Using Cultural Theories Analyzing the Main Issue of the New Zealand Office of at&T

According to Neghab A.E.P, et al(2009, pp87-88) organizational culture is a common assumption, value or norm system among members of an organization which is based on their behaviors to help organization to achieve the abilities they need to adapt itself to the environment, create uniformity and internal integrity. This essay will analyze the main issue of AT&T’s New Zealand office by using the cultural theories and the reflections after the analyzing. In the case of AT&T GIS, AT&T’s office in New Zealand by Thomas, David C (2003, pp92-100), it was called NCR before it integrated into AT&T stable of business and during this time, AT&T are trying to restructure the organizational culture of NCR to make it more like their own culture. Bob Allen the chairman and CEO of AT&T developed “Our Common Bond” with sixteen groups associated at all job levels, from eight states and four countries, they are the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Singapore. The objective to give out this five common bond is to increase the cohesion of all AT&T people as a glue to hold the company together. However, the New Zealand office did not achieve the expected effect practically. In an article by Cameron .K and Quinn R (1999), clan culture has a high inward focus with the concern for integration but clan emphasize flexibility and discretion rather than the stability and control. As Thomas, David C (2003, p192) points out that most western expatriates forms a kind of clan culture although the lasting relationship among them and the company are rare. This may allow us to trace back to the old NCR’s organizational culture. As Thomas, David C (2003, p93) points out that NCR was a company which appeared to cultivate traditional values of being caring and family-like. This have been demonstrated by the fact that there were people who have been working in there as engineers since they graduate from school and had never left the company and as it was mentioned before