ABSTRACT
Culture refers to the ideas and beliefs that give meaning to, but are conceptually separate from, the typical behaviours and structures of a society, community or organisation. Management theorists have borrowed the concept of culture from anthropology. Different organisations - and parts of organisations - have different cultures. While the culture of the National Health Service (NHS) to an outsider may appear distinctive, different teams, practices or hospitals often have established ways of doing things - a ‘different feel’. Cultures evolve slowly over time and are influenced by history, ownership, size, technology, objectives, external environment and type of people employed within that organisation. Belief systems and ways in which members of that organisation confer meaning on what they do cannot be easily controlled. The culture of the mammoth teaching hospital is manifestly different from that of general practice, which is different again from that of a mental health trust or a department of social services.
