Culture

Organisational change efforts that ignore culture are doomed to fail. Strategy, structure and culture are entwined and need to be considered carefully in relation to one another.

Culture is the set of important underlying values and assumptions of behaviour that members of an organisation share.

There is no one best type of organisational culture. Given an organisation’s strategy and structure, there are cultural factors that may either help or hinder the achievement of results.

Culture is a power force that influences how people work. A shared set of values and beliefs:

• creates a sense of identity and belonging among members and encourages commitment to an organisation
• enhances social system stability by avoiding potentially disruptive conflicts of interest
• can direct and shape behaviour
• contributes towards the overall effectiveness and performance of the organisation.

As many organisations lack a homogeneous culture, it is important to understand their subcultures and how they affect between-group functioning and managing conflicts of interest.