3.4.2 Corporate Culture Flashcards
define corporate culture
- norms and values of a business
- affects staff behaviour and how the business operates
what is a strong corporate culture
- when employees agree with the values of a business and how it is run
what is a weak corporate culture
- when the employees don’t share the firms values and have to be forced to comply to them
what are the advantages to a strong corporate culture
+ staff are loyal, less labour turnover, less costs
+ Employees are more motivated and productive
+ employees need less supervision as they naturally fall into the values of the business, reducing costs
what are the 4 types of corporate culture that Charles Handy identified
1 power culture
2 role culture
3 person culture
4 task culture
what is a power culture
- centralised structure, in which one or very few people are responsible for decision making
- there is a competitive environment between employees
what is role culture
- decisions are made through well-established rules and procedures
- control and power based on position in the hierarchy
what is task culture
- power is given to those who can accomplish tasks
- the power lies with those with expertise not just the job title
- encourages teamwork, develops adaptability and dynamism
what is person culture
- when employees are autonomous and independent
- the organisation’s aim is too support the personal ambitions of those involved
- often seen in jobs like lawyers, accountants, architects
what are the drawbacks of a power culture
- employees may be resistant to change as they don’t get any input
- employees may be demotivated as they don’t agree with the senior managers
evaluation of role culture
+ avoids risk and failure
- staff will be unadaptable and resistant to change
evaluation of task culture
+ staff more adaptable and less resitant to change
- causes conflicts between teams about resources and budgets
- can be confusing and hard to manage with lots of products or projects
evaluation of person culture
+ decisions are made jointly to benefit everyone
- can be difficult to make decisions when everyone is thinking about themselves
what factors affect corporate culture and how it is formed
- founders
- history
- nature of the business and products
- the business environment
- recruitment, training and promotion of staff
- working conditions and incentives
- attitude towards customer service
what are two reasons corporate culture may be changes
- preference of the leaders, they may want it to be similar to how they have worked before
- might be changed to be more competitive, if the business needs to slow down and focus on survival or cost saving they may use power or role culture
why might changing corporate culture be difficult
- long-time employees can be stuck in their ways and like to do things in a way that they are used to. this can be minimised by explaining why the change is necessary
- changing corporate culture relies on being able to change the attitudes and behaviour of staff
- a strong culture can be hard to change
- it is expensive and time-consuming to change corporate culture
- relies on the HR department being willing to change and adapt the procedures of the business
