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Assessing organizational culture: What to ask plus best practices

Imagine a workplace where employees feel appreciated and inspired. A place where collaboration is second nature, giving and receiving feedback between co workers is an everyday scenario, and every individual's unique talents are celebrated.

This is what a thriving organizational culture is about.

Keep reading as we explore the ins and outs of organizational culture and why nurturing culture in your company is important. If you're part of a human resources team, you'll also learn sample questions to help you evaluate and assess organizational culture.

Let's get into it.

Table of contents

What exactly is organizational culture, examples of organizational culture, why is organizational culture important , 8 questions to help you assess organizational culture, the organizational culture assessment instrument (ocai): what is it, develop a robust and thriving company culture by assessing it regularly.

Organizational culture, also called company culture, is the set of values, behaviors, practices, and attitudes that the company's employees share.

It represents the shared mindset, attitudes, and assumptions of employees, management, and stakeholders, influencing how they interact, make decisions, and approach their work.

Organizational cultures can make or break even the strongest business models. An organization's current culture plays a vital role in shaping its overall performance, employee satisfaction, and how it is perceived internally and externally. It can be consciously cultivated by leadership or emerge organically over time based on the organization's history, employee behavior, and the personalities of its members.

Here are some examples of organizational culture:

Google : Google is renowned for its innovative and open culture . Employees are encouraged to think creatively and explore new ideas, even if they fail. The company's emphasis on a relaxed and fun work environment, with perks such as free meals and game rooms, fosters a sense of creativity and camaraderie among its workforce.

Zappos : Zappos is known for its customer-centric culture . The company strongly emphasizes delivering exceptional customer service and encourages employees to go above and beyond to exceed customer expectations. This customer-focused culture has been key to Zappos' success as an online retailer.

NASA : NASA's organizational culture is built around integrity, teamwork, safety, and excellence. The agency's focus on pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and exploration has been instrumental in achieving groundbreaking advancements in space science and technology.

These examples demonstrate how a healthy culture can profoundly influence a company's success. Each company's culture shapes its identity and has a significant impact on its ability to thrive and innovate in its respective industry.

While organizational culture is a broad and elusive concept, its impact is actually quantifiable. A 2019 report by SHRM revealed that the cost of turnover because of a toxic workplace culture exceeded $223 billion for the past 5 years in the US alone. These are the direct losses that employers needed to bear because of failing to create a workplace environment where employees could feel heard and respected, and that was motivating for them.

Job satisfaction is tightly related to both what your company culture is and how you’re communicating it to your employees. Conflicting messages will erode your employees’ trust while acting with integrity will foster loyalty and openness. 

Creating and nurturing a strong organizational culture will help your team in several ways. It'll help:

Improve performance and productivity

A positive culture that values collaboration and empowers employees can improve performance and increase productivity. Employees who feel motivated and appreciated are likelier to invest their best efforts in achieving the organization's long term goals.

Boost employee engagement

A thriving culture fosters a sense of belonging and purpose among employees, leading to higher levels of engagement. Engaged employees are more committed to their work, demonstrate increased productivity, and are less likely to seek employment elsewhere.

Attract talent, reduce turnover rates, and retain employees

A solid organizational culture is a magnet for top talent. It helps attract skilled individuals who align with the company values and mission. Furthermore, employees who find themselves in a culture that resonates with their values are more likely to stay with the organization long-term .

Foster innovation and creativity

A culture that encourages experimentation and risk-taking fosters innovation and creativity. Employees feel more comfortable sharing new ideas and approaches, leading to the development of groundbreaking solutions and products.

Promotes adaptability and resilience

A positive culture enables organizations to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and challenges. When employees feel supported and valued, they are more willing to embrace change and navigate uncertainties with resilience.

Better customer experiences

A culture that prioritizes customer satisfaction and service excellence results in better customer experiences. Employees who feel empowered to do their jobs and passionate about their work are likelier to go the extra mile to meet customer needs.

Enhances brand reputation

Organizational culture significantly impacts a company's brand reputation. A positive culture can create a strong and favorable impression on customers, partners, and the public, enhancing the organization's overall image.

Supports leadership development

A nurturing culture provides an environment that supports leadership development. It empowers employees to take on leadership roles, fostering a pipeline of skilled and capable leaders within the organization.

Learn more: How to hire great leaders

Employee well-being

A positive workplace culture prioritizes employee well-being and work-life balance . It recognizes the importance of supporting employees' physical and emotional health, leading to a healthier and more motivated workforce.

Learn more: How to improve employee wellbeing: 9 strategies for employers

Contributes to organizational longevity

Cultivating a positive culture contributes to organizational stability and longevity. A stable environment create a cohesive, resilient workforce that can weather challenges and sustain long-term success.

