Organizational culture and professionalism: An assessment of the professional culture of the United States Army Senior Level Officer Corps.

摘要

Organizational culture can be found at every level of an organization, and since organizational members are multicultural entities understanding an organization's culture is significant "because the beliefs, values, and behavior of individuals are often understood only in the context of people's cultural identities" (Schein, 1999, p. 14). Consequently, the long-term strategic decisions made by the senior leaders of an organization are influenced by their multicultural background, but especially by the organization in which they have spent the bulk of their life, such as members of professional organizations like doctors, lawyers, and military officers. Professional organizations exist in a competitive environment where their social jurisdiction and legitimacy can only be supported or perpetuated as long as they maintain their expertise over an area of abstract knowledge that society perceives as important (Freidson, 1970, 1986 Abbott, 1988 Burk, 2002). Since organizational culture is hypothesized to have a considerable impact on organizational behavior and because of the relative scarcity of literature discussing the impact that organizational culture may have on the development of professional leaders this study attempts to examine the congruence between organizational culture and the professional leadership and managerial skills of professional leaders. Specifically, this study examines the U.S. Army culture and its senior leaders.One of the principal reasons for the popular interest in the study of organizational culture is to determine the linkage between it and organizational performance (Berrio, 2003). This study has reviewed a previously assumed but unverified connection between organizational culture and professional development. It has uncovered a lack of congruence between the dominant type of organizational culture of the U.S. Army and the professional managerial/leadership skills of its senior level leaders. This observed lack of congruence may be inhibiting performance and unconsciously perpetuating a cycle of caution and an over reliance on stability and control. The U.S. Army Crusader story, outlined in the Prologue of this study, is illustrative of an organization that emphasizes stability and control and that attempts to comprehend the ambiguity of the future through an unconscious reliance upon the successful solutions employed in the past. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)