Corporate Culture and Corporate Success

Abstract

When we speak of the culture of an organisation, we refer to the behaviour patterns and standards that bind it together. Some organisational cultures encourage productivity; many do not. Culture should not be confused with climate. Climate is the short‐term mood of an organisation. Unlike culture, it is fragile and subject to change. But culture — the sum of behaviour patterns and standards — is built up over many years. Culture is a unifying philosophy ethic and spirit; a set of superordinate goals. There is no such thing as “instant culture”. It is possible that a positive climate will erode a strong counter‐productive culture, but it will take generations. Other than changing virtually all management staff, there is no quick fix. It is almost always more productive to use the standards of the current culture, however alien to the organisation's goal, rather than to force‐feed new standards.

Citation

White, J. (1984), "Corporate Culture and Corporate Success", Management Decision, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 14-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb001354