Corporate Culture (HL)

Organisational (Corporate) Culture

The shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and practices that shape how people work in an organisation (“personality of a business”)

Strong Organisational Culture

A culture where values and behaviours are clearly embedded and widely recognised by employees

Weak Organisational Culture

A culture where values are unclear, leading to low commitment, poor morale, and lack of unity

Visual Features (Culture)

Visible signs of culture such as uniforms, office layout, rituals, and branding

Operational Features (Culture)

Day-to-day practices such as training, procedures, communication style, and values like staff wellbeing

Strong Culture – Advantages

High employee motivation, unity, loyalty, clear mission, positive work attitude

Strong Culture – Disadvantages

Can resist change, may create pressure to conform, risk of ignoring new ideas

Weak Culture – Disadvantages

Low morale, high staff turnover, poor communication, lack of trust between staff and management

Subculture

Smaller groups within a business that have their own values and behaviours different from the main culture

Official Culture vs Subculture

Official = stated values (e.g. mission); Subculture = actual day-to-day employee experience

Power Culture (Zeus)

Decision-making is centralised in a few powerful individuals; few rules, fast decisions

Power Culture – Pros

Quick decision-making, strong leadership, clear direction

Power Culture – Cons

Risk of abuse of power, lack of employee input, internal competition

Role Culture (Apollo)

Highly structured culture where roles and hierarchy determine power and decision-making

Role Culture – Pros

Stability, clear responsibilities, efficiency in routine tasks

Role Culture – Cons

Inflexible, slow to adapt, discourages creativity

Task Culture (Athena)

Team-based culture where power is based on skills and expertise; focused on completing projects

Task Culture – Pros

Flexible, encourages teamwork, promotes innovation

Task Culture – Cons

Can lack clear leadership, conflict between team members, resource competition

Person Culture (Dionysus)

Individuals are central; organisation exists to serve them, high autonomy

Person Culture – Pros

High job satisfaction, independence, strong expertise

Person Culture – Cons

Lack of coordination, difficult to manage, weak organisational goals

Culture Clash

Conflict that occurs when different cultures interact (e.g. different values, communication styles)

Culture Gap

When actual organisational culture differs from the desired culture set by management

Organic Growth (Impact on Culture)

Growth makes structure more hierarchical, increases bureaucracy, reduces personal communication

Mergers and Takeovers (Impact on Culture)

Combining two cultures can cause conflict; dominant culture may override the other

Hybrid Culture

A mix of cultures formed after a merger; requires careful management to succeed

Overseas Growth (Impact on Culture)

Introduces cultural differences, language barriers, and different working styles

Leadership Change (Impact on Culture)

New leaders bring new values, which can disrupt existing culture

Communication Breakdown

Misunderstandings due to different communication styles; reduces productivity

Demotivation

Employees feel undervalued if culture doesn’t align with their values; lowers morale

Resistance to Change

Employees reject new strategies if they conflict with existing culture

Reduced Team Spirit

Cultural differences create divisions and weaken collaboration

Reduced Innovation

Lack of diverse perspectives limits creativity and problem-solving

Managing Culture Change

Requires effective communication, strong leadership, and clear vision to align employees