The organizational culture in the aging process of educational work

Abstract

Population aging is one of the most significant phenomena in the 21st century and this phenomenon has important far-reaching impacts on society and organizations. Organizations and society face challenges with the increase and permanence of individuals at work and these reflexes can be perceived by the organizational culture. Organizational culture and its elements are also present in the academic environment, composed of multiple social interactions. This study aims to identify and analyze the meanings that elements of organizational culture have for higher education professors in the process of aging at public and private educational institutions. For this, semi-structured interviews were conducted with professors from a public and a private institution and the data were analyzed using the comparative case study strategy. The results show that the elements f organizational culture such as values, norms, rules, communication, rites, rituals, ceremonies and beliefs are different in public and private HEIs and the elements heroes, myths, stories, sagas and taboos demonstrate similarities in the institutions. In addition, the elements indicate particularities and the unpreparedness of the HEIs facing the phenomenon of aging in educational work.