ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Are you a CEO, a HR director or other decision maker new to Organisational
Culture and interested in getting started? Or are you tasked to find
information about it on someone’s behalf, a consultant who is interested in
the topic, or are you simply curious to learn about it for personal growth?
No matter what you are looking for, in this article you will find what you need to
know in order to get started in the area of Organisational Culture.

Organisational Culture is a as Superman, in popular culture.

fascinating topic. Delving into Rituals can include activities done
your Organisational Culture can in your spare time, such as sauna
provide you with valuable and or karaoke, or work-related rituals,
unique insights to confidently such as meetings. Values are
take your next steps towards broad preferences for a certain
your goals. However, the term in state of affairs (e.g. preferring
itself, at first glance, can sound equality over hierarchy). Values
somewhat vague. It doesn’t help are transmitted by the environment
that Organisational Culture is we grow up in, for example,
spoken about in very different interactions that we have with our
ways, depending on the source. parents or teachers showing us
what is acceptable and what isn’t.
collective phenomenon, that is
At Hofstede Insights, we have
learned from your environment.
a very specific approach to As culture is a group phenomenon,
Organisational Culture. On this we use it to analyse the behaviour
Culture consists of various layers.
page we explain everything you of groups and make an assessment
We often compare it with an onion.
need to know in order to get of the likelihood of groups of people
started with the topic. acting in a certain way. That is to
In the outer layer of the
say, one person does not represent
onion, are the symbols.
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY “CULTURE”? a whole culture and the culture
The next layer consists of heroes.
does not represent the person.
In the third layer, closest to
Because culture is a word with However, a group of people from
the core, you’ll find rituals.
many meanings and connotations, one culture are more likely to act
At the core of culture, is
in order to avoid confusion, it is in a way that is appropriate for
what we refer to as values.
necessary for us to define what we that culture. Subsequently, people
mean by it. Our definition follows from the same culture tend to act
Symbols include things such
that of Professor Geert Hofstede’s, in a similar way, especially when
as food, logos, colours or
“the programming of the human they are together. From a business
monuments. Heroes can range
mind by which one group of people point of view, this makes culture an
from real life public figures, like
distinguishes itself from another additional tool of management,
statesmen, athletes or company
group”. It is always a shared, with regards to groups of people.
founders, to fictional figures, such

