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Strong vs weak culture

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If culture is like the DNA of an organisation, then you can argue that the culture of every organisation is unique. However, it is still possible to group certain styles or types of organisational culture. By doing, students are provided with an opportunity to compare and contrast - a vital exam skill!

Let's look at an obvious basis for comparison - strong versus weak culture.

A strong culture is one which is deeply embedded into the ways a business or organisation does things. With a strong culture, employees and management understand what is required of them and they will try to act in accordance with the core values.

A key benefit of a strong culture is that there is less need for detailed policies and procedures because the "way things are done around here" is well understood and accepted.

There are many great examples of organisations with strong cultures. Indeed, as we have argued in this blog, organisations built on a clearly defined set of core values, consistently applied, use their strong culture as a source of competitive advantage.

Three of my favourite examples of strong culture are Southwest Airlines (founder Herb Kelleher's strategy of an employee-centric culture); Ikea (founder Ingvar Kamprad's culture of thrift and teamwork) and Disney Theme Parks (where customers are "guests", a job is a "part" and a uniform is a "costume"). In each of these businesses the culture is an intrinsic, core part of the strategy. Actually you might argue that for organisations like Ikea and Southwest Airlines, the culture IS the strategy.

There are plenty of other great examples, including John Lewis Partnership, IBM, Marriott Hotels and Zappos. You could add to those McDonalds, Starbucks, Goldman Sachs, HP and Nordstrom - and a host of other successful businesses built on a strong, distinctive culture. You can even argue that an entire industry sector enjoys the advantages of strong culture - namely the Mittelstand companies in Germany!

Compare the examples above with organisations whose culture is weak. A weak culture can arise when the core values are not clearly defined, communicated or widely accepted by those working for the organisation. It can also occur if there is little alignment between the way things are done and the espoused values. This can lead to inconsistent behaviour of people in the organisation which in turn results in inconsistent customer experiences!

A key consequence of weak culture is that there is greater need for procedures, policies and bureaucracy in order to get things done in the desired way, with in turn can add substantially to organisational costs.

Can you think of some examples of weak culture? A good place to look is in businesses or organisations that are struggling to compete or perform. Think about your own personal experiences of poor customer service or unacceptable quality - there is likely to be some evidence of weak or dysfunctional culture.

For me, an organisation like the HMRC is a prime example: poorly managed; highly inconsistent levels of service and a largely demotivated workforce. Also, do you agree with me that the terrible service you get at Burger King compared with McDonalds is an indicator of a weak culture? No-one working there really seems to care how long it takes to serve your order. What about Tesco? I stopped shopping there long ago after becoming fed up with disinterested staff and longer queues. Tesco might enjoy the benefits of enormous scale, but is culture can't hold a candle to that of John Lewis Partnership.

Strong culture versus weak culture: a key comparison for students to make. But, is strong culture always better than weak culture? It may depend!

Some research by Sorenson (2002) looked into the relationship between the strength of culture and business performance. The research found that strong cultures were best able to deliver a successful strategy in fairly stable operating conditions. However, when the market or economy became more unstable or volatile, businesses with strong cultures were less successful. Sorenson suggested this might be because an organisation with a strong culture might be less likely to react to the need to change; i.e. they could be less adaptable in a rapidly-changing environment.

You might also argue that a culture can be strong but that a strong culture leads to business problems - even failure. There is little doubt that the corporate culture at Enron was toxic - but it was also strong. Employees knew exactly what was expected of them - it's just that what they were required to do was usually unethical and/or illegal! Similarly, the original culture at Nokia and Sony was strong, but did the entrenched culture get in the way of those businesses responding to rapid change in the external environment?

However, I suspect that the top-performing businesses, particularly those that have sustained high performance over many years, much can be attributed to the strength of the corporate culture.

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Organisational Culture: Strong v Weak | tutor2u Business

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If culture is like the DNA of an organisation, then you can argue that the culture of every organisation is unique. However, it is still possible to group certain styles or types of organisational culture. By doing, students are provided with an opportunity to compare and contrast - a vital exam skill!

