Corporate Culture:

A Global Perspective

Corporate Culture is
1.Influenced by national culture
and
2. Sustained by corporate leadership
 What is corporate culture?

Corporate culture is a manifestation of the

informally sanctioned corporate attitude.

It is often referred to as Organizational DNA

or the Organizational Soul.

It is a fundamental contributor to the success

or failure of corporate strategies.
 Corporate Culture can evolve from

A leaders vision, policies, and actions

Influential individuals or work groups
Policies & Procedures (Careless, lax, or unclear)
People management philosophy (ignoring employee harassment)
Employee work-ethic (hire for attitude; train for skill)
Organizational policies (no gifts from suppliers, casual
Fridays, etc.)
 Corporate Culture is reflected in

A companys
Values, business principles, and ethical standards preached
and practiced by management
Approaches to people management
and problem solving
Relationships with Shareholders, community, customers,
suppliers, government agencies, etc.
Entrenched attitudes toward people from different national
cultures
 The First Step on the Path to
Implementing a Successful
Global Strategy

Understanding the Relationship between

National Culture and Corporate Culture
Corporate Culture & National Culture
Are Symbiotically Related
 What is national culture?

National culture is the mental programming

of a group of people. It is comprised of the
values, customs, and belief systems shared by a
particular group of individuals.
Cultural Understanding can translate
to better Business Practices

Contributions of Geert Hofstede

He separated cultures into five dimensions:

Power Distance
Individualism
Uncertainty Avoidance
Masculinity
Short and long-term orientation
 Business Ethics:
It can be argued that some dimensions of
business ethics are fluid.
Cultural norms can differ between
countries. What is unacceptable in one country
may be perfectly acceptable in another.
Thus
A healthy corporate culture will encourage
employees to observe, learn, and avoid passing
judgment too quickly.
 Effective strategic leaders --
Craft global strategies that nurture a healthy
corporate culture
Encourage employees to understand and appreciate
other national cultures
 Important qualities of strategic leaders

Determination to nurture a healthy corporate culture

Courage
Self-confidence
Integrity
The capacity to deal with uncertainty and complexity
A willingness to hold people (and themselves)
accountable for their work
 Summary
Cultural Core Concepts

Its not about Magic Its about Management

 Corporate Culture
Managements Responsibility

1. Corporate culture refers to the character of a

companys internal work climate and personality.

2. In a strong-culture company, culturally-approved

behaviors and ways of doing things are nurtured
while culturally-disapproved behaviors and work
practices are discouraged.
3. In adaptive cultures, there is a spirit of doing what is
necessary to ensure long-term organizational success.

4. Adaptive cultures are exceptionally well suited to

companies with fast-changing strategies and market.

5. The tighter the culture-strategy fit, the more the

culture steers company personnel into displaying
behaviors and adopting operating practices that lead
to successful strategy execution.
6. It is in managements best interest to dedicate
considerable effort to building a corporate culture
that encourages behaviors and work practices
conducive to good strategy.

7. A companys culture is grounded in and shaped by

its core values and the bar it sets for ethical
behavior.

8. A multinational company needs to build its

corporate culture around values and operating
practices that travel well across borders.
A relaxed culture