STRONG CORPORATE CULTURE VITAL FOR COMPANY SUCCESS

The recent economic boom in Kenya has taken its toll on more than just the corporate bottom line. It has also had a significant impact on the employment scenario and the work environment, as companies battle it out to retain employees. Some employees are left wondering what happened to the organizations they originally joined or even worse, most employees never really figure out what kind of organization it is that they are a part of. As Kenyan companies grow in size and become important players in the global market place, the very essence of these companies - its culture, is becoming of profound importance in order to maintain a competitive edge.
Employees are now looking for something better and more fulfilling in their lives and at work. As the battle for talent begins to heat up, it is more essential than ever for companies to provide employees with a strong and open corporate culture, and a meaningful work experience with a nurturing day-to-day work environment.
Although it surrounds us, corporate culture is hard to define. Simply stated, it is the glue that holds a company together through good times and bad. What is corporate culture? At its most basic, it's described as the personality of an organization, or simply as "how things are done around here." It guides how employees think, act, and feel. Corporate culture is a broad term used to define the unique personality or character of a particular company or organization, and includes such elements as core values and beliefs, corporate ethics, and rules of behavior. Corporate culture can be expressed in the company's mission statement and other communications, in the architectural style or interior decor of offices, by what people wear to work, by how people address each other, and in the titles given to various employees.
A strong corporate culture should be able to align an entire organization around a shared set of goals and objectives, while at the same time empowering employees to make decisions in their areas of responsibility.
A corporate culture should also reflect shared principles and values among all employees, from the bottom to the top of the corporate ladder. These values should remain constant and be recognized as being at the heart of the organization.
The importance of a company culture should not be overlooked. A good corporate culture goes a long way toward attracting the very best people and retaining that top talent. One outcome that has been quantified, in fact, is employee loyalty; turnover rates at companies with strong cultures are usually significantly lower than the industry average.
The core values of corporate culture remain constant. But it's important to recognize that for any organization to excel and survive in business today, systems, structures, styles and business practices must adapt -- often quickly -- to shifting business needs. Change is always over the horizon, and it is exciting as well as challenging. In fact, the ability to change when necessary is a key element of a strong and lasting company.
Managing Corporate Culture

Because corporate culture is based on taken-for-granted assumptions and beliefs, it can be an elusive concept. There may not be a single culture, but a number of cultures spread throughout the organization, and this does not make managing the corporate culture easier. There is no such thing as a "good" or "bad" culture, but only cultures that are appropriate or inappropriate.

The strength of culture clearly influences its impact on corporate behaviour. Strong cultures have more widely-shared and more clearly expressed beliefs and values than do weak ones. These values will probably have been developed over a considerable period of time and they will be perceived as functional in the sense that they help the organization achieve its purpose.

Culture is learned. Schein (1983) suggests that it is learned in two ways. First, there is the trauma model, in which members of the organization learn to cope using defense mechanisms. Second, there is the "positive reinforcement" model, where things that work become embedded and entrenched. Learning takes place as people adapt to and cope with external pressures, and as they develop successful approaches to carrying out organizational goals. The nature of those goals largely determines the way it goes about its business, and this in turn affects the way the corporate culture develops and is manifested within the organization. Against this background, organizational members, with the values, philosophy, beliefs, assumptions, and norms of top management playing a dominant role, create corporate culture.

According to Armstrong (1991) approaches to managing corporate culture and achieving cultural change in the workplace are:

● Reorganization to facilitate integration, to create departments or jobs which are responsible for new activities or to eliminate unnecessary layers of management.
● Organizational development to help the organization respond to change.
● Communication to get the message across
• Increase the identification of staff with the firm and therefore enhance their commitment. This could be done easily by creating a website with staff pictures, departments, and job titles.
• Provide the opportunity for all levels of staff to become more involved in the organization's affairs. Participatory management will help to improve the corporate culture. The sense of belonging will result in the increase in staff productivity and hence firm efficiency.
• Generate ideas from staff to develop the business, improve the levels of customer service, and increase productivity.
• Training can help form new attitudes about customer service, quality, managing and motivating people, or productivity; to increase commitment to the firm and its values; to review and challenge assumptions, and to improve skills or teach new skills.
• Recruitment of new employees to fit the desired culture or to reinforce the existing culture.
• Performance management to ensure that managers, supervisors, and staff are aware of their objectives and are assessed on results, and that performance improvement programmes consisting of self-development, coaching, counseling, and training are used to capitalize on strengths or overcome weaknesses.
• Reward management to enhance the cultural assumption that rewards should be related to achievement.
Corporate culture doesn't just happen. Making it work takes time and effort and a great deal of communication. Managers and executives must demonstrate commitment at every level of the organization to a positive, open and caring corporate culture. Taking the time to listen to employees, understand their needs and concerns, and then address them in our work environment will go a long way to help ensure the long-term viability of our business.