ALIGNMENT OF CULTURAL AGREEMENT PRACTICES IN A BRAZILIAN BASED COMPANY

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a case study research carried out in  the Rio de Janeiro firm ARFCO, based on documentary evidence, interviews and questionnaires with the main objective to analyze the cultural agreement of an organization's subcultures, identifying the values (both extant and desired) perceived by the clusters (for both the leadership and the staff).

The theoretical framework for the research is based on the theories on organizational management and change and based on the assumption that the search for clusters of similar perceptions is important for cultural alignment of subcultures.

After an overview of the theories, programs and approaches for cultural management and change, the research method and questions of research are formalized so as to guide the case study. Simultaneous recourse was made to both a quantitive Q-methodology for the systematic analysis of subjectivity, that enabled the ideographic evaluation of organizational values, and a qualitative methodology, by means of study of the case. Results of the study indicate that although several elements of management and change capabilities are present, the organizational culture of ARFCO is predominantly defragmented. The existence of cultural fit among the subcultures of the leadership and the staff, with respect to desired values, offers us sufficient insight to suggest that cultural alignment within ARFCO is possible, as long as the current differences of perception can be attenuated.