in what way we can under an organisations culture?

Culture at the global level of the external environment relates to the interaction of at least one national culture with another. Culture at the national level can result from one nation attributing characteristics to another, which can result in stereotyping and prejudice. The national and local levels of culture can be intertwined, as for some people their national characteristics make them the people they are in their local communities.

The determinants of personal cultural provenance are name, gender, professional role, icons, symbols, ceremonies, personal morality, norms, values. It is these determinants which define an individual’s culture, which in turn makes them the person they are.

National culture is determined by religion, politics, economies, education, language, social structure. It is these determinants, their variations and how they are viewed by other nationalities which define a country’s national culture.

Organisational culture can result from the internal structure of an organisation and from the type of people it employs.

The determinants of organisational culture are presented in the cultural web, which includes routines and ritual, stories, symbols, power structures, organisational structures, control systems. All these determinants will have an impact on they type of place an organisation is to work in.

Deal and Kennedy identified four possible organisational types. The tough-guy macho culture is where staff take high-risk decisions and receive rapid feedback on the effectiveness of their actions. The work hard/play hard culture is found in organisations in which decisions are routinely low risk and feedback quick, which is often the case in sales-orientated companies. The bet your company culture organisation takes big risks and feedback takes a long time. This is typical of companies which build aircraft or undertake oil exploration. Finally the process culture is low risk with slow feedback, which is typically found in the civil service and public-sector organisations.

How a company manages and behaves in the international arena can be influenced by many factors. The key issues which need to be examined as they are influenced by differing global, national and local cultures include how success is measured, communications with consumers and the marketplace, human resource management, communication with overseas managers (locally based and international managers), and contract negotiations.

Managing culture and understanding its relevance to business requires a number of issues to be addressed. These include leadership, the role of symbols, and the use of time, communications and meetings in day-to-day organisational life.

no way!just do it!