When anthropologist Franz Boas ente

When anthropologist Franz Boas entertained a Kwakiutl from the Pacific Northwest in New York City in the early twentieth century, his visitor reserved most of his intellectual curiosity for the brass ball on hotel banisters and the bearded ladies then exhibited in Times Square. His attention was caught by the bizarre that the fundamental aspects of the culture. This experience contains a valuable caution for those interested in understanding organizational culture, for in this sphere too, attention many be captured by the hoopla and ritual that decorate the surface of organizational life rather that by the deeper and more fundamental structures that sustain these visible aspects. In studies of organizational culture, enactment is usually seen as a voluntary process under the direct influence of actors involved. This view can be important in empowering people to take greater responsibility for their world by recognizing that they play an important part in the construction of their realities. But it can be misleading to the extent that it ignores the stage on which the enactment occurs. We all construct or enact our realities but not necessarily under circumstances of our own choosing. There is an important power dimension underlying the enactment process that the culture metaphor does not always highlight to the degree possible. When this is taken into account. the culture metaphor becomes infused with a political flavor that has close links with the perspectives to be explored in subsequent chapters.