Chapter 5: Cultural Studies of Organizations and Communication

Critical and Postmodern Views
Pgs.143-146

The taxonomy that is developed by Joanne Martin, is very useful in order to understand organizational culture from a Critical and Postmodern Approach. The three main perspectives on the postmodern view of culture within organizations are integration, Differentiation and Fragmentation. These three perspectives while different among themselves share a common theme that is found within the postmodern views which is that they look at the organization as a culture, which encompasses all aspects regardless of whether it is good or bad, hidden or overt. Integration, speaks to the perspective on organizational culture where members, “…agree about what they are to do and why they do it.” This perspective lends itself to be more as acceptable to those in power because, “… the integration perspective typically favors the story of those in power…” Differentiation on the other hand serves to depict cultural tendencies and “manifestations” as incongruent with one another. In other words, differentiation looks at the subunits within any given organization as factions engaged in political warfare with the intent of gaining as much influence and power as possible. Fragmentation has at its core ambiguity. From this perspective, organizational cultures are viewed as one, where, “…consensus and disssensus coexist in a constantly fluctuating pattern of change. If one word could describe fragmentation, it would be uncertainty.