The following experiment with monkeys was attributed to Harry Harlow, a psychologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, although it was never confirmed that the experiment was his or that it was actually conducted; it might be the result of someone’s imagination. Still, its conclusions were applicable to everyday situations in organizations and the way organizational culture emerges.

In Harlow’s experiment (which would not pass any ethics committee nowadays), five monkeys were put into a cage with a banana hanging high on a rope from the roof out of the monkeys’ reach. The researcher then introduced a step ladder, enabling the monkeys to reach the banana. However, whenever one of the monkeys attempted to climb the ladder and reach for the banana, all the monkeys were sprayed with ice-cold water. After several attempts, they all learned the association between reaching for...