| The term corporate culture refers to an
organization's value system. Managerial philosophies, workplace practices, and
organizational network are included in the concept of corporate culture. Tyson
Food's corporate culture is reflected in the fact that everyone—even CEO Don
Tyson wears clothes of a yellowish brown color on the job. The leaders who developed the company and the corporate culture typically shape the corporate culture.One generation of employees passes on a corporate culture to newer employees. Sometimes this is part of formal training. New managers who attend McDonald's Hamburger University may learn skills in management,but they also pick up the basics of the organization's corporate culture. Employees can absorb corporate culture through informal contacts as well, by talking with other workers and through their experiences on the job. Corporate culture has a major impact on the success of an organization. In organizations with strong cultures,everyone knows and supports the organizations' objectives. In those with weak cultures, no clear sense of purpose exists. In fact, the authors of the classic book In Search of Excellence concluded the presence of a strong corporate culture was the single common thread among many diverse but highly successful companies such as General Electric and McDonald's. As you can imagine, changing a company's corporate culture can be very difficult. But some managers try to do just that when they feel the current culture is weak, or when the organization's objectives change and the old culture no longer fits. Sometimes the competitive situation of a company changes.For instance, electric utilities, which once had their profits guaranteed by public regulation, now face more competition than ever. Firms that were comfortable competing against other American companies now find themselves fighting competitors from overseas, too. Management expert Peter Duckers feels that, rather than trying to change culture, managers should focus on changing employees and corporate practices, as follows. ·Define what results are needed. Specify in measurable terms what the organization or department,or office) needs to achieve. ·Determine where these results are already being achieved within the current organization. Analyze the departments that are already effective and find out what they are doing differently from the rest. ·Determine what top management can do to encourage these good results. Duckers suggests that executives openly ask what they can do to help, and then do it. ·Change the reward system—or develop a new one—to recognize these effective practices. When employees realize that the organization really does reward the new approach, they will adopt it much more quickly. Whether one wants to change an organization culture or not, it is important to choose managers and employees whose personal styles fit the organization's goals. |