2 What is Corporate Culture?

Question 1

Corp. Culture Definition

Answer 1

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“The culture of a group can now be defined as a pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaption and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.” (Schein, 2004)

Question 2

basic assumptions corp. culture

Answer 2

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 are not explicitly defined by contracts
 inform managers and employees
 constrain managers and employees in their decisions

–> strong corp. culture exists if employees share a high and consistent amount of norms and values

Question 3

Three Levels of Culture (Schein)

Answer 3

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Question 4

Corp. Cult. as Material Artifacts

Answer 4

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Corporate logos
 Iconic symbol designed to represent a company
 Intended to symbolize and convey the values and products of a company
Mission statements
 Defines the long-term vision of the organisation in terms of where it
wants to be and whom it wants to serve
 Often make reference to the purposes of the organisation, its principle business aims, the key beliefs and values of the company, definitions of its major stakeholders, and ethical principles which govern code of conduct
Corporate architecture
 Stylish buildings, office layouts, landscape gardening

Question 5

Corp. Architecture

Answer 5

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Influence on behavior of employees
 How employees interact and communicate with each other and
customers and how they perform work tasks
 Examples:
 Friendly, inviting main entrance
 Glass-covered courtyard and glass lift cages
Symbols of organisational opulence
 Company buildings often become “landmarks” in cities
 Represent status, potency and good taste
Uniting symbols of corporate identity
 Photos of company building in advertising, annual reports
Company history and buildings
 Buildings from company’s early days as sacred places

Question 6

Corp. Cult. as Linguistic Artifacts

Answer 6

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Metaphors
 Word or phrase applied to an object or action which it does not literally
denote
 Dominant metaphors employed in organisational life:
 Chess (“pawn in the game”, “sacrifice”, “checkmated”)  Military (“attacks”, “orders”, “defence”, “victory”)
 Church (“(false) prophets”, giving “sermons”)
Stories and Myths
 Narratives of events often drawn from company’s history
 Important to indicate:
 Cultural values and beliefs
 Formal and informal rules and procedures
 Consequences of deviants from and compliance with rules
 Can often easily be recalled and generate beliefs

Question 7

Corp. Cult. as Behavioral Artifacts

Answer 7

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Ceremonies
 May be thought of as celebrations of organizational culture, or collective acts of cultural worship that remind and reinforce cultural values, e.g., annual well-orchestrated presentations, prizes, speeches
Rites and rituals
 “Rites of passage” facilitate changes in social role and status, e.g., training programmes, induction programmes, retirement dinners
 “Rites of questioning” challenge established order of an organisation, e.g., use of external consultants, commissioning of critical reports
 “Rites of renewal” rejuvenate and refurbish status quo, e.g., employee opinion surveys, job redesign programmes

Question 8

Espoused Beliefs

Answer 8

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Group learns that certain values, beliefs “work”
 Example:
Manager convinces team of solution which turns out to be successful and, hence, transforms manager’s belief into shared belief
(and into shared assumption if it repeatedly turns out to be successful)
 Such a process of social validation does not always work (e.g. some assumptions are not testable)

Espoused beliefs
 remain conscious
 are explicitly articulated
 guide the group, reduce uncertainty
 train new members how to behave
 are often embodied in ideology or organizational philosophy  can also be rationalizations or aspirations for the future

Question 9

Examples for Corporate Values

Answer 9

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• respect
• honesty
• integrity
• innovation
• transparency
• diversity
• loyality
• authenticity
• equality
• trust

Question 10

Norms and Values

Answer 10

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Norms and Values
 Crucial to the definition of Corporate Culture  But terms used differently in the literature
Should be differentiated:
 Value
Criterion according to which behavior can be evaluated
 Norm
Rule of conduct
Example:
 Value: Gender equality
 Norm: No sexist jokes should be told

Question 11

Norms and Values from an Economic Perspective

Answer 11

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From an economic point of view:
 Norms and values either intrinsically anchored in an individual’s
preferences
 Employee herself/himself personally may share the value or norm from the outset
 For instance employees personally care for fairness, honesty, equal treatment, …
 Norms and values enforced extrinsically, e.g.
 An employee follows the norm because he will be rewarded when
doing so or sanctioned when violating the norm
 For instance by an incentive system
 or by transactional leadership of a supervisor
 or by social sanctions in repeated interaction with colleagues
 Also possible: Intrinsic preferences for conformity within a group  Preferences are influenced by watching colleagues’ behavior
 Norms and values are imitated

Question 12

basic Assumptions

Answer 12

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When belief turns out to solve problem repeatedly it is treated as reality and becomes a basic assumption
 Basic assumptions
 are strongly held and taken-for-granted (contrary assumptions are
perceived as inconceivable)
 are difficult to change
 constitute our “mental map”
 are rather unconscious
 define character and identity of a group