Cultural Approach to Organizations

One organization that is it’s own culture that I know a lot about is the Kent State football team. The team is definitely a puzzle that has been put together from many different pieces. There are sub-cultures such as the coaches, the administration, the players and the training staff. These sub-cultures each have their own sub-cultures.
The corporate stories are those told by the administration and the coaches because they are the people in power. They tell stories about their view of the program and the players. The personal stories that the players tell tend to be different than that of the coaches. Even though our goals are the same, sometimes our views about both the coaches and other players are different. We will tell stories to each other that we wouldn’t dare tell the coaches. The collegial stories are usually about new players coming in. If someone has seen that person on tape or in person they will give their feelings about the recruits chances of playing.
There are many rituals and traditions in the KSU football program. One example is that we sing the fight song after every win, another is the 4th of July cookout we have every year. The KSU football program is a great example of the Cultural Approach to Organizations.