Sustaining organisational culture in unprecedented times An ethnographic study of a religious organisation and COVID-19 pandemic

Delalu, Olumide 2024. Sustaining organisational culture in unprecedented times An ethnographic study of a religious organisation and COVID-19 pandemic. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

The significant interest of business practitioners in culture management initiatives continues to stir debates among management scholars regarding the viability of the concept. The sudden incidence of the global pandemic of 2020 has further provoked the curiosity of industry professionals on organisational culture management, considering the magnitude of disruption that rendered several organisations impotent. It is this unusual disruption to organisational life that forms the focus of this thesis as it aims to explore the influence of rare circumstances on attempts to manage organisational culture in an unconventional organisation. In the process, it intends to understand the dynamic relationships between the experiences of organisational members with organisational symbols. The research explores how organisations navigate rara challenges by drawing on discourses from organisational culture, its management, and organisational symbolism. The study draws on data gathered from thirteen months of full participant ethnography within a Christian religious setting to provide insights into the interplay between organisational members and symbols, demonstrating the construction of symbolic meanings towards sustaining culture in challenging times. In this way, the study suggests the tendency to assess cultural interventions at deeper levels, establishing the conceptualisation of organisational culture as a psychological construct. This thesis offers three contributions which provide important insights to the current understanding on managing organisational culture and related consequences. First, it introduces organisational symbols as the focal means through which culture is comprehended, uncovering implicit opinions from the interaction between members and symbols during the process. Second, it demonstrates how leaders initiate psycho-logical engagements as members interact with organisational symbols and generate meanings based on their evaluation and interpretation of the prevailing organisational circumstances. Third, the thesis contributes to the broader literature on organisational culture management in secular settings by revealing how religious organisations navigate and sustain cultural continuity amidst crises. Its sheds light on the necessity for a specific focus on belongingness in organisations towards increasing the success of culture management initiatives.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Schools > Business (Including Economics)
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 May 2025
Last Modified:	19 May 2025 14:04
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/178347

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