NATIONAL CULTURE AND
ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE - HOW
ARE THEY DIFFERENT AND WHICH ONE
SHOULD I FOCUS ON?
The “groups” Professor Hofstede
talks about in his definition of culture
can refer to a number of entities. In
our view, the two most important
ones are nations and organisations.
In the case of National Culture, the
groups are the nations themselves
and National Culture refers to
the programming of the human
mind by which the people of one
nation distinguish themselves from
the people of another nation.
When we talk about Organisational
Culture, the groups Professor
Hofstede’s definition refers to are
usually the organisations or, for
instance, the different functions of
an organisation. We talk about how
the members of the organisation
relate to each other, to their work
and to the outside world. And
we are interested in how all this
is different in one organisation, or
one function of that organisation,
compared to another.
Organisational Culture tends to
be more straightforward and
precise to measure than National
Culture. This is because, unlike
nations, most organisations have
clear objectives and requirements.
Most of the activities within the
organisation are designed to meet
those objectives and requirements.
While differences between
National Cultures are most
apparent in the values (more
about values here), differences
between organisations within the
same nation can most clearly
be seen in the practices of the
organisations. This is also why
Organisational Culture, unlike
National Culture, can be changed
by changing those practices.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF
ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE?
When going deeper into
analysing Organisational Culture,
it becomes necessary to make
divisions between different types.
In our approach, we divide
Organisational Culture in four
different themes, based on what it
is that is being discussed.
1. OPTIMAL CULTURE
Optimal culture is the
organisational culture that best
supports your organisation’s
strategy in order to be successful.
It should take into account the
restrictions that apply to your
organisation and the strategy your
organisation has. Restrictions such
as rules, legislation, economy or
other limiting factors should always
play a role in designing Optimal
culture. It is crucial to keep in mind
that optimal culture should always
be tailored for each organisation,
or function of an organisation.
It is never a good idea to try to
apply the culture of another
organisation as the optimal culture
for yours. Your context is unique,
the founders of the organisation
are different, and the economical
landscape is likely to be different.
2. ACTUAL CULTURE
Actual culture should be the basis
for all Organisational Culture
change projects. It is the culture
your organisation or department
currently has. In order to guarantee
accuracy and objectivity, actual
culture should be measured using
a valid and objective method,
such as our Multi-Focus ModelTM
on Organisational Culture. It is an
easy to use, yet systematic and
data-driven, tool based on sound,
scientific research that thousands
of global organisations have relied
on for shaping their culture, since
1985.  
3. PERCEIVED CULTURE
Perceived culture is the culture
people in the organisation think it
has. It is also the culture you think
your organisation has. You can
get more insight on the perceived
culture by asking others and this
might change your perception
of your organisation’s culture.
However, due to the subjective
nature of perceived culture, it is not
useful for aligning your culture with
your strategy as you will most likely
not get the complete and correct
picture about your organisation’s
actual culture. Implementing
changes based on perceived
culture alone, without measuring
the actual culture, is one of the
reasons why many Organisational
Culture change projects fail.
4. IDEAL WORK ENVIRONMENT
Ideal work environment is measured
exactly the same way as actual
culture, except that instead of
asking questions about the current
work environment, the respondents
describe the Organisational
Culture they would love to have. 
Measuring Ideal work environment
gives valuable information about
the preferences of the people
working in the organisation. It can
offer insights into how the targets
for Optimal culture should be set
and how difficult it will be to reach
them. For this reason it is useful to
measure, even though it does not
offer information about the current
state of things nor should it usually
be the goal your organisation
should strive for.
WHAT IS THE BEST ORG
ANISATIONAL CULTURE TO AIM FOR?
There is no one best Organisational
Culture to aim for, because the best
Organisational Culture is always
contextual. The key thing to keep in
mind is that the best Organisational
Culture your organisation should
aim for should be a culture that
best supports your strategy.
An up-and-coming start-up will most
likely have a very different strategy
than an already established
international organisation, and
the Organisational Culture should to concepts within the field of
reflect that. Similarly, the Optimal organisational sociology. These six
Culture of that up-and-coming factors became the six dimensions
start-up will probably change of Organisational Culture.
over time. Bigger organisations
tend to operate in different It is important to keep in mind
contexts and face different that, from a strategy and culture
requirements and restrictions and, alignment point of view, the
therefore, one day there may be individual dimensions work
a need for more structure and together. Each dimension
processes. If the Organisational is independent from the
Culture of the start-up remains other dimension, yet they
very flexible and employee can reinforce or mitigate
oriented, those processes each other´s relative impact.
will be difficult to implement.
Are you working on Diversity
It is important to note that and Inclusion? Dimensions to
the National Culture of the keep in mind are Organisational
organisation always affects Effectiveness, Professional
how the Organisational Culture focus and Approachability.
is perceived. An open and
approachable Organisational Are you facing issues with agile
Culture can create an effective ways of working? Dimensions to
self-steering  organisation if keep in mind are Organisational
the National Culture is fairly Effectiveness and Level of Control.
Individualistic and low on Power
Distance (more about the 6
Dimensions of National Culture
on our webiste). But in cultures
where seniority-based expertise is
expected, it may seem weak and
even incompetent.
WHAT ARE THE DIMENSIONS OF
ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE?
Organisational Culture is defined
as the way in which members of
an organisation relate to each
other, their work and the outside
world in comparison to other
organisations. It can either enable
or hinder an organisation’s strategy.
Our Multi-Focus Model on
Organisational Culture is the
result of a study on organisational
cultures research which showed
that a large part of the differences
among the units could be
explained by six factors related
THERE IS NO ONE BEST ORGANISATIONAL
CULTURE TO AIM FOR, BECAUSE THE BEST
ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE IS ALWAYS
CONTEXTUAL.
DIMENSION 1: ORGANISATIONAL
EFFECTIVENESS
Means-Oriented VS. Goal-Oriented
This dimension is closely
connected to the effectiveness
of the organisation. In a means-
oriented culture, the key feature
is the way in which work has to
be carried out; people identify
with the “how”. In a goal-oriented
culture, employees are primarily
out to achieve specific internal
goals or results, even if these
involve substantial risks; people
identify with the “what”.
In a highly means-oriented
culture, people perceive
themselves as avoiding risks and
making only a limited effort in
their jobs, while each workday is
pretty much the same. However,
in a very goal-oriented culture,
the employees are primarily out
to achieve specific internal goals
or results, even if these involve
substantial risks.
DIMENSION 3: LEVEL OF
CONTROL
Easygoing Work Discipline VS. Strict
Work Discipline
This dimension refers to the
amount of internal structuring,
control, and discipline. A very
easygoing culture reveals a
fluid internal structure, a lack of
predictability, and little control
and discipline; there is a lot of
improvisation and surprises. A very
strict work discipline reveals the
reverse. People are very cost-
conscious, punctual and serious.
DIMENSION 4: FOCUS
Local VS. Professional
In a local company, employees
identify with the boss and/
or the unit in which one works.
In a professional organisation,
the identity of an employee is
determined by his profession and/
or the content of the job.
organisation. In a very closed
organisation it is the reverse.
DIMENSION 6: MANAGEMENT
PHILOSOPHY
Employee-Oriented VS. Work-Oriented
This aspect of organisational
culture is most related to the
management philosophy. In very
employee-oriented organisations,
members of staff feel that personal
problems are taken into account
and that the organisation takes
responsibility for the welfare of its
employees, even if this is at the
expense of the work. In very work-
oriented organisations, there is
heavy pressure to perform the task
even if this is at the expense of
employees.
For more information on how to
get started with Organisational
Culture visit:
www.hofstede-insights.com

In a very local culture, employees

DIMENSION 2: CUSTOMER are very short-term directed,
they are internally focused and
ORIENTATION
Internally Driven VS. Externally Driven there is strong social control
to be like everybody else. In a
In a highly internally driven culture very professional culture it is the
employees perceive their task reverse.
towards the outside world as a
given, based on the idea that DIMENSION 5:
business ethics and honesty
matter most and that they
APPROACHABILITY
Open System VS. Closed System
know best what is good for the
customer and the world at large.
This dimension relates to the
accessibility of an organisation. In
In a very externally driven culture
a very open culture newcomers
the only emphasis is on meeting
are made immediately welcome,
the customer’s requirements;
one is open both to insiders and
results are most important and a
outsiders, and it is believed that
pragmatic rather than an ethical
almost anyone would fit in the
attitude prevails.