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Culture of trust at John Lewis

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An Organisational Culture of Trust - Insights from John Lewis Partnership | tutor2u Business

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Terrific insights here from Andy Street, the CEO of John Lewis Partnership, about how the concept of trust is so important in business success. Some short, sharp points here which help identify elements of the organisational culture at John Lewis Partnership and perhaps point to some of the reasons why JLP has been so successful in recent years despite the economic downturn.

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Culture at Ikea

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As you may know. I'm a big fan of the organisational culture at Ikea. It is a fabulous case study in how a strong culture can be a sustainable competitive advantage for a business.

Of course, the culture at Ikea is not for everyone - employees and customers alike. But I'm convinced that the culture at Ikea is "within" the people who work there and that belief in the core values of Ikea translates into a very successful, global retail format.

How well would you fit into the working culture at Ikea? Well you can find out by taking this short online test which poses a series of 10 work-based scenarios with a choice of actions. Take the test and see whether you'd fit!

I had a go, and the test provided the following feedback:
Congratulations! You're practically one of us already.
"You would probably like working at Ikea. We have a unique culture that combines our co-workers' individual qualities with working values that affect everything we do. We think you share those values."
Actually, I have an admission to make. I had watched the Ikea organisational culture video below several times and I think I'd developed a pretty good idea about the characteristics that I think Ikea would be looking for in their recruits. So I made selections that I expected would help me fit into the culture. Looks like I was pretty close!

The video above provide superb evidence for students who want to better understand the nature of a strong organisational culture.

Listen carefully to the comments made by the Ikea employees featured - and to the messages that they communicate about what working at Ikea is about.

I jotted a few down - they are consistent and point to a powerful organisational culture that is sustained through the recruitment and training process:

"The culture in Ikea is within each and everyone of us and that we, as co-workers within Ikea, create, develop and move the culture everyday that we come to work"

"It is about moving; we don't need to run faster but to find better ways; smarter ways to do it"

"If you want apply for a job at Ikea, you need to get your values straight. That you really know who you are. Because at Ikea, values are really important"

"You need to be down to earth and know why you want to make a career within Ikea"

"I'm really proud of working here"

"If you want to be a superstar or one-man show, this isn't the place to come and do that"

"This isn't a place to work for the faint-at-heart"

"We are actually living according the vision we have"

"We have to be different; if we just look to other companies, then we're just like them right?"

Much has been written about Ikea's culture and in particular the influence of Ikea's founder Ingvar Kamprad. This blog entry helps explain the role of Kamprad and also tells us more about the core values that he has instilled into the way that Ikea does business.

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Ikea's Distinctive and Positive Organisational Culture | tutor2u Business

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As you may know. I'm a big fan of the organisational culture at Ikea. It is a fabulous case study in how a strong culture can be a sustainable competitive advantage for a business. Of course, the culture at Ikea is not for everyone - employees and customers alike.

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Apple's secret culture

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Is "Apple's Culture of Secrecy" A Competitive Advantage? | tutor2u Business

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A thought-provoking video from CNN here in which the interviewee (Adam Lashinsky from Fortune Magazine) explains how he sees the role of secrecy in the organisational culture of Apple. Of course, we have to take what he says with a pinch of salt - how well-informed is the journalist?

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Changing the culture at Barclays

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All Change at Barclays: Can Jenkins Achieve his Cultural Transformation? | tutor2u Business

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Will Jenkins' change strategy work? Can he really achieve the desired change in corporate culture that will make Barclays the "go-to bank"?

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Culture at Walmart

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A Different Kind of "Shareholder" - the Corporate Culture of Walmart | tutor2u Business

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When Judith McKenna (COO Asda) joined us for the Business Teacher National Conference in June 2012 I remember noting down how a strong corporate culture was identified as being a key competitive strength of both Asda and its parent company Walmart.

