What is Organizational Culture?

Culture is the social order of an organization. It forms people's attitudes and behaviors in a wide range of ways. Cultural norms determine what is encouraged or discouraged and what is accepted or rejected within a group. 

What are the Attributes of Culture? 

Groysberg, Lee, Price and Cheng (2018) identified four attributes of culture: 

• Shared, 
• Pervasive, 
• Enduring, and 
• Implicit.

What are the Dimension of an Organization’s Culture?

The researchers believe that two primary dimensions in a corporate organization define the type of culture it has: 

• People Interactions: People interactions can be independent or interdependent or anywhere between.
• Response to Change: People's response to change fall on a spectrum from resistant to adaptive.

What are the Eight Types of Organizational Culture?

Based on the score on these two dimensions, Groysberg, Lee, Price and Cheng identified the following 8 types of organizational cultures: 

CARING

• Focuses on relationships and mutual trust
• Has a warm, collaborative, and welcoming work environment

PURPOSE

• Driven by idealism and altruism
• Has a tolerant and compassionate work environment

LEARNING

• Focuses on exploration, expansiveness, and creativity
• Has an inventive and open-minded work environment

ENJOYMENT

• Presents fun and excitement
• Has a light-hearted work environment

RESULTS

• Focuses on achievement and winning
• Has an outcome-oriented and merit-based work environment

AUTHORITY

• Defined by strength, decisiveness, and boldness
• Has a competitive work environment

SAFETY

• Refers to planning, caution, and preparedness
• Has a predictable work environment

ORDER

• Focuses on respect, hierarchy, and shared norms
• Has a methodical work environment

One organization can have more than one or several types of culture. 

How to Change Corporate Culture? 

Four practices lead to successful culture evolution:

• ARTICULATE THE DESIRED CULTURE. Creating a new culture starts with an analysis of the current one. Then leaders can identify what types of culture are missing for the future portfolio.
• SELECT AND DEVELOP THE RIGHT LEADERS. Candidates for leadership positions should be evaluated on their alignment with the target culture. Education on the importance of culture for strategies and outcomes also offers leaders a greater focus on culture.
• USE ORGANIzATIONAL CONVERSATIONS. As leaders begin talking about a new culture explicitly, publicly and repeatedly, employees will realize what culture is now valued and encouraged and behave differently.
• REDESIGN THE ORGANIzATION. If the existing mechanism does not support the new culture, leaders need to consider how to improve it. A structure, systems, and processes that aligned will make the culture change much easier.