“Reading”; an organization's culture: An examination of stories in nursing homes

Abstract

This essay argues that the ability to “read”; the stories members tell provides insight into the culture of a nursing home. Using qualitative techniques, the essay exmines the stories found in nursing homes and demonstrates how these stories reveal heroes and villains in the organization, explain unwritten rules, provide comic relief for their members, and define success and failure within the facilities. Possible applications of the information obtained from stories are also discussed.