Corporate Culture

4 Pages 1006 Words

Corporate Culture
Edgar H. Schein:The Corporate Culture Survival Guide

In “The Corporate Culture Survival Guide, “ Edgar Echein presents a concise analysis of the concept of corporate culture; what it is; how it operates; why it matters; and how to improve it. The book is organized around the questions that mangers ask – What is corporate culture? How can I assess it? How can I change it? The book then provides clear guidance for evaluating an organization’s current culture and determining if it supports or undermines the organization’s goals.

Chapter One answers the question, “Why Does Corporate Culture Matter?”. “Culture matters because decisions made without awareness of the operative cultural forces may have unanticipated and undesirable consequences.” The author provides examples of situations where a company has an engineering culture and then brings in a CEO from sales and marketing background. This mismatch of cultures created a situation where the new CEO was unable to be effective because he was unable to understand the culture’s impact on the organization.

A successful mid-life organization might not continue to prosper if they do not evolve and adapt elements of their culture. The organization clings to whatever made it a success. I have a client that was very successful in the eighties and early nineties by being self contained and developing investment products that were unique. They continue to believe that unique products are the way to success even though the market is looking for products that have easily processed and comparable features. This company is reluctant to look outside for expertise in a very competitive market and the firm has seen their market share drop, as their products do not fit easily into today’s trading parameters.

The author goes on to define culture and make it clear that culture is a complex concept that is deeply embedded in an organiz...