Submission Date: 20/03/2014 Submission Time: 11 am

Handout
on
Corporate Culture



Submitted to
Dr. P. Ramlal
Faculty, NIT Warangal,
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT.
Submitted by
K.MANOHAR (138934)


Just as there are cultures in a large human society, there are cultures within
organization

The concept of organizational culture has its root in cultural anthropology. Like social cultures,
they are shared, communicated through symbols and passed down from generation to
generation of employees.

Let us see some definitions of Organizational (Corporate) culture:

A pattern of basic assumptions that are considered valid and that are taught to new members
as the way to perceive, think, and feel in the organization.

Organizational culture is the distinctive norms, beliefs, principles and ways of behaving that
combine to give each organization its distinct character.
These two definitions suggest that organizational culture distinguishes one organization from
another organization. Therefore, organizational culture is to an organization what personality is
to an individual.
Corporate culture is the personality of the organization: the shared beliefs, values and
behaviors of the group. It is symbolic, holistic, and unifying, stable, and difficult to change.

Made up of both the visible and invisible, conscious and unconscious learnings and artefacts
of a group the culture is the shared mental model. This model is taken for granted by those
within the group and is difficult for outsiders to decipher. It is important to remember that
the corporate culture is not the ideals, vision, and mission laid out in the corporate
marketing materials. Rather, it is expressed in the day-to-day practices, communications,
and beliefs.

A strong culture:

Is internally consistent
Is widely shared, and
Makes it clear what appropriate behavior is.


Levels of Organizational Culture:
There are three levels in an organizational culture. The figure shows the levels of organizational
culture.




Artifacts:
Cultural symbols in the physical and social environments are called artifacts. They are the most
visible and accessible level of culture.
Personal enactment
Ceremonies and rites (rites of passage, enhancement, renewal, integration, conflict
reduction, degradation)
Stories (about the boss, getting fired, company handling of relocating employees,
whether lower-level employees can rise to the top, how the company deals with crises,
how status considerations work when rules are broken)
Ritual
Symbols

Values:
Values are the second, deeper, level of culture. They reflect a persons inherent beliefs of what
should or should not be done.
Espoused: what members of an organization say they value
Enacted: reflected in the way individuals actually behave

Assumptions:
Deeply held beliefs that guide behavior and tell members of an organization how to perceive
situations and people.

Functions of Organizational Culture
In an organization, culture serves four basic functions. They are
Culture provides a sense of identity to members and increases their commitment to the
organization
Culture is a sense-making device for organization members
Culture reinforces the values in the organization
Culture serves as a control mechanism for shaping behavior

Relationship between organizational culture and performance:



Strong culture Perspective:
An organizational culture with a consensus on the values that drive the company and with an
intensity that is recognizable even to outsiders.
Reasons Strong cultures facilitate performance

They are characterized by goal alignment
They create a high level of motivation because of shared values by the members
They provide control without the oppressive effects of bureaucracy

Fit Perspective:
Three characteristics of the organization may affect culture
Competitive environment
Customer requirements
Societal expectations

Adaptive perspective:
An organizational culture that encourages confidence and risk taking among employees, has
leadership that produces change, and focuses on the changing needs of customers.





Why is it Important to Understand the Corporate Culture?

Corporate culture is a hidden mechanism of coordination directing each individual
towards the common goal. The goal and the ways of achieving the goal cannot be
changed without understanding key attractors and drivers in the culture. The causes of
many profitability and responsiveness issues in corporations are not found in the
structure, in the leadership, or in the employees. The problems are found in the cultures
and sub-cultures of the organization.

Understanding the culture of an organization facilitates:

Hiring employees that will succeed in the organization (lowering
recruitment, development, and human resource maintenance and
management costs).
Creating policies and assignments to increase profitability and respond to market
demands. Having a firm grasp of a companys culture and its nuances gives an
executive the edge.
Making significant changes to the corporation in response to real threats to its
continued existence.
Facilitating mergers, joint ventures, and acquisitions.
Increasing profitability and growth.









Can Corporate Cultures be changed?

Changing a corporate culture is a complex, long-term, and expensive undertaking that will
either revitalize or kill the company. It should not be undertaken lightly. Culture change
must be driven by a powerful, transformational reason: The competition is succeeding and
you are not: Your company will fail if it does not change. For change to be successful there
needs to be a compelling reason to change, a clear vision of what the change will be, and, a
sensible first step.


Four instances where corporate cultures need to be changed:

1. When two or more companies of varied backgrounds merge and continuous conflict
among people of different groups are undermining their performance;

2. When an organisation has been around for a long time and its way of working are so
entrenched that it is hindering the company from adapting to changes and
competing in the marketplace;

3. When a company moves into a totally different industry or areas of business and
its current ways of doing things are threatening the survival of the organisation;
and

4. When a company whose staff are so used to work under the favourable conditions of
economic boom but could not adapt to the challenges posed
by an economic slowdown.




Corporate culture cannot be changed through changing a policy or issuing an edict. It can also
not be accomplished overnight. The only way to change organizational culture overnight is to
fire everyone and hire a new staff with the working behaviors you now want Culture change
requires consistency of message, goal, direction, and leadership to succeed.

To change a culture one needs to change the images and values, the evaluative, and the
social elements of the organization. This requires a strong leader who knows where they
want the company to go, why they want it to go there, can articulate both these points, and
who has the power to drive the change throughout the organization. This leader, in all the
proponents of change in the organization, must consistently and obviously model the
behavior they want to see in others

The five aspects of a successful change.

1. Values: values that drive the organization toward the realization of a shared
vision.

2. Motivation: understand what motivates people. Make them stakeholders in the
change.

3. Shared Ideas and Strategies: create an environment that enables the sharing of
ideas and strategies and encourages change.

4. Goals: clear and unambiguous goals, frequently communicated and discussed.
Clear link between individual and corporate goals.

5. Performance Ethic: a reward and recognition system that instills in the
organization a performance ethic.

Changing a culture is an incremental endeavor. The organization should move, in a non-
linear fashion, from stability, through chaos, to the realignment with new values, beliefs,
norms, and artefacts. The climate must engender organic change, exploration, learning
from failure and must adjust as the new culture emerges, anchored to leader-established
values, goals, and behavioral guidelines. Leaders of organizations must lay value
foundations, cultural anchors and behavioral guidelines so that growth and development
are harmonious and congruent, and not mechanistic, haphazard, harmful, or destructive.
Creative conflict and patterned disequilibrium are the paradoxical dynamics for culture,
development, and growth in organizational life.


Goggles corporate culture:

Google stood first in Best to work for. This is the fourth time it stood first.
Google's creative and innovative corporate culture help its employees thrive - they work hard
and play hard.
What makes Google so different from other companies? Could it be the on-site perks that
include medical and dental facilities, valet parking, oil change and bike repair, free washers and
dryers, and free breakfast, lunch and dinner on a daily basis at its numerous gourmet
restaurants on its Mountain View campus? Is it because of the Global Education Leave program
that enables employees to take a leave of absence to pursue further education for up to 5 years
and $150,000 in reimbursement? Or could it be other thoughtful offerings such as unlimited
sick leave, a $500 take-out meal fund for new parents, opportunities to ask the founders about
their vision for the future of the company, or a chance to be involved in significant community
service?
However, there is no magic formula or rocket science to it. It's all about their efforts to create a
unique workplace and culture.