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Toxic culture

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It is relatively easy to identify evidence on how organisational culture can be an intangible asset of a business - a source of competitive advantage and a key reason for a business enjoying industry-beating financial performance.

However, the reverse can also be true. If organisational culture is managed incorrectly or (worse) left un-managed, it can become dysfunctional or toxic. In these situations the organisational culture of a business can become a liability, not an asset. It can even lead to the failure of the business.

A useful analogy for corporate culture is to think of culture as being like a living, breathing eco-system.

Shaun Parr's e xcellent article in FastCompany uses the example of an aquarium to illustrate the concept:

"Long-term success is dependent on a culture that is nurtured and alive. Culture is the environment in which your strategy and your brand thrives or dies a slow death.

Think about it like a nurturing habitat for success. Culture cannot be manufactured. It has to be genuinely nurtured by everyone from the CEO down. Ignoring the health of your culture is like letting aquarium water get dirty. "

So think of toxic culture as an unhealthy environment - which ultimately might prove fatal for those tiny fishes swimming around the aquarium.

I like this definition of toxic culture:

"A toxic culture in an organisation creates an environment that can damage the emotional, physical or financial wellbeing of employees, customers and those associated with that organisation".

Of course, I'm not suggesting that leaders set out to create a toxic culture. Yet when a workplace culture evolves on its own with little attention given to positive relationships and employees & management aren't held accountable for inappropriate (or even illegal) actions, the mood at any organisation can turn poisonous.

The results of a toxic culture can be significant. For example, lower productivity, low morale, increased absenteeism and higher staff turnover. Ultimately, a toxic culture might lead to actions that become a cause of business failure.

So, what are the signs of a toxic culture?

Various experts have looked at this question and highlighted common symptoms of an organisational culture that is toxic. These include:

· Weak leadership - no clear sense of direction

· Double standards by leadership - if there are members of leadership who don't hold themselves accountable to the same standards and expectations as others in the business, the culture will soon be based on contempt

· Authoritarian or bullying leadership - if the leadership are bullies, then those who succeed in such a culture are likely to be bullies too. Authoritarian leadership too often creates a culture of fear and subservience.

· Openness and honesty: can everyone speak their mind? The alternative is a culture where important issues are swept under the carpet

· Lack of transparency and morality

· Dishonesty and corruption - the root of this culture is based in ambition and greed

· Reluctance to embrace change - can create a stifling environment where innovation and creativity are discouraged

· Rampant gossip/rumours - the rumours could be about other employees, leadership or strategy. But they spread fast and can have devastating effects.

· Us/Them mentality - which can often arise from weak leaders

· Retaining poor-performing staff - keeping them on board will frustrate the other good performers with a good attitude and they are much more likely to leave
Some examples of toxic culture
Remember, with toxic culture, we are looking for evidence or examples of a culture that appears to act as a liability for a business or organisation.

Here are a few suggestions:
Goldman Sachs
When Greg Smith famously left Goldman Sachs, he wrote in the New York Times:

"I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.... The firm has veered so far from the place I joined right out of college that I can no longer in good conscience say that I identify with what it stands for. "
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/opinion/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html Australian Olympic Swimming Team at London 2012
Australia has traditionally enjoyed great success through world-class performance in Olympic swimming meets. So what went wrong at London 2012?

The Australian team managed to win just one gold medal, despite being tipped for huge success.

An independent review (commissioned by Swimming Australia in the wake of the team's poor performance in London) found a failure of leadership and culture with Australian swimming's worst Olympics in two decades undermined by a lack of moral authority and discipline which manifested in a "schoolyard clamour for attention and influence".

Australia's 2012 Olympic swimming team was consumed by a "toxic" culture involving bullying, the misuse of prescription drugs and a lack of discipline, the damning report found.

The independent review, cited incidents of "getting drunk, misuse of prescription drugs, breaching curfews, deceit, bullying".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21501881 Barclays
Another recent example - and a very good one.

