Organizational Culture

What is Culture?
• Values, norms, guiding beliefs, and
understandings that is shared by members
of an organization
– Taught to new members as the correct way to
think, feel and behave

• Organizational culture exists at two levels

– Observable symbols
– Underlying values

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Levels of Corporate Culture

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 Emergence and Purpose of Culture

• Provides sense of organizational identity

• Two critical functions in organizations:
1. To integrate members so they know how to relate to one
another
2. To help organization adapt to external environment
• Internal Integration – collective identity and
know how to work together
• External Integration – how the organization
meets goals and deals with outsiders

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Same organization, same products…
but culture differs!

• Same organization, same products…then

why to change with culture?

• Culture differs?

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 National Culture
• Power Distance (PDI)
• Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV)
• Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS)
• Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI)
• Long term orientation

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 Aligning External with Internal
Motivation
• Google Inc.
– Ranked by Fortune magazine as the best place
in the U.S. to work in 2009.
– The founders believed that in order to attract the
best talent, they had to provide an environment
where people would want to come to work, have
fun, dream big and get rewarded for hard work.
– “Fun is good” principle.

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Aligning External with Internal
Motivation
• They understand that many humans
are not motivated by pay incentives
alone.
• Google Inc. believes that good
company culture is vital to company
success; therefore, Google hired a
Culture Czar.
Eric Schmitt says, “our priority is to offer a
customizable program that can be tailored to
the specific needs of each individual, whether
they enjoy ice climbing in Alaska, want to retire
by age 40, or plan to adopt 3 children”.

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 What Google Inc. Offers

• Google, Inc.’s CCO, Chief Culture Czar, Stacy Sullivan, is

devoted to one thing—make Googlers happy.
• Administering the best perks and rewards.
• Extrinsic benefits such as free health and dental benefits,
insurance, tuition reimbursement, and vacation packages.
• Unique benefits like maternity benefits up to 18 weeks off at
approximately 100% pay. They are provided with expenses
up to $500 for take-out meals during the first three months
that they are home with their new baby.
• Provides back-up child care.

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 What Google Inc. Offers

• Free lunch and dinner from gourmet chefs create a wide variety
of healthy and delicious meals every day and also offers
snacks.
• At Google headquarters in Mountain View, California employees
have the convenience of seeing a doctor on-site.
• At Google headquarters in Mountain View, there is on-site oil
change, car wash, dry cleaning, massage therapy, gym, hair
stylist, fitness classes and bike repair. Google, Inc. will
reimburse an employee for buying a hybrid car, up to $5000.

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Competitive Advantage: Culture?

• Culture can become a

weapon to win the war and
make extraordinary things
happen.
• The goal is not to change
culture but rather to
understand, activate and
utilize culture by
capitalizing on its latent
emotional power.
• Most prominent example:
Google
Google Inc Office
What Google Inc. Offers
• Provides adoption assistance by offering financial
assistance. Google, Inc. will reimburse employees up to
$5000 to use towards legal expenses.
• Free lunch and dinner from gourmet chefs create a wide
variety of healthy and delicious meals every day and also
offers snacks.
• Convenience of seeing a doctor on-site.
• On-site oil change, car wash, dry cleaning, massage
therapy, gym, hair stylist, fitness classes and bike repair.
Google, Inc. will reimburse an employee for buying a
hybrid car, up to $5000.

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Organizational Chart for Nordstrom

Nordstrom’s structure reflects the emphasis the department store

chain puts on empowering and supporting lower-level
employees.
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