Corporate Culture

Lou Gerstner in reflecting on his experiences in taking over the job of CEO at a failing IBM, said: “Until I came to IBM, I probably would have told you that culture was just one among several important elements in any organization’s makeup and success—along with vision, strategy, marketing, financials, and the like … I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn’t just one aspect of the game—it is the game”. Gerstner employed this philosophy in one of the largest corporate turnarounds in U.S. business history. (James Heskett http://www.worldfinancialreview.com )

When examining organizational culture through the two vantage points of both academics and a practitioner you will discover volumes of information that overlap and agree on the power of culture to sustain a competitive advantage. There is agreement that culture impacts the ability to execute a strategy and that strategy impact the development of a culture. There is also agreement that there must be a good fit between the strategy and the organizational culture. Where we found little agreement and silence was on which determines the other, the proverbial chicken or the egg. Another topic without full agreement was on how to measure and value the culture. Although all agreed it was valuable. This report looks at culture and seeks to briefly examine how culture is defined, the types of cultures, the blending of culture and strategy, measuring the impacts of culture, and the limiting factors of culture from a business context.

What is Culture and How is Quantified as a Resource?

When researching the topic of organizational culture from a business perspective we find a plethora of definitions, however we did find commonality. Whether taking an academic or business viewpoint there was agreement that culture is a powerful force. A force that is intangible, yet clearly observable. Culture is the unspoken shared values and beliefs of an organization that govern how members think, behave and react in...