Barclays was one of several leading banks that were implicated in a scandal involving the fixing of the Libor interest rate. Whistle-blowers pointed to a culture of fear that allowed the practice to go on. The Serious Fraud Office launched a criminal inquiry into interest rate fixing amid increasing clamour for rogue bankers to be prosecuted.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/exclusive-barclays-insider-lifts-lid-on-banks-toxic-culture-7920809.html
The Libor scandal was a key factor in the appointment of Antony Jenkins as the new CEO of Barclays. One of his first actions was to commission an independent review into the culture at Barclays - which he clearly feared was turning toxic.

The subsequent Salz Review blamed "cultural shortcomings" at the bank for problems that led to the Libor-rigging scandal. The Salz Review said the bank needed a "transformational change" to restore its reputation among the public. The review said the bank had become too focused on profit and bonuses rather than the interests of customers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22012261 Enron
Perhaps the best example of how a toxic culture can ultimately lead to the collapse of an organisation. In Enron's case, this collapse was one of the biggest corporate scandals of all time and much of it can be directly traced to the culture of greed, aggression and plain illegal behaviour that was encouraged and tolerated by the senior management team.
http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2003-03-30/an-insiders-tale-of-enrons-toxic-culture

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Organisational Culture: Toxic Culture and Business Performance | tutor2u Business

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It is relatively easy to identify evidence on how organisational culture can be an intangible asset of a business - a source of competitive advantage and a key reason for a business enjoying industry-beating financial performance. However, the reverse can also be true.

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Tim Cook's quiet culture at Apple

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I highly recommend teachers and students reading this profile of Apple CEO Tim Cook. It is packed with insights into the leadership challenges faced by Cook, his leadership style and the link with organisational culture change at Apple.

Some key points I jotted down on first reading are:

Apple has been through an incredible transformation in terms of business scope and scale in the last few years:

"A transition was, perhaps, inevitable after an astonishing five-year run in which Apple's headcount tripled, its revenues rose over six-fold, its profits grew 12-fold, and its stock price jumped from $150 to a peak of $705 last fall."

Insights into the personality of Tim Cook:

"spread-sheeting-loving, consensus-oriented, even-keeled person"

"a thoughtful, data-driven executive who knows how to listen and who can be charming and funny in small group settings".

iPhone and iPad product lines continue to deliver enormous profits - serious "cash cows" too!

A change in culture:

"the Cook regime is also seen as kinder and gentler"

"It is not as crazy as it used to be. It is not as draconian"

"a new willingness to admit mistakes and a more open approach to problems such as poor working conditions at Chinese contract manufacturers."

But is the change in leadership and culture turning off some people who were previously attracted to working for Apple under Steve Jobs?

"I am being inundated by LinkedIn messages and emails both by people who I never imagined would leave Apple and by people who have been at Apple for a year, and who joined expecting something different than what they encountered, said one recruiter with ties to Apple."

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Leadership at Apple - Tim Cook's Quiet Cultural Revolution | tutor2u Business

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I highly recommend teachers and students reading this profile of Apple CEO Tim Cook. It is packed with insights into the leadership challenges faced by Cook, his leadership style and the link with organisational culture change at Apple.

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When culture needs to change

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At what stage does organisational culture need to fundamentally change?

When Kazou Hirai took over as CEO of Sony he made it clear that cultural change was top of his strategic agenda.

"Sony must change. Sony will change" said Hirai speaking in Tokyo as he took over the CEO role.

Cultural change was just one part of Hirai's strategic agenda, alongside some tough decisions about the scope of Sony's broad business activities. But, at the heart of the challenge facing Hirai is a culture at Sony that has led to the business losing its market-leading reputation for innovation. Not for nothing is Sony often referred to as the "Apple of the 80's"!

Back in the City of London, Antony Jenkins began his tenure as CEO of Barclays in 2012 with a similar statement of intent in response to the scandals that has rocked the financial services industry in general and Barclays in particular.

