The Culture Aspect

Culture is the human face of an organization.  If technology did everything in an organization and there were no people, there would be no culture.

Culture consists of the shared customs, values, norms, attitudes and behaviour which have developed over a period of time and which help to make the organization unique.  The culture may have evolved so slowly that the staff may not be aware that it even exists.  It can be thought of as the personality of the organization.

Many organizations are agreeable places to work while others have developed a bullying, oppressive atmosphere.  There are those that adopt a paternalistic attitude to employees, while others 'hire and fire' at will.  Some make an effort to treat all employees equally while others enforce a distinct hierarchy of position and rank.

Culture is often the major difference between two otherwise similar organizations.

The six elements of Culture