| This ethnographic study examines the organizational culture of an Internet group at Lanyard Outdoor Apparel, a pseudonym for an established Midwestern company that sells casual leisure apparel and accessories. Few studies have examined the impact of the Internet on organizational culture. Studies that have examined the impact of the Internet on organizational culture have done so through the lens of a functionalist perspective. This study argues that a functional perspective, although offering some interesting anecdotal evidence of key components for creating successful Internet-related cultures, offers little in the way of exploring how the Internet, or related phenomena such as e-retailing is given meaning by organizational members. This study argues that organizational culture exists as historically constituted meanings entangled in an array of socially constructed meanings that include elements of ambiguity, resistance, and ambivalence. In addition, this multiplicity of realities operates in a system where behavioral manifestations, material products, sociopolitical structures, and the wider and larger environment are also taken into account. Study results suggest that although ideology and rhetoric are poignant elements of culture, the poignancy springs from the ambiguities, ironies, and paradoxes that rise up in relation to ideology. In addition, the study points to the importance of acknowledging what unifies some groups in the culture and what divides others. With such recognition comes an appreciation of the idea that both unity and division have inherent benefits for a culture and the manifestation of "otherness" actually contributes to organizational survival. The study also suggests that by situating leadership as action within a context, leadership can be recognized for its impact through interpretation with multiple meanings rather than assumptions of personality. A final consideration suggests that when considering the impact of mergers and acquisitions on the culture of organizations it seems imperative to recognize that the meaning given to the acquisition cannot be claimed as one voice in a predictable narrative. |
