Corporate Culture and Its Impact on Strategic Change

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Culture—“the way we do things around here”—provides guidance, whether intentional or de facto, on what is done (or is not), how it is done (if it is), and why it is or isn’t done. Culture permeates every organization, and has the ability to either support or destroy even the most critical change initiatives. The power of culture is an important consideration when planning change. This paper will help you understand the dynamics of organizational culture and what contributes to supporting or obstructing change initiatives. It will also address whether or not to attempt shifting a culture, and how it should be approached if such an endeavor is warranted. Understanding how culture is formed and knowing how and when to take it on are essential foundations to successful strategy execution. You can deliver on transformative change promises only to the extent that you build a supportive culture.

The Dynamics of Culture
While there are many viable definitions of organizational culture, within this paper it is important to work with a definition that centers on the relationship of culture to major change. In this context, culture is defined as the patterns of mindsets and behaviors shared by people in an organization. Thus, an organization’s culture consists not only of what is done; it includes why. Corporate culture is, in effect, an organizational self-concept roughly analogous to an individual’s personality. Like its human counterpart, an organization’s self-image develops over a long period of time, although the basic elements typically coalesce during the organization’s formative years. A company’s culture is actually an aggregate of subcultures that have developed in response to unique challenges faced at various times by different groups within the organization. This