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Corporate culture

Developing the mental orientation of the company

Corporate culture is characterised by deeply-rooted values and norms. Although these are generally not tangible they are reflected in everyday operations in the unspoken rules of action within the company.

Among other things corporate culture is manifested in what is expected of the actions and behaviour of a company or section.

The strategic reorientation and fundamental change of an organisation as a rule require an examination and adaptation of corporate culture. This often results in very different expectations of the behaviour of executives and staff.

Shaping this process of mental reorientation, the conversion of corporate culture, is the real challenge in every corporate change operation.

JP-Consulting will support you in the following tasks:

• diagnosis of the organisation
• conception of corporate culture development
• cultural work in the case of mergers and acquisitions
• psychological reorientation in the company/division
• developing the leadership culture further
• overcoming the generational change
• dealing with a change in ownership
• improving customer orientation

Here are some basic principles for work on and with corporate culture:

• organisations don't have a culture — they are cultures
• there is no point in differentiating between strategies for cultural change and strategies for change
• the important point is to think in cultural terms instead of thinking about culture

In the case of cultural change the decisive factor is the role of management - leadership is the key to corporate culture. Any changes in corporate culture can only take hold slowly. For this purpose it is important to have a well-structured change concept with a long-term approach which aims to change action and reach the hearts of people, because corporate culture is not experienced by thinking — it is the real substance of a company.

There is always a close correlation between the cultural features of an organisation and the demands of the market and those customer groups which the company serves. Both external and internal customer orientation are consequently an important aspect of corporate culture. This also means that the process of improving customer orientation will in the long term only succeed if there is cultural change.

The study "The Nature of Competitive Advantage", Europe's biggest strategic research project, indicates that work on corporate culture is "a further fundamental success factor for safeguarding the future of a company".

Important literature on the subject of corporate culture:

• Bate, Paul (1997), Cultural Change, München
• Sackmann, Sonja (2002), Corporate culture, Luchterhand
• Schein, Edgar H. (1995), Corporate culture, Campus Verlag