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Sackmann, Sonja A. Cultural Knowledge in Organizations: Exploring the Collective Mind. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1991. Pp. x + 220. $17.95, paper
In this book, Sonja Sackmann develops a framework for understanding the "cultural knowledge map" of organizational members, and uses this framework in an empirical study of insiders' perspectives of their cultural setting. The author also addresses the issues of culture formation and the creation of cultural groupings.
The author begins by offering an overview of historical approaches to the study of culture that have influenced current streams of research on organizational culture. One of the most frequently discussed issues in the organizational literature is the "correct" definition of culture. Sackmann reminds us that even the anthropological literature has no consensus on this term. She traces our current multiple perspectives from the diverse approaches apparent in anthropology, sociology, and, to a lesser extent, social psychology. This discussion is noteworthy due to Sackmann's critical analysis of the effect the various theoretical arguments have had on theory and research in the organizational sphere, and her conclusions are reflected in the framework that she develops and studies in the remainder of the book.
Sackmann distinguishes between the structural components of organizational culture and their cultural content. Four structural components are identified: dictionary knowledge, directory knowledge, recipe knowledge, and axiomatic knowledge. The first component, dictionary knowledge, is the most straightforward, and consists of commonly shared definitions and descriptions of concepts, events, and situations relevant to organizational members. Sackmann offers the example of varying definitions of "innovation" in a manufacturing firm (where "innovation" is most likely defined as innovations regarding specific products) and in a service firm (where the term is most likely to be applied to process innovation, or delivery, of a service product, rather than the product itself).
Directory knowledge concerns cause-effect relationships, and are descriptive rather than normative in nature. Directory knowledge speaks to procedures for accomplishing some desired outcome, and such knowledge generally reflects past experiences in identifying appropriate action steps. The third structural...