"Clean-up or clear off" was the message as Jenkins launched Project Transform - a significant corporate change management strategy designed to restore Barclays' reputation which has been so badly damaged though unethical and plain illegal actions.

Like many CEOs before him, Jenkins has recognised that in order to achieve broader strategic change, the culture of the business needs to be addressed. In a clear statement to Barclays staff who might not support the five new core values, Jenkins said:

"My message to those people is simple: Barclays is not the place for you. The rules have changed. You won't feel comfortable at Barclays and, to be frank, we won't feel comfortable with you as colleagues".

Sony and Barclays are two excellent examples of where the introduction of new leadership has prompted a change in strategic direction in which organisational culture change is seen as a key part of the process.

The linking of new leadership with attempted cultural change is not surprising when you consider that leadership and culture are essentially two sides of the same coin. A new CEO (or an existing one) can delegate many tasks, but the task of setting the culture cannot be delegated. Why? Because there is compelling evidence that business performance and culture are closely linked. If the CEO wants the business to achieve its corporate objectives, then the culture has to be right. In a major research programme, Harvard professors John Kotter and James Heskett found consistent correlation between robust, engaged cultures and high-performance business results.

As Steve Ballmer, now former CEO of Microsoft, said:
"Everything I do is a reinforcement or not of what we want to have happen culturally."
However, new leadership isn't the only cause of attempted culture change. It can be a symptom of other strategic issues which an organisation is trying to address. These can be grouped into two broad categories:
Culture change to improve business performance:
· Declining profits & revenues

· Inadequate returns on investment

· Low quality or standards of customer service
Culture change in response to changes in the external environment:
· Market changes - e.g. new competitors, impact of new technology

· Political & legal environment

· Change of ownership (e.g. takeover or merger)

· Economic conditions

Let's look at a couple more examples:
Transformation at the Royal Mail
Why Moya Greene took over as the CEO of Royal Mail Group in July 201, she inherited the leadership of a troubled business. The Royal Mail faced a rapid decline in revenue from letters, a huge pension deficit; union opposition to government plans for privatisation; and an unworkable regulatory framework that discouraged the business from introducing new products and prevented it from setting its own prices. Royal Mail was also trying to compete in the faster-growing parcels business against global operators such as DHL and TNT which enjoyed greater efficiency due to their scale.

The previous leadership team of Allan Leighton, chairman, and Adam Crozier, chief executive, had made some progress in modernising Royal Mail but was dogged by difficult industrial relations, making fundamental culture change very difficult.

Looking at the list of causes of culture change above, you can see that Royal Mail featured several of them - suggesting that the case for corporate culture change was pretty compelling!

In less than three years, Greene appears to have succeeded in achieving much of the necessary change in Royal Mail as it tries to improve its financial performance ahead of privatisation. According to one industry analyst this is because Greene has "succeeded by focusing on improving industrial relations, ensuring political will for privatisation and improving profit margins".

There can be no doubt that Greene has led the Royal Mail through one of the most complex organisational change programmes in UK business history. Much of the change has been driven by a programme of modernisation which has clearly posed both technological and HRM issues.

Greene has attributed much of the success of the organisational change achieved so far to an emphasis on strong, constant communication within the business as it has undergone the change. In a recent interview, Moya Greene said:

"Make sure you are up for it. This is not a 50-hour-a-week job. Try to get your arms around the full parameters of what you have to deal with as quickly as possible. Talk to lots of people. Go up. Go down. Go out. Go see as many of your own people. Go talk to them in small groups, in big groups."

Kodak - A "Culture of Complacency"
In the case of Royal Mail, the need for cultural change alongside broader organisational change was well recognised.

Another business that (finally) recognised the need for organisational culture change was Kodak. But in Kodak's case, the change came too late!

