We have all most likely heard of organizational culture. Often called company culture or corporate culture, depending on the type of organization to which we refer, culture can be considered as the environment within the organization. Organizational or corporate culture is the pervasive values, beliefs and attitudes that characterize a company and guide its practices, especially those around how we treat people, whether they are people within the organization or those with whom the organization interacts.

Businessdictionary.com offers an extensive definition of organizational culture, as follows:
“The values and behaviors that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization. Organizational culture includes an organization’s expectations, experiences, philosophy, and values that hold it together, and is expressed in its self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world, and future expectations. It is based on shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, and written and unwritten rules that have been developed over time and are considered valid. Also called corporate culture, it’s shown in
(1) the ways the organization conducts its business, treats its employees, customers, and the wider community,
(2) the extent to which freedom is allowed in decision making, developing new ideas, and personal expression,
(3) how power and information flow through its hierarchy, and
(4) how committed employees are towards collective objectives.”

Every organization has a culture, whether it be intentionally determined, or happenstance based on the practices and behaviors of leadership and the people within the organization. For large, multi-location organizations, the culture of each location can be a blend of an overall corporate culture and the culture of the individual office or site.

An organization’s culture is often described by the same sort of words used to describe the personality or character of people. In fact, culture generally correlates with the character and personality of the leadership. We might hear culture described as some combination of words such as the following: fast-paced, results-oriented, uncaring, quality-focused, highly political, customer-focused, committed to truth, innovative, shifty, committed to the bottom line, seeking the best for people, etc.

Culture is an important determinant of business success. Culture determines the organizational environment and, therefore, affects the organization’s productivity and performance, and provides guidelines on customer care and service, product quality and safety, attendance and punctuality, and concern for the environment.

How intentional are you regarding your organization’s culture? Is it contributing to success or inhibiting your organization’s success?