Corporate culture in my company

Corporate culture in my company

What is corporate culture? At its most basic, it's described as the personality of an organization, or simply as "how things are done around here." It guides how employees think, act, and feel. Corporate culture is a broad term used to define the unique personality or character of a particular company or organization, and includes such elements as core values and beliefs, corporate ethics, and rules of behavior. Corporate culture can be expressed in the company's mission statement and other communications, in the architectural style or interior decor of offices, by what people wear to work, by how people address each other, and in the titles given to various employees. How can organizations build strong, sustainable employment relationships from the very start? To date, the socialization literature has focused on transmitting and maintaining culture so that new employees accept the organizational values and behavioral norms. Many organizations require newcomers to wear standard wardrobes, forbid personal possessions, follow detailed verbal scripts, and enforce appropriate displays of emotion all designed to hinder individuality. In two studies described in this paper, the authors found that organizational and employee outcomes were better when socialization tactics encouraged authentic self-expression of newcomers' personal identities and signature strengths. Organizational socialization is optimized when organizations start by recognizing and highlighting newcomers' unique identities at the very beginning of the employment relationship, when identity negotiation is a critical concern for both parties.

At my corporate culture can contribute to or detract from the success of your organization. Senior management usually has a vision of the type of culture needed to compete successfully in the competitive landscape. This vision will differ from organization to organization, and different visions can be successful in different organizations. However, there are certain cultural elements that will be detrimental to the success of any organization if they exist -- disrespectful treatment of employees, lack of teamwork, and poor planning, to name a few.

A corporate culture survey is a way to take the pulse of an organization's culture. It is especially necessary to measure this when there is a suspicion that the culture is out of sync with management's desired culture, when management has determined that the culture must be changed to ensure the success of the enterprise, when there has been a leadership change at the top level of the organization (or when such a change is being contemplated).