Corporate Culture
“We believe that an intriguing thing
about communication is the way in
which it creates and constitutes the
taken-for-granted reality of the world.”
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1. Definitions
“Consists of a set of symbols, ceremonies,
and myths that communicate the underlying
values and beliefs of that organization to its
employees.” - Ouichi
 “The way we do things around here.”
 Like music
Limits range of movement
Makes movement possible
Does NOT cause movement
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2. Does culture matter?
Impacts bottom line
Influences how we analyze & solve
problems
Influences how organization responds to
change.
Impacts employee motivation and
customer satisfaction
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3. Basic principles
Employees are at once the consequence,
creators, and carriers of culture
Cultural values are reflected in a variety of
ways (overt & subtle)
Culture changes but it does so slowly
Cultural values are necessarily few,
because values inevitably conflict
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4. Communicating the Culture
 Objectives
Commitment to organizational goals
Move from the objective to the subjective
 Use the culturation process
 Link values to behaviors
 Manage conflict through values
 Manage information appropriately
 Develop symbolic reminders
 Tell the right stories
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5. I-We-Them-It principle
I = treatment of individuals
We = treatment of the group
Them = treatment of the customer
It = how the company feels about what it
does
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6. Stated vrs. Unstated Culture
Stated Culture - The ideal state
Unstated Culture - The actual state
They are always disconnected.
The critical question is how disconnected
the stated and unstated culture really are.
Stated
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Unstated
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