Organizational Culture | Meaning and Definition

What is Organizational Culture?

An organizational culture entails the beliefs, values, behaviors, and attitudes that characterize the emotional and social work environment of the organization. Every enterprise features a unique culture and often it involves written and unwritten regulations that develop over time and are hard to change.

Also called corporate culture, organizational culture is different from the mission statement or goals of an organization. You can notice company culture in the way a team leader responds to challenging situations, how a CEO approaches a crisis, how a team prepares itself to meet the client’s demands, etc. 

A positive organizational culture upholds positive traits such as fair growth opportunities, effective and professional communication, strong purposes, and more. This directly contributes to enhancing the performance and productivity of employees. On the flip side, dysfunctional workplace culture does nothing but hinders the growth and success of the company. 

Importance of organizational culture

It influences virtually all the aspects of a company starting from the tone and punctuality of employees and staff to contract benefits, the way of dealing with clients, and so forth. A workplace culture that is in alignment with the expectations of the employees, tends to render them more comfortable, confident, and productive. Prioritizing company culture facilitates companies to tackle challenging scenarios effectively and emerge even stronger. Before applying to an organization, about 77% of candidates consider the work culture of the place. While half of the employees are ready to exit their existing job for an opportunity at a place with better culture even if it comes with lower pay. Better organizational culture promises higher job satisfaction and ensures employee retention.