E 3.4.2 corporate culture

Question 1

corporate culture definition

Answer 1

sums up the spirits, attitudes, behaviours and an ethos of an organisation

Question 2

strong culture definition

Answer 2

a culture where the values, beliefs and ways of working are deeply embedded within the business and its employees

Question 3

weak culture definition

Answer 3

when the core values are not clearly defined, communicated or widely accepted by those working for an organisation

Question 4

classifications of company cultures

Answer 4

• power
• role
• task
• person

Question 5

power culture definition

Answer 5

every decision goes through the boss and the power is kept at the top

• autocratic style of leadership
• small group of powerful people make the decisions and everything goes through these people

Question 6

role culture definition

Answer 6

• where the job role is treated as of more importance than the individual- this is bureaucratic (lots of paperwork and procedures) and is dominated by rules and procedures which employees are expected to follow

Question 7

+ &- of power culture

Answer 7

+ strong desire to please those in power which can create a political atmosphere within the organisation
- employees are more likely to be resistant to change because they don’t have opportunity to give their opinions on what changes should and shouldn’t be made

Question 8

+ & - of role culture

Answer 8

+ this method provides clarity for employees and helps them to carry out their roles in accordance with the organisations expectations

• employees don’t have the opportunity to get involved in the decision making which can be demotivating
• those in senior positions have a long chain of command, concentrating power and causing communication problems between and within departments

Question 9

task culture definition

Answer 9

• making a task or project the focus with staff brought into form a temporary team empowered to get the task completed successfully.
• employees associate with a task or project and cultural norms from within groups and power within the organisation depends on expertise rather than their status

Question 10

+ & - of task culture

Answer 10

+ because employees work with staff from different departments, employees are able to understand the perspectives of each functional area- works well with dealing with rapid change
- possibility of conflict between individual competing for resources and budgets.

Question 11

person culture definition

Answer 11

an organisation such as legal practice where common training practices mean everyone is trusted to get on with their jobs with minimal supervision

Question 12

+ & - of person culture

Answer 12

+ staff are well treated and they feel a sense of personal development which is likely to be highly motivating
- decisions on change can be difficult to make because individuals will often think about what is best for themselves rather than thinking about what is best for the organisation.

Question 13

how corporate culture is formed

Answer 13

1) founders- set the tone for their firm’s culture e.g. a strong minded culture might establish a power culture
2) history ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Question 14

how corporate culture is formed

Answer 14

1) founders- set the tone for their firm’s culture e.g. a strong minded culture might establish a power culture
2) history- culture stems from the things that have happened, good or bad, in the past
3) the nature of the business- the culture of an organisation is determined by the nature of the business and the product it is providing e.g. the technological complexities of a product may determine the skill and expertise of the workforce and the pace of change
4) recruitment- recruitment decisions are determined by weather an organisation endeavours to appoint identical versions of existing senior staff OR if a diverse workforce with different views and personalities is emphasized.
5) working conditions and rewards- e.g. having a weekly “dress-down day” or annual Christmas party- better employee motivation

Question 15

difficulties of changing an established culture

Answer 15

• employees especially who have been working with the business for a long time mat be resistant to change
• it is a long process that could require significant training and education of the workforce- costly
• may be more than one culture across different functions or regions
• attitudes and beliefs of employees are different- staff may misunderstand and disagree with the requirements of change