Chapter 8: Corporate Cultures

CORPORATE CULTURES
In Module 1 we looked at the interpersonal implications of communicating with people
from other cultures. In this module the focus is primarily on the culture of organisations
and then briefly on National Cultures to link with the work you did on OFS1.

What is corporate culture?

• The way we do things here
• How we view the world, the way we work, and view the customers
• The way work is performed, people are treated
• "... the collection of traditions, values, policies, beliefs & attitudes that constitute a
pervasive context for everything we do & think in an organisation" (McLean &
Marshall, 1993)
• Often a dominant culture & subcultures

How do we recognise it?

A useful distinction is between “High Profile” (official) symbols and “Low Profile”
(unofficial symbols):

MANIFESTATIONS OF CULTURE (Trice & Beyer, 1984)

High profile symbols

(deliberately designed to create the image)

p mission statement p annual report & accounts

p company logo p uniforms

Low profile symbols

p Practices: rites, rituals, ceremonies

p Communications: stories, myths, sagas, legends, folk tales

p Physical forms: location & layout of buildings, dress, furniture, notice-boards

p Common language: jargon

Differences in corporate cultures can be mapped using two important dimensions: task
versus relationship focus (in MBTI terms, T & F) and present versus future orientation (S

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&N). These corresponds approximately with Hofstede’s Individualism/Collectivism and

Power Distance you covered in OFS 1. This can be shown in matrix form:

A framework for understanding corporate culture

LOW POWER/DISTANCE
Focus on future
(N)
POSSIBILITY

"COMPETENCE" "CULTIVATION"
(NT) (NF)

IMPERSONAL (T) PERSONAL (F)

Task -focused Relationship-
relationships (F)
focused

"CONTROL" "COLLABORATION"
(ST) (SF)

HIGH POWER/DISTANCE
Focus on present
ACTUALITY
(S)

(Adapted from W.E.Schneider:

The Reengineering Alternative, Irwin, 1994)
S, N, T & F are from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

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ORGANISATION CULTURES (Summarised from Schneider)

The characteristics of each culture are summarised in the table below:
CULTURE
TYPE CONTROL COMPETENCE COLLABORATION CULTIV

INDIVIDUAL MOTIVATION Power Achievement Affiliation Growth

WAY TO Get & keep Excellence; Build teams Provide for peop
SUCCESS control highest competence & positive relationships growth

DEFINITION Dominance; Superiority; Synergy Realisation of

OF SUCCESS the biggest "the best" personal potentia

MANAGEMENT Systematic; Task-driven Participative People driven

STYLE Prescriptive; Objective Relational Personal
Objective; Rational People driven Relaxed
Policies & Procedures Efficient Informal Empowering

LEADERSHIP Directive Visionary Team-builder Catalyst

STYLE Assertive Convincing persuader Coach Commitment bu
Commanding challenges Trust builder Build common v
subordinates

POWER FROM Role Expertise Relationships Charisma

Position, Title

ORGANISATION Hierarchy Matrix, Groups, Wheel,

STRUCTURE Adhocracy Cluster Lattice

DECISION Methodical Analytical Democratic Subjective

MAKING Impersonal Detached Consensus oriented Committed
Objective Efficient Experimental Dynamic

CHANGE By Mandate, Achievement goals open to change Embrace & assu

Directive drive change, open to change Teams call for change
Resisted

CLIMATE Serious Intense Harmonious Lively, Personal

Formal Competitive Trusting, Busy committed,
compassionate

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 Chapter 8: Corporate Cultures

EXAMPLES
FROM US-BASED CORPORATIONS
Schneider undertook research within the USA and identified examples of each type of
organisational culture. [So, although there may be a “national” culture, different
organisational cultures may be expected within it].

COMPETENCE CULTIVATION

Bell Labs Celestial Seasonings

Cray Research Herman Miller
ADP Esprit de Corp
Citicorp 3M
Four Seasons Hotel W.L. Gore
Intel Shorebank Corporation
Analog Devices

CONTROL COLLABORATION

William Wrigley Jr. Company Delta Airlines

Kellogg Company Goldman - Sachs
P&G Dana Corporation
General Dynamics Motorola
Exxon Southwest Airlines
Marriot Hotels CRS Sirrine
Chaparral Steel

(Summarised from Schneider)

An organisation can be plotted anywhere within the matrix and the culture may move over
time. Within an organisation there will be a dominant overall culture, but local units or

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 Chapter 8: Corporate Cultures

functional departments may have their own distinctive “sub-cultures” which may explain
some of the tension and misunderstandings between them!

Activity: you might find it helpful to diagnose the culture of Schlumberger and of
some key clients you work with. Plot them onto the matrix below, and if the cultures
are changing add arrows showing the direction of movement:

N
“Competence”culture “Cultivation”culture
(NT) (NF)

T F
“Control”culture “Collaboration”culture
(ST) (SF)

We can link this to influencing, which was covered in Module 3. The culture of an
organisation will affect how you get things done – as summarised below:
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 Chapter 8: Corporate Cultures

Culture - customised influencing

COMPETENCE CULTIVATION

• Look for the high achievers as allies • Work hard on the relationship first
• Focus on future possibilities & ways of • Highlight benefits for relationships &
enchancing competence personal growth
• Sound credible on research base & theory • Link to organisation’s values & vision
• Mention your expertise & track record • Emphasise how your idea helps to give
• Recognise the complexities of the matrix meaning to life
structure • Stress fun & enjoyment aspects
• keep off the detail of the technical content • Expect relaxed, consensual discussions
• Be ready to use “social” time to build
relationships

CONTROL COLLABORATION

• Respect roles, the hierarchy, status & • Work very hard on the relationship first
procedures • Identify key ‘political’individuals & teams
• Master the detail of your proposal • Show respect to key political figures
• Prepare calculations of costs & benefits • Lobby informal advisers
• Minimise risks -’no surprises’- • Use personal testimonies & endorsements
• Show that it works • Highlight practical, immediate results for
• Reckon on major resistance both individual people
& organisational • Expect to use ‘social’ time to build
• Don’t be vague relationships
• Allow plenty of time & patience! • Be ready for opportunities
• Be ready for formal presentations &
appearances before committees (lobby first)
& report writing

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NATIONAL CULTURES
Finally, National Cultures can be plotted onto the same framework using recent research by
Fons Trompenaars.

LOW POWER/DISTANCE

DECENTRALISED

COMPETENCIES CULTIVATION

USA

CANADA

UK SWEDEN

FORMAL INFORMAL

CONTROL COLLABORATION

NETHERLANDS FRANCE

DENMARK

BELGIUM

INDIA

GERMANY SPAIN

JAPAN

CHINA

HIGH POWER/DISTANCE

CENTRALISED

(Adapted from Fons Trompenaars, “Riding the Waves of culture”, Nicholas Brealey, 1993.
The formal/Informal axis has been reversed to correspond with the Schneider Diagram)

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RECOMMENDED READING LIST

• William E. Schneider, The Reengineering Alternative: A Plan for Making

your Current Culture Work, Irwin, 1994

• Charles Hampden-Turner and Fons Trompenaars, The Seven Cultures of

Capitalism, Doubleday, 1993

• Charles Handy, Gods of Management, Hutchinson, 1992

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