Tools: Looking for a good book on "corporate culture" (summary)

[Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>]

Last weekend, I asked for recommendations about books on office and 
workplace corporate culture--something in the "survival guide" genre. A 
small clarification: I'm not going to try to update Machievelli (i.e., 
"use these tips to cleverly exploit your co-workers") but rather to 
teach newcomers how to survive under nasty conditions should that be 
necessary. I will, of course, quote Scott Adams (Dilbert) extensively, 
but in addition, I received a good many suggestions (but omitted some 
because they focused more on the manager side than on the employee 
side). In no particular order:

The corporate culture survival guide (Schein)
The Way of the Rat: A Survival Guide to Office Politics (Joep 
Schrijvers)
The Ape in the Corner Office (Richard Conniff, 
http://www.apeinthecorneroffice.com/)
Decision making: A psychological analysis of conflict, choice, and 
commitment (Janis & Mann)
Good to Great (Collins)
The inmates are running the asylum (Cooper) -- already read, highly 
recommended
Gods of Management: The Changing Work of Organizations (Handy)
The 48 Laws of Power (Greene)
Writing Power: Communication in an Engineering Center (Winsor)
Talking from 9 to 5, How Women's & Men's Conversational Styles Affect 
Who Gets Heard, Who Gets Credit, & What Gets Done at Work (Tannen)
The work of Chris Argyris (see: 
http://www.hrmguide.co.uk/history/key_criticisms.htm)
Lion Taming: Working Successfully with Leaders, Bosses, and Other Tough 
Customers (Carol Chung)

I'm trying to avoid business consultant psychobabble; I've seen too 
many discouraging reviews about such things. Nonetheless, if you've got 
a book in this genre that you can recommend, please do send it along 
for the edification of others. For a more theoretical approach to how 
we furless domestic apes behave, a few other suggestions:

The Naked Ape (Desmond Morris)
The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are (Steven Pinker)
Body Politics (Henley)

If you're inclined to see human relationships as nothing more than 
combat sublimated into other forms, two classics: Machiavelli and Sun 
Tzu. If you're more of a humanist, remember that even the "little 
people" in your office or workplace are worth befriending. They may not 
all be as powerful as Dilbert's garbage collector, but they're still 
worth treating as people. Thinking that way becomes a good habit after 
a while.

And for the visually inclined: Office Space (movie, 1999)

Thanks to the following for their suggestions (apologies if I missed 
anyone): Heidi Arnold, Barry Campbell, Carol Chung, John Clark, Brian 
Gordon, Dee Longenbaugh, Tony Markos, Mike O, Kathy Parrott, Sankara 
Rajanala, Maryann Short, Edwin Skau, and Amy Wilson.

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Geoff Hart   ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)
www.geoff-hart.com
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