Understanding Organizational Culture

Just as top executives can influence climate, they can also set the tone for the culture. If the CEO is an entrepreneur, the culture will be one that makes fast decisions, takes risks and likes to innovate. Apple Computers would be a good example of an entrepreneurial culture. Insurance companies and banks tend to have very different cultures, dominated by avoidance of risk. Such processing cultures need elaborate rules to ensure consistency and efficiency. An engineering culture like aircraft manufacturers or phone companies, value technical competence and high quality. Then there are marketing cultures that are very sales oriented. They tend to be populated by dynamic, lively, outgoing people. Scientific cultures are common in medical or drug manufacturing companies where there is an insistence on pure research to back up new proposals. It is not this simple, of course. Cultures can vary a great deal within a particular industry. Organizations might have a culture of blame, fun, hard work, equality, career development, environmental consciousness or any other personality trait.