Kodak is a great example of a business that was essentially destroyed by its culture, although it was the rapid advance of digital photo technology that is commonly blamed for Kodak's demise. But, was it the technological advances that were the cause, or Kodak's failure to respond to them?

Kodak actually built one of the first digital cameras in 1975. But, it was that technology, followed by the development of smartphones that double as cameras, that battered Kodak's old film- and camera-making business to death. Why didn't Kodak respond to the significant changes in its external environment? Was culture to blame?

What had gone wrong? By 1976 Kodak accounted for 90% of film and 85% of camera sales in America. Until the 1990s it was regularly rated one of the world's five most valuable brands. Kodak's revenues peaked at nearly $16 billion in 1996 and its profits at $2.5 billion in 1999, at which time it employed over 145,000 workers worldwide Kodak was known as the "Google" of its time with a strong reputation for product innovation.

The Economist laid much of the blame at Kodak's culture, linking it to the fact that it enjoyed a near monopoly position in the key US market:

"Its culture did not help. Despite its strengths-hefty investment in research, a rigorous approach to manufacturing and good relations with its local community-Kodak had become a complacent monopolist"

According to Ross Kanter of Harvard Business School, another reason why Kodak was slow to change was that its executives "suffered from a mentality of perfect products, rather than the high-tech mindset of make it, launch it, fix it,". That suggests a culture that was poorly suited to the rapid pace of change in Kodak's markets.

Strategy and culture expert John Kotter famously described the deep-rooted source of Kodak's problems as a "culture of complacency".
"The organisation overflowed with complacency. Kodak was failing to keep up even before the digital revolution when Fuji started doing a better job with the old technology, the roll-film business. With the complacency so rock-solid, no one at the top devoted their priorities toward turning that problem into a huge urgency around a huge opportunity. All the people buried in the hierarchy who saw the oncoming problems and had ideas for solutions made no progress. Their bosses and peers ignored them."

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Organisational Culture: When the Culture Needs to Change | tutor2u Business

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At what stage does organisational culture need to fundamentally change? When Kazou Hirai took over as CEO of Sony he made it clear that cultural change was top of his strategic agenda. "Sony must change. Sony will change" said Hirai speaking in Tokyo as he took over the CEO role.

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The billionaire who created Ikea

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It is often claimed that the organisational culture of a business is formed and developed in the " shadow of the leader". And perhaps nowhere is this more true than the organisational culture of Ikea which was founded by Ingvar Kamprad.

Here is a some evidence which helps explain the concept and also tells us more about the core values that have been used to build the Ikea business.

Kamprad started his business around the kitchen aged just 17-years old. His earliest venture was buying matches in bulk in Stockholm and reselling them locally. He went on to sell fish, Christmas decorations and seeds before eventually settling on furniture.

By any measure, Kamprad's Ikea is a successful business. It recently recorded an annual net profit of £3.2 billion and achieved sales of £27.6 billion throughout 44 countries.

However, what is less well-known is that Ikea is actually a not-for-profit organisation. The profit achieved has to be reinvested into Ikea and its social enterprise activities.

The Daily Mail recently featured an article which focused on the frugal lifestyle led by Kamprad. Despite his personal fortune, he prefers to travel economy class, take the bus and eat at Ikea stores. I'm not convinced the claim that he takes the salt and pepper sachets from cafe tables is true - but you can imagine how this helps sustain the image and reputation of a man who believes in value for money!

In a recent, related article in the FT. Luke Johnson praised the cost-conscious approach of Kamprad. Johnson argued that frugality has never really been in fashion in business, but now more than ever it is needed. He wrote that:

"A founder with a profound sense of value is able to build a more resilient corporate culture. Ingvar Kamprad has become one of the wealthiest men ever born by making Ikea the largest and cheapest retailer of furniture in history. It sells home furnishings at prices no rival can match because it is managed with a spirit of thrift. Mr Kamprad practices what he preaches. He always flies economy-class, drives a 15-year-old Volvo, and says: "I am a bit tight with money, a sort of Swedish Scotsman. But so what? If I start to acquire luxurious things then this will only incite others to follow suit."

