8 Types of Company Culture

Summary

The video script emphasizes the pivotal role of company culture in shaping organizational success, often surpassing the impact of strategy. It outlines eight distinct cultural styles, from collaborative to results-driven, each with unique dynamics and implications for employee engagement and customer orientation. The script suggests that a culture aligned with strategy can significantly enhance outcomes, and understanding one's cultural profile is crucial for effective leadership and change management.

Takeaways

• 🍽️ Culture is a powerful force that can significantly impact a company's strategy and success.
• 🧐 Research indicates that company culture, with its norms and values, can either support or undermine strategic plans.
• 🤝 Two primary dimensions of culture are identified: how people interact with each other and how they respond to change.
• 🌐 Eight distinct cultural styles can be mapped onto a framework based on the two cultural dimensions: carrying, purpose, learning, enjoyment, results, authority, safety, and order.
• 🏢 Carrying cultures are prevalent in 63% of companies, characterized by warmth, collaboration, and a welcoming environment.
• 🌟 Purpose-oriented cultures focus on altruism and contributing to the greater good, present in 9% of organizations.
• 🎓 Learning cultures emphasize exploration, creativity, and open-mindedness, ranking high in 7% of companies.
• 🏆 Results-driven cultures prioritize goal achievement and winning, highly ranked in 89% of companies.
• ⚖️ Authority cultures are decisive, bold, and competitive, with strong leadership, ranked highly by 4% of companies.
• 🛡️ Safety cultures are predictable, realistic, and risk-conscious, defining 8% of company cultures.
• 🔄 Order cultures value structure and methodical processes, prioritized in 15% of organizational cultures.
• 🔄 Organizational cultures may adapt to meet external environmental demands, with different industries valuing different cultural attributes.
• 🤔 Employee agreement on cultural attributes is crucial; high convergence indicates a shared understanding of company culture.
• 🔄 Understanding and aligning company culture with business strategy and environment can lead to positive organizational outcomes.
• 🔄 Companies often express a desire to increase a culture of learning while maintaining their emphasis on results.

Q & A

What does the phrase 'culture eats strategy for breakfast' imply?

The phrase suggests that even the most well-thought-out strategies can be undermined if the company culture is not aligned with the strategic goals.

How do cultural norms influence a group's behavior?

Cultural norms define what is encouraged, discouraged, accepted, or rejected within a group, which in turn shapes the group's behavior.

What are the two primary dimensions of culture identified by researchers?

The two primary dimensions are how people interact with each other and how they respond to change.

What are the characteristics of a 'carrying' workplace culture?

A 'carrying' workplace culture is warm, collaborative, and welcoming, and it is prevalent in 63% of companies in the sample.

What is a 'purpose' oriented organizational culture?

A 'purpose' oriented culture is characterized by tolerance, compassion, and a focus on altruism and contributing to the greater good.

How does a 'learning' culture differ from other cultural styles?

A 'learning' culture is characterized by exploration, creativity, and open-mindedness, with an inventive work environment.

What is the significance of an 'enjoyment' culture in the context of the study?

An 'enjoyment' culture is characterized by high morale, engagement, and creativity, but only 2% of companies rank it at the top of their cultural profile.

How does a 'results-driven' culture impact a company?

A 'results-driven' culture focuses on goals, achievement, and winning, and is highly ranked by 89% of companies.

What are the key features of an 'authority' culture?

An 'authority' culture is decisive, bold, competitive, and led by strong, confident leaders.

How does a 'safety' culture affect an organization?

A 'safety' culture is predictable, realistic, and risk-conscious, defined by planning and caution.

What does a 'high order' culture signify in an organization?

A 'high order' culture signifies a structured and methodical work environment where people tend to follow rules and want to fit in.

How does the alignment of culture with strategy and leadership affect an organization?

When a culture is aligned with strategy and leadership, it can drive positive organizational outcomes.

What is the relationship between cultural styles and employee engagement according to the study?

The study revealed that 'enjoyment' is the biggest differentiator for companies with high employee engagement.

How does an organization's culture impact customer orientation?

The study found that 'earning' tops the list in differentiating companies with a strong emphasis on customer orientation.

What does employee agreement about an organization's cultural styles indicate?

Employee agreement about cultural styles indicates the degree of convergence within the organization's culture.

Why might a company want to increase a culture of learning?

Nearly all companies studied expressed a desire to increase a culture of learning, likely to foster innovation and adaptability.

What is the implication of low convergence in an organization's culture?

Low convergence in an organization's culture may indicate a chaotic present but also potential for change if a different company culture is aspired to.