ge capital overview organizational culture and national culture

8/11/2019 GE Capital Overview Organizational Culture and National Culture

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overview

Organizational culture: The effect of behavioron performance

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Organizational culture: The effect of behavior on performance

This unambiguous response, and the condencewith which it was delivered, reected more than justone employees commitment to automobile safety. Itreected a pride of ownership throughout the company.It reected a workforce-wide understanding of thecompanys strategic goals. And it reected a powerful,deeply embedded corporate culture that drove businessperformance throughout the company.

Many years ago, a business consultant was touring the assembly line of a major automobile manufacturer. He came upona station at which employees were inserting small, metal pistons into the engines of a particular model. Over and overagain the pistons went in, and the cars moved down the assembly line. After observing this repetitive task for a while, theconsultant asked one of the employees, What do you do here? And the worker responded, I make cars safe.

What is culture?Organizational culture can be difcult to dene andeven harder to change. It is essentially the sum totalof the attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, and traditions of anorganization. It encompasses the collective goals of acompany and the standards of expected behavior inachieving those goals. And it describes the environmentand manner in which employees interact with eachother and the market.

Every company has its own complex and uniqueculture, based on the nature of its work, its history, itsleadership, the composition of its workforce, and evenits geographical location, says Athena Kaviris, wholeads human resources for GE Capital Americas. Andthese cultures are critical for helping employees denesuccess, guide behavior, and set common expectations.

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PERFORMANCE

CULTURE

STRATEGY

Corporate culture is hard to teach in a t raditionalsense, though it can be learned. It is usually learnedthrough a defined set of corporate values, incentivesystems, and ways in which people are managed, inwhich they communicate, and in which they prioritize.

In this manner, culture is both a cause and effect ofbehavior throughout an organization, as well as animportant enabler of high-performing companies.

Why is culture important?Culture can affect business outcomes in a numberof ways, both positive and negative. For example,cultures that are not aligned with corporate strategycan lead to decreased loyalty, a lack of motivation,and high employee turnover. Healthy cultures,however, impart pride and a sense of purpose toemployees, leading to increased productivity and agreater understanding of corporate goals, as with theemployee at the car manufacturing plant.

Strategy, operational performance, and culture are allstrongly related. High-performing companies often viewculture as an enabler of strategy and performance, andwant to create a culture that will support and enableemployees in achieving those goals.

For example, a culture of learning fosters curiosity andexploration, and may enable development of the skillsneeded to run an innovation-oriented business. A cultureof collaboration may result in high-performing teams.And in some companies, a culture that values families

and exible work hours may result in higher loyalty andlower employee turnover.

Organizational culture is more than just an internalphenomenon, however. A companys culture is oftenfelt outside of its own four walls. In this way, culturebecomes a very important part of a companys brand.So if a culture is not aligned with the brand, or thebrand does not naturally arise from that culture,then companies can develop a credibility problemby promising one thing to the market, but deliveringsomething else.

Thats why, in our experience, corporate culture, and thevalues upon which it is based, can be integrated intoevery aspect of a company, including leadership trainingand performance management. It should evolve as theworld and economic markets change. And it should becommunicated consistently, both internally and externally.

Key takeawaysOrganizational culture is often described as thecharacter of a company. Once established, it mustevolve and be cultivated and maintained continuously.And though the benets of a strong, healthy corporateculture are difcult to measure, they are very real.

Culture can: Reinforce strategic goals of the company by aligning

what the company does with how it does it Support skill development and operational

performance by fostering an environment thatvalues learning and advancement

Communicate the corporate brand to themarketplace through the actions of employees

Culture exists at all companies, whether it is activelymaintained or left to chance. It can be a liability or an

asset. And it is often the difference between short-termgains and long-term success.

Organizational culture is morethan just an internal phenomenon,however. A companys culture isoften felt outside of its own fourwalls. In this way, culture becomes

a very important part of acompanys brand.


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For more information, visit www.gecapital.com or followcompany news via Twitter (@GECapital).

Copyright 2012 Ge neral Electric Capital Corporation. All rights reserved. This publication provides general information and should not be used or taken as

business, nancial, tax, accounting, legal or other advice. It has been prepared withoutregard to the circumstances and objectives of anyone who may review it; therefore, you should not rely on this publication in place of expert advice or the exercise of yourindependent judgment. The views expressed in this publication reect those of the authorsand contributors and not necessarily the views of General Electric Capital Corporationor any of its afliates (together, GE). GE does not guarantee that the informationcontained in this publication is reliable, accurate, complete or current, and GE assumesno responsibility to update or amend the publication. GE makes no representationor warranties of any kind whatsoever regarding the contents of this publication, andaccepts no liability of any kind for any loss or harm arising from the use of the informationcontained in this publication.

GE, General Electric Company, General Electric, General Electric Capital Corporation,the GE Logo, and various other marks and logos used in this publication are registeredtrademarks, trade names and service marks of General Electric Company. You maynot use, reproduce, or redistribute this publication, any part of this publication, or anytrademark or trade name without the written permission of GE.


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ge capital overview organizational culture and national culture

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