Chapter 3: Communicating the Corporate Culture

Summary
Every organization, just like every society, has a culture that defines its essence. Corporate culture consists of the fundamental value and belief structure of the organization collectively shared by the employees that is symbolically expressed in a variety of overt and subtle ways. The type of people in the organization as well as its symbols, slogans, and philosophies are all clues to corporate values.

Corporate culture influences the organization in a number of ways. It impacts how people analyze and solve problems along with how the company responds to change. Research also reveals the positive financial impact of a company with a strong culture.

How do managers communicate the values? A few of the many ways involve crafting actionable cultural statements, linking values with specific behaviors, developing symbolic reminders of the core values, and investing financial resources in projects that support the corporate values.

Outline

1. What is Culture?
   
   
2. Does Culture Matter?
1. Culture impacts the bottom line
2. Culture influences how an organization analyzes and solves problems
3. Culture influences how the company will respond to change
4. Culture impacts employee motivation and customer satisfaction
   
   
3. How Can We Discover the Culture?
   1. Examine corporate slogans, philosophies and value statements
   2. Reflect on the type of people in the organization
   3. Pay attention to corporate symbols and heroes
      
      
4. How Can We Evaluate the Culture?
   1. Does the organization seek to close the gap between the stated culture and actual
      culture?
   2. Is the actual culture suited for the organizational challenges?
   3. Does the actual culture fit the employee's beliefs and values?
      
      
5. How Can Leaders Effectively Communicate the Culture?
   1. Craft actionable cultural statements
   2. Appropriately socialize employees
   3. Develop symbolic reminders of the core values
   4. Link values with specific behaviors
   5. Filter information through the values
   6. Tell the right stories and create opportunities to originate stories
   7. Use rewards as powerful reminders
   8. Manage conflict through the values, not the hierarchy
   9. Routinely evaluate progress on the core values
   10. Assist in the evolution of the meaning of the values
       
       
6. Conclusion