Developing corporate culture as a competitive advantage

Abstract

Defines the concept of corporate culture and shows how it affects organizations (both positively and negatively). Corporations that have been successful in establishing and fostering positive cultures are profiled. The authors find that an effective culture must be aligned with employee values and be consistent with the environment in which the organization operates. While it is best to establish a positive culture with which employees can identify during an organization's infancy, it is possible to change an existing culture. Such change is best accomplished by modeling desired behavior at all levels of management and by planning events that foster frequent interaction among cross-functional employees. Concludes that a positive culture can provide a significant competitive advantage. T h e rese a rch reg is te r fo r th is jo u rn a l is a v a ila b le a t http://www.m cbup.com/research_registers T h e cu rren t iss u e a n d fu ll tex t a rch iv e o f th is jo u rn a l is a v a ila b le a t http://www.emerald-library.com/ft

The Implementation of Goffee and Jones’s Types of Organizational Culture in a Greek State-Owned Organization that Introduced New Technologies

“…The various subcultures that cannot easily be manipulated by management may change as the relationships between employees are not stable. The dominant culture, which is not necessarily agreed upon and followed by all members, must be stronger than the subcultures and its values must be in line with the values of each of the subcultures and the personal values of each individual (Sadri and Lees, 2001). In case of conflict between them, this may lead to the detriment of the dominant culture, hindering management efforts and performance (Stakes, 2010).…”

“…The role of leadership is important in shaping an appropriate culture, affecting its main characteristics, such as attitudes to risk, rituals, and autonomy that respond to their organizations' needs (Stakes, 2010) Thus, top management needs to understand the culture of their organization or enterprise and must then decide how this can be changed in order to improve both their employees' experience of the workplace and their organization's profitability, despite this being a complicated task (Parmelli, et al, 2001;Sadri and Lees, 2001). Many challenges must be overcome in order to implement and sustain beneficial cultural change (Konteh, et al, 2008).…”

“…Also, various subcultures may develop for numerous reasons, perhaps due to the nature of various functions that exist in an organization (sales, marketing, operational, financial) or to ethnic or geographical differences among employees (Sadri and Lees, 2001). The various subcultures that cannot easily be manipulated by management may change as the relationships between employees are not stable.…”

Web pages as a tool for a strategic description of the Spanish largest firms

“…In a broad way, organisational culture is like the 'personality' of a firm (Llopis, Gonzalez and Gasco, 2007;Rowden, 2002;Sadri and Lees, 2001). Therefore, in order to talk about a corporate culture, this culture cannot be only in the mind of some executives; it must be assumed by every organisation member.…”

An Empirical Investigation of Cultural Factors and Consumption Patterns Correlates in the South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria

“…To an American, punctuality and setting of deadlines for action are normal business procedures, indicating the degree of emergency or relative importance of the action; but to a Latin American or Arabs, deadlines may be viewed discourteous and uncivilized way of life. Even in organizations, decisions often reflect the cultural backgrounds of the makers (Awa, 2003) and culture itself has strong relationship with a firm's financial performance (Kotter and Heskett, 1992; Van de Post et al, 1998), market orientation, and competitive edge (Sadri and Lees, 2001). Predominantly, focus on Japanese culture and tradition, which are uniquely engulfed and expressed in management personnel, explains Japan's success stories in business (Abegglen, 1973;Hazama, 1978;Hanami, 1979).…”