In this particular story the tension occurs between the bank, as represented by its bank officer, and one of its customers, as represented by the fourteen-year-old schoolboy. The tension comes about when the bank refuses to allow the boy to withdraw money from his account due to his underage status.
This tension in turn is caused by the bank officer's choice to behave ethically towards the customer as opposed to behaving in a selfish manner. This conflict between ethical and self -interest is another theme touched upon by the story when it is shown that the bank officer, in refusing to allow the boy to withdraw money from his account, was behaving ethically by indirectly protecting the boy from a bully who was stealing his money. If the officer wished to behave in a self-interested manner, he would have simply allowed the boy to continue withdrawing money from his account.
One other important theme within the story has to do with how those outside a business often misunderstand it. This theme is revealed when the narrator realizes that his initial distrust of banks was misplaced. Initially, he based this distrust upon his friend's belief that banks did not care to look out for their customers' best interests. His witnessing of the argument between the boy and banking officer further fueled his distrust. However, the distrust dissipated as soon as the narrator discovered that the bank did indeed...
Corporate culture, much like geographic culture, involves the attitudes, experiences, beliefs, and values of an organization. Also like geographic culture, corporate culture is often misunderstood and feared by those outside of it. Newcomers and visitors to an organization, being as they are initially outsiders, often experience what can be regarded as culture shock, in much the same way as a country's new resident may experience it.
This initially fosters fear and resentment towards the organization; eventually however such feelings give way to that of familiarity and a sense of belongingness. This comes about as newcomers slowly start to learn more about and adapt to the organization's culture. Soon such newcomers are no longer considered to be novices to the organization, as it has changed them in such a way that they start embodying most of its beliefs, attitudes, values, and experiences. The initial shock has thus worn off, replaced by a sense of familiarity.
References
Chichester, R. (1991). Corporate culture shock. Phoenix, AZ: University of Phoenix Press.
