Corporate Culture In Business by Sujal Mirchandani

 Sujal Mirchandani

14 April 2025

Corporate Culture In Business

Corporate Culture is an essential aspect of almost all modern-day businesses. Corporate culture refers to all of the beliefs and behaviors that guide how a company’s management and employees interact and handle external business transactions (“Get the Corporate Culture Definition | Seismic”). Regardless of how big or small a company is, it certainly has an organizational culture that includes both the formal rules within the company and the informal norms, such as dress codes, traditions, etc. Corporate culture is the way the public perceives a firm as well as the way the firm influences employees’ motivation, performances, and choices. When a company creates a culture that enhances employees’ motivation, they will work harder and be useful to the firm. 

Professor Robert Quinn and Kim Cameron identified four different types of corporate cultures; clan, adhocracy, market, and hierarchy, based on two dimensions, flexibility and discretion versus stability and control. These cultures are evaluated to determine if they are influenced internally or externally. Some companies value stability by imposing strong measures, while other companies value flexibility and allow employees to have some power. The clan culture is like a family-like structure that values personal relationships within the firm. This culture is common in smaller businesses where a less formal culture evolves with employees looking out for each other.

The adhocracy culture are firms that value risk-taking, problem-solving nature and respond quickly to changes. Some firms that have an adhocracy culture are Uber, Facebook, and Nike since they focus on finding the best solution to any problem they face. Nike fits into this culture since the firm tries to make products that can be used by all kinds of athletes. Also, Nike reacts quickly to any challenges they face regarding their business. 

The market culture is characterized by being very results-oriented and competitive. These firms focus strongly on reaching their goals and objectives. Some firms that have this culture are Apple and Amazon since they emphasize innovation and user-experience. 

The last type of culture is hierarchical which is very formal and follows a chain of command. This culture has strict rules since they value stability and proficiency. This type of culture is most common in the military and is very less likely to accept changes. 

It is necessary that managers choose the right type of organizational culture for their firm since it can affect how employees’ perform. It is important to consider a firm’s goals and values and choose the culture that best represents those values. A strong culture can motivate employees to work hard and keep them loyal to the business. Also, the culture within a business can change as the business grows in size, so, it is necessary to monitor these changes so it doesn’t end up negatively affecting the business. 

Source: Adapted from Kim S. Cameron and Robert E. Quinn, Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006), p. 35.

Works Cited

“Get the Corporate Culture Definition | Seismic.” Seismic, 17 July 2024, 

seismic.com/enablement-explainers/what-is-the-corporate-culture-definition/#:~:text=Corporate%20culture%2C%20also%20known%20as,a%20company%20and%20its%20employees. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

Pride, William M., et al. Foundations of Business. Cengage Learning, 2023.