A recent post from the Harvard Business Review delves into the subject of organizational culture. Titled “What is Organizational Culture? And Why Should We Care?” the post explores the vague and undefined meaning of the phenomenon and it’s impact on business success. Author Michael Watkins suggests that most can agree that organizational culture (1) does exist and (2) “plays a crucial role in shaping behavior in organizations,” but beyond that, the concept is rather subjective. Because most can agree on its importance, it’s vital to first gain an understanding of what organizational culture means, so that you can then determine how to positively influence it. Watkins initiated a LinkedIn discussion to try to understand what organizational culture means to different people. Here are some of the responses:

“Culture is how organizations ‘do things’.” — Robbie Katanga

“In large part, culture is a product of compensation.” — Alec Haverstick

“Organizational culture defines a jointly shared description of an organization from within.”— Bruce Perron

“Organizational culture is the sum of values and rituals which serve as ‘glue’ to integrate the members of the organization.” — Richard Perrin

“Organizational culture is civilization in the workplace.” — Alan Adler

“Culture is the organization’s immune system.” — Michael Watkins

“Organizational culture [is shaped by] the main culture of the society we live in, albeit with greater emphasis on particular parts of it.” — Elizabeth Skringar

“It over simplifies the situation in large organizations to assume there is only one culture… and it’s risky for new leaders to ignore the sub-cultures.” — Rolf Winkler

“An organization [is] a living culture… that can adapt to the reality as fast as possible.” — Abdi Osman Jama

Now, after considering these perspectives, think about what organizational culture means to you, where your present culture stands, and how you can change it for the better.

Click here to read the article from Harvard Business Review Blog Network.