Types of Organizational Cultures

Organizational Culture: The Shared Assumptions That Affect How Work Gets Done

• organizational culture (“social glue”): the set of shared, taken for granted, implicit assumptions that a group holds and that determine how it perceives, thinks about, and reacts to its various environments
  • sometimes called corporate culture
  • significantly affects work outcomes at all levels
• what drives an organizational culture?
  • founders values
  • industry and business environment
  • national culture
  • organizations vision and strategies
  • behavior of leaders

3 Levels of Organizational Culture

• level 1: observable artifact, physical manifestations of culture
  • ex: manner of dress, myths/stories, ceremonies, visible behavior
• level 2: espoused values, explicitly stated values and norms
  • as put forth by the firm’s founders or top managers
  • explicit values may differ from the firm’s enacted values
• level 3: basic assumptions, core values of the organization
  • are usually taken for granted and are hard to change

4 Types of Organizational Culture

• clan culture (family-type organization):
  • has an internal focus
  • values flexibility rather than stability
  • encourages collaboration among employees
  • ex: chic-fil-a
• adhocracy culture:
  • has an external focus
  • values flexibility
  • adaptable, creative, and quick to respond to changes in the marketplace
  • ex: google
• market culture:
  • focused on the external environment
  • values stability and control
  • driven by competition and a strong desire to deliver results
  • ex: Uber, McDonalds
• hierarchy culture:
  • has an internal focus
  • values stability and control over flexibility
  • formalized, structured work environment
  • ex: amazon