Cultural Pattern: A Conceptual Map -- A Spiral of the Directorate -- Criss-crossing the Webs of Culture -- Cultural Interfaces between the Department and the Directorate -- Culture and Organizational Environments -- Pamphlet Rituals: A Case Story.

Ritualized Interface between Department and Directorate -- The Ritual in the Two Organizational Cultures -- The Study of Cultural Interfaces -- Using the Spiral in the Interpretation of Culture -- How to Reach an Overall Cultural Interpretation -- The Methodological Principles of Symbolism -- An Ongoing Process of Interpretation -- Chapter 6. Comparison between Cultural Perspectives -- Differences between the Two Perspectives -- Theoretical and Methodological Differences -- Differences in Empirical Application -- Summary -- Similarities between the Two Perspectives -- Culture as Pattern -- Culture as Relations between Depth and Manifestations -- Summary -- Appendix 1. Organizational Diagrammes -- Appendix 2. Interviews and Observation Data -- References -- Index.