Organizational Culture with Dr. Brandon Vaidyanathan
Aug 30, 2023
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Dr. Brandon Vaidyanathan, Associate Professor, and Chair of the Department of Sociology at The Catholic University of America discusses organizational culture, exploring the Competing Values Framework, culture drivers, virtue's role, subsidiarity's guidance, and harmony through integration in social environments.
Culture influences individuals' behaviors and desires, even if they are not aware of it.
Virtues differ across contexts and industries, requiring the cultivation of context-specific virtues for successful functioning.
Integrating beauty into the workplace can create a sense of meaning and fulfillment for individuals through aesthetic and purposeful experiences.
Deep dives
The Meaning of Work and Organizational Culture
This podcast episode explores the question of the meaning of work and its objective purpose or meaning. The speakers discuss how culture affects humans and how individuals can impact culture through their actions and choices. They examine the competing values framework for evaluating company culture, culture drivers such as scripts, models, and habits, the role of virtue in forming culture, the principle of subsidiarity as a guide for good organizational culture, and the importance of integrating various social environments. The episode highlights the need for balance and a holistic approach to work and life.
Understanding Culture and Its Impact
The podcast delves into the concept of culture, offering frameworks to understand it. Culture is explored as a combination of external artifacts, internal beliefs, narratives, norms, values, and attitudes. The speakers discuss how culture impacts individuals, even if they are not aware of it, shaping their behaviors, dispositions, and desires. They emphasize the power of culture to influence individuals' norms and values, as well as their tendency to imitate others unconsciously. They also examine the challenges of maintaining consistency between personal culture and organizational culture.
The Role of Virtue in Organizational Culture
The speakers explore the role of virtue in shaping organizational culture. They discuss how virtues differ across contexts and industries, highlighting the importance of context-specific virtues for successful functioning. They emphasize the challenge of cultivating virtue in a modern fragmented world, where institutions that traditionally formed individuals are failing. The podcast highlights the need for companies to recognize and respect employees' individual contexts and identities while still fostering a sense of common purpose and values.
The Quest for Beauty at Work
The episode introduces the 'Beauty at Work' project, which examines the concept of beauty in various professions, including science, law, and more. The speakers discuss how professionals find beauty in their work, often driven by intrinsic motivations and a deep appreciation for understanding and insight. They explore the idea of integrating beauty into the workplace, making work a place where individuals can find meaning and fulfillment through aesthetic and purposeful experiences.
Challenges and Trust in Parish Culture
The podcast briefly touches on a research project that focuses on American priests and the challenges they face in their parishes. The episode mentions the lack of trust many priests have in their bishops, partly resulting from past policies and experiences. It highlights the need for vulnerability and authentic relationships between priests and bishops. The episode identifies a correlation between the alignment of theology and politics and trust in bishops, pointing out the polarization that affects trust in faith communities. The speakers emphasize the importance of rebuilding trust and fostering a shared sense of purpose and values.
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.
