Reading. Corporate culture is the collective behavior of people using common corporate vision, goals, shared values

Corporate culture is the collective behavior of people using common corporate vision, goals, shared values, beliefs, habits, working language, systems, and symbols. It is interwoven with processes, technologies, learning and significant events. In addition, different individuals bring to the workplace their own uniqueness, knowledge, and ethnic culture. So corporate culture encompasses moral, social, and behavioral norms of the organization based on the values, beliefs, attitudes, and priorities of its members.

The corporate culture is good only if it fits its context, i.e. the business space and the business strategy. In today's rapidly changing economy, "only cultures that can help organizations anticipate and adapt to environmental change will be associated with superior performance over the long time."

Edgar Schein describes the three levels of a corporate culture:

Surface level: At this level, culture is both enacted and reinforced through visible appearances and behaviors, such as physical layouts, dress codes, organizational structure, company policies, procedures and programs, and attitudes.

Middle level: Here, culture is manifested through the beliefs and values.

Deepest level: At this level, culture is manifested through basic assumptions - long-learned, automatic responses and established opinions.

R. Solomon stated, “Corporate culture is related to ethics through the values and leadership styles that the leaders practice; the company model, the rituals and symbols that organizations value, and the way organizational executives and members communicate among themselves and with stakeholders. As a culture, the corporation defines not only jobs and roles; it also sets goals and establishes what counts as success”.

“Strong” corporate cultures have a shared philosophy, they value the importance of people, they all have heroes that symbolize the success of the company, and they celebrate rituals, which provide opportunities for caring and sharing. Organizations that stress competition, profit, and economic or self-interests over stakeholder obligations often have cultures that are in trouble. The founders of an organization set the tone for the beginning stage of what a company’s culture will be. The practices of the founders and first employees begin the rituals, the corporate stories, and norms. Ethics is a major factor in the development of a positive or negative culture. Promotions and raises also affect the type of culture a company has.

Communication also affects the strength or weakness of a culture. It is essential that management communicate the accomplishments as well as the failures of the departments of the organization, not only vertically but horizontally as well. Reward criteria, conflict tolerance, and control are dimensions of a corporate culture. The culture of a company is very influential in daily transactions.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-11