“Organizational Culture”
By: Justin Waggoner, Ph.D., Beef Systems Specialist
Organizational or corporate culture is one of “buzzwords” in today’s business world. Although not a new term by any means (originating in the 1960s), the term has undoubtedly received more attention as many companies have created unconventional employee centered environments. What does corporate or organizational culture mean? What is the role of a leader or manager in an organization’s culture? Many different sources define corporate culture as the shared beliefs, values, standards, systems, policies and perceptions held by employees. Informally, the culture of company may be characterized by asking the company’s employees a few questions. What words best describe the organization? What behaviors or efforts are rewarded? What is the company’s number one priority? In some cases two very different cultures may exist within an organization: a formal corporate culture (i.e. mission statements and core value statements) and an informal corporate culture (views of the employees). Corporate culture is generally regarded as progressing from the top down, where leadership initiates and stewards the corporate culture by hiring and promoting individuals who represent/embrace the corporate culture. More importantly, managers and leaders must model the corporate culture in their interactions with both customers and employees. Corporate culture may be healthy or unhealthy. Is the culture of your organization positively contributing to the business? As a manager, does the corporate culture align with your values and beliefs? Are you incentivizing and rewarding employees for doing the right thing?
For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.
