Organizational Culture and Psychological Growth

Abstract

Organization theorists and practitioners have long recognized intuitively that the design of technical systems influences the sociocultural dimensions of the organization. In addition, there is ample research evidence on the direct impact of the organizational system on organizational output. The study reported here explores the degree in which "sociotechnical systems architecture" influences individual psychological growth. Its major hypothesis is that a specific organizational culture, defined in terms of a specific set of values, attitudes, and behavioral norms, can contribute to the degree in which persons can actualize themselves. The research data support the hypothesis by describing two different sociotechnical systems, differentiating them in terms of their existing organizational cultures and indicating the specific cultural elements which correlate with increased psychological growth.

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