How can a focus on frugality, thrift or cost control result in a successful organisational culture? Can frugality be a source of competitive advantage?

As Luke Johnson points out, a culture of thrift isn't particularly exciting. It doesn't result in glamorous head office buildings, a jet-set lifestyle for top executives and sky-high bonuses for modest achievement.

However, a culture of thrift or frugality is often a vital ingredient of being able to sustain profits (profit quality), particularly through economic downturns. High-profile businesses that fail, often spectacularly (think RBS, Lehman Brothers, Enron) often have organisational cultures which emphasise greed and excess rather than frugality. When the good times end, the business comes tumbling down.

A culture of frugality is not enough on its own to guarantee success. Other key parts of the mix must exist - good quality; customer service; a product customers want to buy again and again. However, a culture that emphasises cost control helps set the tone for management decision-making and helps employees know what is expected of them.

I'll leave the last work on a culture of frugality to Ikea itself. You can read what they say about the link between Ingvar Kamprad's background and lifestyle here on their website. Here are two relevant quotes:

The values and culture of Inter IKEA Group reflect the entrepreneurial spirit of our founder Ingvar Kamprad. Our values have its roots in the Småland region of Sweden, where Ingvar Kamprad was born and grew up. It is a stony and rather rugged landscape where the inhabitants often were forced to get by on small means and make use of the scarce resources at their disposal. Smålanders have a reputation for being thrifty and innovative with a straightforward, no-nonsense approach to problem-solving in general and to business challenges in particular. This 'Småland legacy' is built into the IKEA culture and values, all over the world.

In the practical business world of today this means that IKEA values encourage a constant desire for renewal and a willingness to make changes, as well as a cost-conscious mindset applied in all areas of operations. They also imply a willingness to try solutions other than the conventional ones and daring to be different while maintaining practical connections with the day-to-day activities. Humbleness in approaching our task and simplicity in our way of doing things are also cornerstones in the IKEA culture.

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Organisational Culture: The Frugal Billionaire who Founded Ikea | tutor2u Business

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It is often claimed that the organisational culture of a business is formed and developed in the " shadow of the leader". And perhaps nowhere is this more true than the organisational culture of Ikea which was founded by Ingvar Kamprad.

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Culture - revision presentation

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Revision Presentation - Business Culture | tutor2u Business

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This updated revision presentation provides an overview of the concept of business culture, specifically in the context of strategic decision-making and change management.

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Culture examined in NHS

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Organisational Culture under Examination in the NHS | tutor2u Business

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The news has been packed with reactions to the findings of a public inquiry into the failings of Stafford Hospital. The Francis Report has called for sweeping changes (290 recommendations in total) to the culture and regulation of the NHS in England.

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Marissa Meyer at Yahoo - new leader & culture

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Is New Leadership Making a Difference at Yahoo? | tutor2u Business

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At times, it seems that Yahoo has had more CEOs than Chelsea FC have had managers. Yahoo has tried several times to change strategic direction through new leadership but has struggled to compete with Google in search engine and email.

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Link to videos about culture at Mars and Google

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RBS discovers the cost of a "selfish and self-serving" organisational culture | tutor2u Business

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Stephen Hester, chief executive at RBS, said after the settlement: "Libor manipulation is an extreme example of a selfish and self-serving culture that took hold in parts of the banking industry during the financial boom."

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Link to video, RBS self-serving culture, interest rates rigging

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RBS discovers the cost of a "selfish and self-serving" organisational culture | tutor2u Business

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Stephen Hester, chief executive at RBS, said after the settlement: "Libor manipulation is an extreme example of a selfish and self-serving culture that took hold in parts of the banking industry during the financial boom."

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Link to AMAZING videos on Steve Ballmer Microsoft

Culture

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I Love this Company! The Perfect Introduction to Corporate Culture | tutor2u Business