Ownership, Intrinsic Motivation, and the Concept of Uselessness in the Workplace

Dr. Brandon Vaidyanathan, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology at The Catholic University of America, shares his thoughts on “Organizational Culture” with Sarah Negri, Research Project Coordinator at the Acton Institute, at Acton University 2023. They discuss how culture affects us as humans without our being aware of it and how we in turn can affect culture through our free choices and actions. Conversation topics include the Competing Values Framework of evaluating a company’s culture; “culture drivers” including what Dr. Vaidyanathan calls scripts, models and habits; the role of virtue in forming company culture; the principle of subsidiarity as a guidepost for good organizational culture; and the importance of integration in harmonizing the various social environments encountered by the individual.

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“Organization Culture”, lecture at Acton University 2023 

Competing Values Framework explanation

Mercenaries and Missionaries: Capitalism and Catholicism in the Global South by Brandon Vaidyanathan

NUMMI plant GM vs. Toyota culture example

Brunello Cucinelli fashion company story

Beauty at Work

National Study of Catholic Priests