In order to develop the content of this space it would be useful to start conceptualizing the terms of culture and organizational culture and also establishing the difference existing among them.
Starting by understanding the meaning of the first term, Bates & Plog (as cited in Khurana, 2007) argues that:
Culture is defined as the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of a society use to cope with their world and with one another, and which is transmitted from generation to generation through learning. (p. 3)
And due to its meaning and depth, cultural influence can be identified at different levels of society, including the national, regional, gender, generation, social, and corporate level being the national one of the most known, identified and referenced by most of the people.
The culture of a nation for example embraces many aspects. It is shaped and molded by the background of its population, their languages and beliefs. It includes the different ways that people express and communicates themselves in words, movements, music and images. It is revealed in the ways people choose to spend their time, the music they listen to, the books they read and the films they watch, the sports they encourage, and the historical places and natural environments they protect. These aspects shape how a nation sees itself, and how it establishes its identity. (Stanbury, 1998)
Now after defining and understanding culture, the next concept to be developed can be perceived in the corporate level of society and is corporate culture, also known as cultural organization which basically is the personality of the organization.
Understanding organizational culture is identifying the collective rules by which an organization operates. Those rules which are shaped by shared behaviors, values and beliefs will determinate what is known as organizational culture and at the same time is this culture which forms the basis for how every person operates within the environment of the organization (Khan, 2005). Thanks to this the corporate culture will be based on the nature, operation and purposes of a particular organization and “never trumps national culture” (ITAP International, Inc., 2010, para. 4).
Examples of culture at this level can be the degree of formality with which employees communicate themselves, the dress code of the company, the way in which every employee is rewarded and the type of technology used.
Khan (2005) argues that:
Being aware of an organization’s culture at all levels is important because the culture defines appropriate and inappropriate behavior. In some cultures, for example, creativity is stressed. In others, the status quo is valued. Some cultures are more socially oriented, while others are task-oriented, “business only” environments. In some companies teamwork is key. In others, individual achievement is encouraged and valued (p. 5)
It is possible to realize how important is understanding and identifying corporate culture in order to know in the deepest way a company’s “lifestyle” or “day-to-day life” and then, the way it functions, develops and grows been possible to clearly identify what is the relation an specific organization wants to create and keep with its clients, what it wants to say to people, to its environment.
It could be concluded that while culture of a society has to do with the deeply held values of its integrating participants, like having the perception of what is good or bad, normal or abnormal, safe or dangerous and rational or irrational, organizational culture is comprised of a group of guidelines which are rooted in organizational practices learned on the job.
References:
ITAP International, Inc. (2010). Organizational Culture and National Culture: What’s the Difference and Why does it Matter? Retrieved January 1, 2010, from
Khan, A. (2005). Matching People with Organizational Culture [Adobe Reader version]. Retrieved January 1, 2010, from
http://www.themanager.org/HR/Matching_People_with_Organizational_Culture.pdf
Khurana, A. (2007). Understanding Cultural Formulation. The American Journal Of Psychiatry, 2(10), 3-4. Retrieved January 1, 2010, from
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/data/164/10/A34/DC2/1
Stanbury W.T. (1998). Fraser Forum Online. Section 5: Culture and National Identity. Retrieved January 1, 2010, from
http://oldfraser.lexi.net/publications/forum/1998/august/identity.html
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