3.4.2 Corporate Culture Flashcards
What is a strong corporate culture?
- Where factors such as attitudes values & beliefs are easily-recognised & embedded into the way that a business operates
- Businesses with strong cultures are likely to possess a range of visual features & norms
What are the visual features & norms in a business with a strong culture?
Visual Features:
- Business specific artefacts e.g. uniforms
- A well know figurehead as a role model
- Ceremonies, rituals & customs e.g. awards evenings
- Layout of business premises e.g. open plan offices
- The training culture e.g induction & on-going
Norms:
- Core organisational values, e.g. staff wellbeing
- Workplace procedures, e.g. meeting etiquette
- Business specific language e.g. calling workers ‘team members’ or ‘partners’
- Repeating stories that focus on business values and history
What is a weak corporate culture?
- Lacks shared values & cohesion. Employees may feel disconnected from the companys goals
- High levels of staff turnover & low commitment amongst staff may exist
What are the 4 types of organisational culture that Charles Handy Identified?
- Power Culture
- Task Culture
- Person Culture
- Role Culture
What happens in a power culture?
- Decision making is carried out by one or a small number of powerful individuals, usually top of the business hierarchy
Few rules exist to determine decision-making procedure
A competitive atmosphere between workers vying for power
Most communication is by personal contact
What happens in a role culture?
- Key decisions are made by those with specific job roles
Power lies with those with particular job titles rather than those with desirable skills
There is usually a very clear hierarchical structure
Employees are expected to adhere to rules and understand their place in the hierarchy
What happens in a task culture?
- Decisions are made by teams made up of employees with specific skills
Power lies with those with task-related skills (e.g. a finance specialist may make decisions related to funding within the group)
Teams are created and dissolved as projects are started and completed
There is an emphasis on adaptability and teamwork
What is a person culture?
- Individuals with extensive experience & skills are loosely brought together
These individuals have significant levels of power to determine their own decision-making procedures & often work autonomously
Organisations with person cultures are very common in professional services such as accounting and law
How is a corporate culture formed?
- Corporate culture generally forms over time especially as a business grows
What factors contribute to towards the formation of a corporate culture?
- Leadership style:
A leader’s attitude can have a significant impact upon the culture that forms within an organisation - Human resource policys:
Some businesses adopt particular human resources policies that shape the makeup of its workforce - Type of ownership:
The ownership type of a business can influence the business culture
Large public limited companies are likely to adopt a shareholder approach, focusing on meeting the short-term profit maximisation needs of shareholders
What difficulties are there in changing an established corporate culture?
-
Identifying contributing factors:
Identifying the various elements of an organisation’s culture can take time & significant insight to fully understand -
The existence of sub cultures
Changes to visual elements such as uniforms logos & mission statements is a relatively straightforward task - The impact of unofficial subcultures such as always undermining management decisions can be harder to change -
Overcoming resistance to change
Any change process is uncomfortable & requires employee buy in
This requires careful communication in order for commitment to that change to be achieved
