Culture

Culture, organizational culture or corporate culture consists of the employees’ own assumptions guiding them in what is appropriate behavior in different situations. Vision, values and norms are all important terms in corporate culture. (Ravasi, D. Schultz, M., 2006). According to Schein, there are three levels of organizational culture:

1. Artifacts and behavior: Artifacts are the visual parts of a culture, which an individual outside of the organization can notice more easily. It could be how the office is decorated, what the logo looks like or how people dress. It also applies to behavior in terms of how the employees communicate at lunch or what type of jokes are told and accepted.
2. Validated values and norms: The values that a company or organization stands behind and expresses. These are often summed up in a number of core values and communicated in business plans and in both internal and external communication. They guide employees in what the company believes in.
3. Common basic assumptions: These assumptions are deeply rooted behaviors that are usually taken for granted or expressed subconsciously. They are so well integrated into the organization that they can be difficult to detect from within. It could be how conflicts are resolved, how cooperation is conducted and the company’s view of its position in the surrounding world.