Understanding & Managing

Corporate Culture
BA 152
 Characteristics of Organizations

Environment Goals

!
Strategies

I T
Structures

F
Technologies
Systems
People

Cultures
 What is Corporate Culture?
An organizations and/or work units
Personality;
Set of shared assumptions about the way
things are done; and/or
Shared values, norms, and beliefs about
the ways things are done.
 Corporate Culture:
Why should we be concerned?

Performance implications?
Organizational guidance systems?
Nature of cultures at Enron, Arthur Andersen,
Tyco, HealthSouth,?
Impact of differences on mergers and/or
acquisitions?
 General Culture

Work Unit Cultures Work Unit Cultures

 Corporate Culture:
What should we examine?

1. Visible events, actions, and/or

behaviors
2. Rules, language, symbols, and/or
things
3. Public norms/justification for the above
4. Hidden values/assumptions for the
above
 Corporate Culture:
Where does it come from?

The organizations founder

A strong leader

Reactions to a crisis

Strategic decisions
 Corporate Culture
What are the components?

Cultures Content
1. Assumptions about what is important
2. The ordering of those assumptions
 Cultures Content: KFBS

Achievement Family-like Friendliness

Responsibility Team work Achievement
Family-like Support
Friendliness Friendliness
Team work
Support
 Corporate Culture
What are the components?

Cultures Content
1. Assumptions about what is important
2. The ordering of those assumptions
Cultures Strength
1. Number of shared assumptions
2. How many employees share these
assumptions?
3. How many employees share the
ordering of these assumptions?
 Cultures Strength

Weak Moderate Strong

Characteristics
Culture Culture Culture
# of shared
assumptions Few Some Many
# of employees
sharing these Few Some Many
assumptions
# of employees
sharing ordering Few Some Many
of assumptions
 Corporate Culture
Why is it important?

Impact on behavior and control?

Greater predictability of behavior
Provides control in the absence of controls
Impact on performance?
Is it better to have a strong culture or a
weak culture?
 Culture and Performance

STRATEGY

RE
U
ENVIRONMENT STRUCTURE

LT
C U PERFORMANCE
Environment, Strategy,
and Culture
Needs of the Environment
Flexibility Stability
External
Adaptability/
Mission
Strategic Focus

Entrepreneurial
Culture Culture

Clan Bureaucratic
Culture Culture
Internal
Changing Your Culture
How should you start?

TOP DOWN?

BOTTOM UP?
 Leadership and Culture

. . . the only thing of real importance

that leaders do is to create and
manage culture, and the unique talent
of leaders is their ability to work with
culture. (italics in the original)

(From Edgar Schein, Organizational

Culture and Leadership, 1997)
 Maintaining/Changing
a Corporate Culture
1. Hiring/socializing new employees
2. (Re)moving current employees
3. Communicating cultural values
4. Modeling appropriate behavior
5. Rewarding appropriate behavior
 Managing a Corporate
Culture
1. Culture is not a simple concept.
2. Cultures influence is pervasive.
3. Manipulating culture is not any easy
task.
4. There is no one best (permanent)
culture for an organization.
 Next Time
Implementing Change at National
Industrial Products