I have just finished reading Nancy Scheper Hughes ethnography Death without Weeping-The Violence of Everyday Life in Brazil; this ethnography outlines how universal maternal instincts are not so instinctive nor universal. The death of young children In northeastern Brazil (Bom Jesus) is often “enabled” by the mother; no mourning whatsoever takes place, and even childrens’ names are not assigned until their death-in their lifetime they can be referred to as “little tykes” or miserable “critters”.
This brilliant yet shocking ethnography led me to think-are there organizations where everything we take for granted (the metaphor being maternal love) may be turned upside down on its head? My resounding answer is “of course”. Many organizations can define logic, or to be more accurate, the observers’ logic, which in our case in OD has very many biases.
I have been lucky enough to have worked all over the world; I want to point out 5 things that I have seen that are very logical if you see them from the inside, but quite in-comprehendible when observed out of cultural context.
- A manager is seen as not deserving his stars until he brutally cuts down to size subordinates who may have been vying for his job.
- Meetings with no agenda and no discipline which generate effective decisions.
- Lying is acceptable behaviour as long as you make sure that the facts are stated in opaque mutterings.
- Structureless organizations with a rigid hierarchy.
- A rigid hierarchy where everything gets done via bypassing the system
In fact, I really do not think that we in OD (and management) really understand that positive organizational behaviour is not achieved by drinking some elixir or following certain principles. Each organization is, in many ways, sui generis, one of a kind.
Conclusions
The key conclusion is that organizational behavior cannot be reliably judged through universal management or OD (organizational development) principles alone. What appears dysfunctional from the outside may be functional within a specific cultural and organizational ecosystem. Therefore:
-
Organizational logic is context-bound, not universal.
-
Observer bias strongly shapes OD diagnosis and intervention.
-
Practices labeled “bad” or “irrational” may serve stabilizing or legitimizing functions internally.
-
Culture often overrides formal structure and stated values.
-
Each organization should be treated as sui generis—requiring ethnographic sensitivity rather than prescriptive frameworks.
The broader implication is that OD practitioners should adopt a more anthropological stance: suspend assumptions, study lived reality, and interpret behavior within its native context before prescribing change.
