ABSTRACT
What is organizational culture? Culture is a system of learned patterns of behaviour, ideas and products characteristic of a group or society. Organizational culture can be described in terms of patterns of cross-individual behavioural consistency within an organization. For example, when people say that culture is ‘the way we do things around here’, they are defining the consistent way in which people perform tasks, solve problems, resolve conflicts, and treat customers and employees. Culture is also defined by the informal values, norms and beliefs that guide how individuals and groups in an organization interact with each other and with people outside the organization. A strong organizational culture gives people a sense of identity, encourages commitment to the organization’s values and mission, and promotes stability.
