Culture and Demography in Organizations

by Harrison, J. Richard; Carroll, Glenn R.

• ISBN13: 9780691124827
• ISBN10: 0691124825
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-12-19
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

How do corporations and other organizations maintain and transmit their cultures over time?Culture and Demography in Organizationsoffers the most reliable and comprehensive answer to this complex question to date. The first book on the subject to ground its analysis in mathematical tools and computer simulation, it goes beyond standard approaches, which focus on socialization within organizations, by explicitly considering the effects of demographic processes of entry, exit, and organizational growth. J. Richard Harrison and Glenn R. Carroll base their analysis on a formal model with three components: hiring, socialization, and employee turnover. In exploring the model's implications through computer simulation methods, the authors cover topics such as organizational growth and decline, top management teams, organizational influence networks, terrorist organizations, cultural integration following mergers, and organizational failure. For each topic, they identify the conditions influencing cultural transmission. In general, they find that demographic processes play a central role in influencing organizational culture and that studying these processes leads to some surprising insights unavailable when considering socialization alone. This book, which also serves as an ideal introduction to the increasingly popular use of computer simulation, will be an indispensable resource for scholars and students of organization theory and behavior, cultural studies, strategic management, sociology, economics, and social simulation.

Author Biography

J. Richard Harrison Associate Professor of Organizations, Strategy, and International Management at the University of Texas, Dallas. Glenn R. Carroll is Laurence W. Lane Professor of Organizations at the Graduate School of Business, and (by courtesy) Professor of Sociology at Stanford University. He is also Professor in the Management Division of the Graduate School of Business, and (by courtesy) Professor of Sociology at Columbia University. He is coauthor of "The Demography of Corporations and Industries" (Princeton).

Table of Contents

List of Figures	xi
List of Tables	xiii
Preface	xv
Acknowledgments	xix
PART I Cultural Analysis	1	(46)
CHAPTER 1 Culture in Organizations	3	(24)
1.1 Introduction	3	(1)
1.2 Culture in Social Science	4	(1)
1.3 Culture in Organization Theory	5	(2)
1.4 The Content Approach to Culture	7	(9)
1.5 The Distributive Approach to Culture	16	(5)
1.6 A Limited Synthetic Approach to Organizational Culture	21	(4)
1.7 Reader's Guide	25	(2)
CHAPTER 2. Modeling Culture with Simulation	27	(20)
2.1 Introduction	27	(1)
2.2 Forms of Scientific Inquiry	28	(2)
2.3 What Is a Computer Simulation?	30	(5)
2.4 Why Use Simulation?	35	(3)
2.5 Simulation Modeling	38	(3)
2.6 Challenges of Simulation	41	(6)
PART II Model of Cultural Transmission	47	(74)
CHAPTER 3 Representing Culture	49	(20)
3.1 Introduction	49	(1)
3.2 Enculturation	50	(6)
3.3 Content Dimensions of Culture	56	(2)
3.4 Enculturation and Cultural Dimensions	58	(10)
3.5 Summary	68	(1)
CHAPTER 4 Cultural Transmission	69	(15)
4.1 Introduction	69	(1)
4.2 Modeling Framework	70	(1)
4.3 Model Specification	71	(11)
4.4 Summary	82	(2)
CHAPTER 5 Organizational Types	84	(18)
5.1 Introduction	84	(1)
5.2 Stylized Organizational Types	85	(5)
5.3 Simulation Methods	90	(2)
5.4 Findings by Type	92	(9)
5.5 Conclusion	101	(1)
CHAPTER 6 Growth and Decline	102	(19)
6.1 Introduction	102	(2)
6.2 Cultural Management and Growth	104	(6)
6.3 Organizational Decline	110	(1)
6.4 Decomposing Transmission	111	(7)
6.5 Managerial Implications	118	(1)
6.6 Conclusion	119	(2)
PART III Applications and Extensions of the Model	121	(116)
CHAPTER 7 Heterogeneity in Tenure	123	(24)
7.1 Introduction	123	(1)
7.2 LOS Distributions in Organizations	124	(2)
7.3 The Implicit Link	126	(4)
7.4 Modeling Top Management Teams	130	(2)
7.5 Design of Experiments	132	(2)
7.6 Findings	134	(3)
7.7 Decomposing LOS Heterogeneity	137	(6)
7.8 Summary	143	(4)
CHAPTER 8 Cultural Influence Networks	147	(22)
8.1 Introduction	147	(2)
8.2 Networks of Influence	149	(1)
8.3 Modeling Framework	149	(2)
8.4 Dynamic Influence	151	(4)
8.5 Demography and Network Structure	155	(4)
8.6 Design of Experiments	159	(1)
8.7 Findings	159	(7)
8.8 Discussion	166	(3)
CHAPTER 9 Terrorist Networks	169	(16)
9.1 Introduction	169	(1)
9.2 Background on Terrorist Organizations	170	(1)
9.3 Underground Network-Based Organizations	171	(4)
9.4 Adapting the Network Model	175	(1)
9.5 Effects of Counterterrorism Strategies	176	(2)
9.6 Simulation Design	178	(1)
9.7 Findings	179	(3)
9.8 Conclusion	182	(3)
CHAPTER 10 Merging Cultures	185	(23)
10.1 Introduction	185	(2)
10.2 Post-Merger Cultural Integration	187	(4)
10.3 Modeling Framework	191	(1)
10.4 Experimental Design	192	(4)
10.5 System Dynamics	196	(2)
10.6 Findings	198	(8)
10.7 Discussion	206	(2)
CHAPTER 11 Culture, Aging, and Failure	208	(13)
11.1 Introduction	208	(1)
11.2 Macro Model Framework	209	(5)
11.3 Demography of the System	214	(1)
11.4 The Cultural System	215	(1)
11.5 Design of Experiments	216	(2)
11.6 Findings	218	(2)
11.7 Implications	220	(1)
CHAPTER 12. Concluding Remarks	221	(16)
12.1 Introduction	221	(1)
12.2 Model Overview	221	(2)
12.3 Review of Findings	223	(6)
12.4 Implications	229	(4)
12.5 Extensions of the Model	233	(1)
12.6 Conclusion	234	(3)
Appendix A Notation	237	(4)
Appendix B Simulation Parameter Settings	241	(10)
References	251	(14)
Index	265