3.4.2 Corporate Culture

Question 1

define corporate culture

Answer 1

• norms and values of a business
• affects staff behaviour and how the business operates

Question 2

what is a strong corporate culture

Answer 2

• when employees agree with the values of a business and how it is run

Question 3

what is a weak corporate culture

Answer 3

• when the employees don’t share the firms values and have to be forced to comply to them

Question 4

what are the advantages to a strong corporate culture

Answer 4

+ 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

Question 5

what are the 4 types of corporate culture that Charles Handy identified

Answer 5

1 power culture
2 role culture
3 person culture
4 task culture

Question 6

what is a power culture

Answer 6

• centralised structure, in which one or very few people are responsible for decision making
• there is a competitive environment between employees

Question 7

what is role culture

Answer 7

• decisions are made through well-established rules and procedures
• control and power based on position in the hierarchy

Question 8

what is task culture

Answer 8

• 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

Question 9

what is person culture

Answer 9

• 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

Question 10

what are the drawbacks of a power culture

Answer 10

• 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

Question 11

evaluation of role culture

Answer 11

+ avoids risk and failure
- staff will be unadaptable and resistant to change

Question 12

evaluation of task culture

Answer 12

+ 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

Question 13

evaluation of person culture

Answer 13

+ decisions are made jointly to benefit everyone
- can be difficult to make decisions when everyone is thinking about themselves

Question 14

what factors affect corporate culture and how it is formed

Answer 14

• 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

Question 15

what are two reasons corporate culture may be changes

Answer 15

• 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

Question 16

why might changing corporate culture be difficult

Answer 16

• 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