What is Corporate Culture?

Info_lover | May 12, 2010 |

0 Comments | Rating: 0

What is corporate culture? At its most basic level, it is a term that refers to the collective beliefs, corporate ethics and processes that define the unique personality or character of a company or organization. There are many different types of corporate culture and this can guide how employees think, act and feel. As such, corporate culture and performance are closely linked. Here are some examples of elements that define corporate culture.

At the foundation of any corporate cultures are the standards that govern the company operations. These standards usually come in the form of policies and procedures that will define how the company operates. This includes how different departments will relate to one another in the production process, the line of communication established between management and departmental employees, and rules that set the conduct expected of every employee in the company. This basic organizational culture makes it possible to develop other layers of corporate culture based on these foundational factors.

Above and beyond organizational and procedural factors, corporate culture is further informed by the attitude of everyone involved with the organization. When executives, managers, and rank and file employees are all on the same page with regards to basic corporate values, this can lead to a more productive and conducive environment. For instance, when employees are provided with ways to make suggestions that could improve the productivity of the company, it can be said that the corporate culture is an inclusive one when it comes to a corporate culture survey. This is because it allows for free communication between all employees in the company.

Why is understanding corporate culture important? This is because the organization's culture will affect you in many, many different ways such as hours worked per week, availability of options such as telecommuting and flexi-work hours, how people interact with each other in the workplace, employee benefits, office space, opportunities, perks – just about every aspect that is related to your work scope at the office. Simply put, the importance of corporate culture can never be stated enough.

Corporate culture change takes place over time. With an ever-changing corporate culture in most businesses, how to you go about uncovering the corporate culture of a potential employer? The reality is that you will never really know the corporate culture until you have worked at the company for a couple of months. However, you can forge a rough idea of the corporate culture by doing some research and observation beforehand. Corporate culture assessment is a two-step process that starts with research before the interview and ending with observation at the interview. Before the interview, you can do some research such as reviewing the company's annual report and website to search for clues about the company's culture. At the interview, you can observe how current employees interact with each other, how they are dressed and their level of professionalism and courtesy.