II. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

The organizational culture concept is a relatively recent acquisition in the field of organization theory. Theoretically, this concept can be associated with the American researcher Ph. Selznick (1957), who described culture as a means to understand organizations. Subsequent research put together a systematic theoretical approach of this matter. Although certain references on organizational culture can be found in theories concerning human relationships and resources, we believe that organizational culture, as a term, belongs to theories on organizational development. Thus, we are now entitled to speak about a strategy based on “learning organization”, which represents, in many ways, a social philosophy that relies on a system of basic values.

A specific tool in organizational development is the project, involving certain means of adding value to organizational culture. This is why we can say that the emergence of a organizational culture concept is related to what we call “project culture”, an essential component in modern organizations. Culture is a crucial factor for every project. In order to be successful, any development project must involve a precise diagnosis of the respective organizational culture.