Corporate Culture: A Global Perspective

1. Corporate Culture: A Global Perspective • Corporate Culture is… • Influenced by national culture • and • 2. Sustained by corporate leadership

2. What is corporate culture? Corporate culture is a manifestation of the informally sanctioned corporate attitude. It is often referred to as “Organizational DNA” or the “Organizational Soul.” It is a fundamental contributor to the success or failure of corporate strategies.

3. Corporate Culture can evolve from… • A leader’s vision, policies, and actions • Influential individuals or work groups • Policies & Procedures (Careless, lax, or unclear) • People management philosophy (ignoring employee harassment) • Employee work-ethic (hire for attitude; train for skill) • Organizational policies (no gifts from suppliers, casual Fridays, etc.)

4. Corporate Culture is reflected in… Acompany’s • Values, business principles, and ethical standards preached and practiced by management • Approaches to people managementand problem solving • Relationships with Shareholders, community, customers, suppliers, government agencies, etc. • Entrenched attitudes toward people from different “national” cultures

5. The First Step on the Path to Implementing a Successful Global Strategy… Understanding the Relationship between National Culture and Corporate Culture

6. Corporate Culture & National Culture Are Symbiotically Related

7. What is national culture? National culture is the mental programming of a group of people. It is comprised of the values, customs, and belief systems shared by a particular group of individuals. Dr. Geert Hofstede

8. Cultural Understanding can translate to better Business Practices Contributions of Geert Hofstede • He separated cultures into five dimensions: • Power Distance • Individualism • Uncertainty Avoidance • Masculinity • Short and long-term orientation

9. Business Ethics: It can be argued that some dimensions of business ethics are fluid. Cultural norms can differ between countries. What is unacceptable in one country may be perfectly acceptable in another.Thus… A healthy corporate culture will encourage employees to observe, learn, and avoid passing judgment too quickly.

10. Effective strategic leaders -- • Craft global strategies that nurture a healthy • corporate culture • Encourage employees to understand and appreciate • other national cultures

11. Important qualities of strategic leaders • Determination to nurture a healthy corporate culture • Courage • Self-confidence • Integrity • The capacity to deal with uncertainty and complexity • A willingness to hold people (and themselves) accountable for their work

12. Summary Cultural Core Concepts It’s not about Magic – It’s about Management

13. Corporate Culture…Management’s Responsibility • Corporate culture refers to the character of a company’s internal work climate and personality. 2. In a strong-culture company, culturally-approved behaviors and ways of doing things are nurtured while culturally-disapproved behaviors and work practices are discouraged.

14. 3. In adaptive cultures, there is a spirit of doing what is necessary to ensure long-term organizational success. 4. Adaptive cultures are exceptionally well suited to companies with fast-changing strategies and market. 5. The tighter the culture-strategy fit, the more the culture steers company personnel into displaying behaviors and adopting operating practices that lead to successful strategy execution.

15. 6. It is in management’s best interest to dedicate considerable effort to building a corporate culture that encourages behaviors and work practices conducive to good strategy. 7. A company’s culture is grounded in and shaped by its core values and the bar it sets for ethical behavior. 8. A multinational company needs to build its corporate culture around values and operating practices that travel well across borders.

16. A relaxed culture…