The normative framework of a company and corporate culture

Question 1

In order for a company to be economically viable and ‘future-proof,’ what 3 benefits must be guaranteed? Explain.

Answer 1

1. Strategies - the creation of strategic knowledge (i.e. WHAT do we do? The selection of the ‘right things.’)
2. Structures - coherence and fine-tuning of all business activities (i.e. HOW do we proceed? Do things right…)
3. Culture - creation of a common ‘horizon of meaning’ for the decision-makers in the company (i.e. WHY? Answer this questions, for example, in the form of a company vision.)

Question 2

What is the aim of strategy formulation of a company?

Answer 2

To create the conceptual prerequisites that will allow the company to be successful in the long term and create the basis for operational performance generation and management.

Question 3

According to a management model, a strategy must provide information on what 5 topics?

Answer 3

1. Clarity about the relevant stakeholders and their concerns
2. Definition of a range of services and the benefits to be created for the target groups
3. Implication for the definition of fields of cooperation
4. The focus of value creation must be clarified (depth of service, value chain)
5. Existing skills or core competencies and those yet to be developed

Question 4

Name the 4 main structures of a company

Answer 4

1. Basic structure, organization and corporate governance
2. Processes, workflow structure and value chain
3. Structural specifications
4. Structuring mechanisms

Question 5

Explain the term ‘corporate culture’

Answer 5

The term essentially encompasses all symbolic reference points and certainties by which people
orient themselves in their actions and communication in a self-evident manner.

Question 6

What are the 6 central elements of corporate culture?

Answer 6

1. Normative values
2. Settings
3. Stories and myths about important changes, ramifications, breaks in the company history
4. Patterns of thought/argumentation/interpretation
5. Language norms
6. Collective expectations and background beliefs

Question 7

What is the function of corporate culture?

Answer 7

Creation of a common ‘horizon of meaning’, in other words common background knowledge, which enables the participants to understand and apply definitions appropriately. Unforeseeable, ambiguous events and developments can be meaningfully placed in the overall context.

Question 8

What is considered as a part of the emergence of corporate culture?

Answer 8

Permanent processes of perception and interpretation, ‘ongoing observation’ and discursive arguments,
collective interpretative experiences in dealing with the challenges of the organization that occupy people in their local working life and emergence of routinely developing ‘standard descriptions’ and ‘standard declarations’.

Question 9

Explain differentiated corporate cultures

Answer 9

‘Corporate culture’ is usually not ‘monolithic’, but is in practice often differentiated within the company and dependent on region, function, interaction frameworks (‘communities of practices’), which substantially shape the respective sub/team culture.