Conclusion
As Kolb & Shepherd (1999) observe, "perhaps the only agreement among cultural researchers is the elusive nature of culture and the inherent difficulties associated with trying to conduct research on cultural phenomena". Whilst there is no consensus on a definition of organisational culture, most people recognise that as a construct, an organisation's culture can at least be observed.
Furthermore, while it is true to say that culture is an important dimension of an organisation, defining culture, as a variable to be manipulated through management decision making is more problematic. Indeed, Fulop & Linstead (1999:86) observe a 'growing recognition' amongst management that it is "impossible to extricate culture as a 'variable' from other elements of the organisational context".
However, we can conclude that organisational culture provides a framework for individual motivation and forms the 'context' for action and exists simultaneously as an 'obstacle to change' and the 'grounds for creative development' (Feldman 1996, in Fulop & Linstead 1999).
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