For these reasons, it makes sense to assess company culture regularly (for example every year), in order to be able to bridge the gap between your real and desired culture.

Assessing culture is the first step to figuring out if your real organizational culture is in line with your stated values. This will allow you to map out different ways to improve it. 

Let’s now look at the sample questions for a cultural assessment and the rationale behind each one. 

1. How is your organization structured?

The first question to ask would be about your organizational structure. In it, you can include the following subtopics and clarifying questions:

How many levels of leadership are there? 

Do you have a big (and diverse) leadership team, or are just a few people responsible for the key decisions at your organization?

Is the structure of your organization formal or informal? 

Do you need to go through official channels, or is it ok for people to bypass authority sometimes?

Based on the answers to these questions, you’d be able to assess the hierarchical structure of your organization:

Highly hierarchical structure: If your company is highly hierarchical, you probably have a well-defined formal structure with a few different levels of leadership. 

Moderately hierarchical structure: A moderate level of hierarchy means that people have well-defined roles with specific degrees of authority assigned to each role, but that it’s ok to question authority and work outside of the hierarchical framework sometimes.

Flat hierarchical structure: For companies with a low degree of hierarchy (also known as flat hierarchy), this means that employees can bypass and challenge authority, and that roles aren’t strictly defined. 

2. Does your organization embody its mission? 

If you asked 10 employees what the mission of your organization is, would you get 10 similar responses or 10 different ones? 

The culture of an organization should align with its mission, which, in turn, should be clearly communicated to both your employees and clients. If your employees struggle to define your mission, or if you’re getting answers that vary a lot, it’s a good idea to look into the reasons for this. 

You cannot artificially create a specific company culture you’d like to have: your culture is what you do, not what you say.

Maybe you have never explicitly defined the principles that inform your actions, but these principles still exist and are real. Your mission should be one of the cornerstones defining your organizational culture.

3. Is your organization people-oriented or task-oriented? 

A people-oriented organization focuses on the motivation of its employees in order to maintain productivity and perform well. Meanwhile, a task-oriented organization focuses more on efficiency and puts tasks, processes and workflows first. 

Task-oriented companies are often more formal and hierarchical in structure, while in people-oriented organizations, employees have a higher degree of independence and autonomy. 

To further assess this, consider the following question: does your organization’s orientation make sense, considering your industry and mission? 

A large multinational bank will probably operate differently than a small advertising agency, and that’s normal.

There isn’t a right or a wrong answer, but whatever the answer is, it needs to be in line with what you’re communicating, both externally and internally.

“ People first ” is one value many companies communicate to the outside world, but not all of them actually live by it, and a misalignment between the desired and the real organizational culture will create bitterness and distrust. 

4. What motivates employees? 

Motivation is highly personal and will inevitably vary from person to person, but if you’re able to pinpoint what motivates your employees, you’ll probably notice a pattern. So, what motivates your employees most? It could be a number of things, such as: 

A sense of mission

Opportunities for growth and development

Challenges and goals

Recognition (external or internal)

Benefits and compensation

Alternatively, it might also be a fear of underperforming (and its consequences), in which case you probably need to inspect its sources and address them.       

Motivation can be considered from another point of view as well: we could differentiate between intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation . Let’s look into that further: 

If your employees are motivated intrinsically, this means they are working because they find satisfaction and fulfillment from within. 

If they are motivated extrinsically, they are working for external rewards (recognition, benefits, etc.).

Intrinsic motivation is key to long-term employee satisfaction and productivity, and employees whose values align with those of their company are more likely to be intrinsically motivated to do the best work they can.

You can assess potential employees for culture compatibility with our culture add test , or also with a personality test .  

5. How is failure addressed? 

Every company and every employee will inevitably fail at some point. Of course, major failure is never ideal, and most organizations will strive to prevent it, as it can cost them clients, money, and even their reputation. 

However, the way you address team failures is crucial to your culture: 

Is failure viewed as an opportunity to strengthen bonds within the organization and as a lesson to learn from and grow? 

Or do moments of failure divide the organization and lower morale? 

When an organizational culture is one where employees fear failure, this leaves less room for innovation and experimentation. In this case, tried-and-true methods prevail, and there’s a high degree of predictability of the outcomes.

Some organizations, such as Netflix, Amazon, and Coca-Cola , actively seek to learn from failure: if you want to experiment and innovate, this implies that you’re taking risks, in which case the occasional failure is inevitable. However, the way you handle failure might sometimes heavily depend on your sector or industry as well.

6. Is your company collaborative or competitive?

Would your organization benefit more from collaboration between team members or competition between team members?

When assessing whether your company is competitive or collaborative, you need to keep in mind that neither is right nor wrong, but that one of them is simply a better fit for your organization. 

Organizations with a strong competitive culture are often fast-paced and they benefit from employees who put in extra effort and achieve specific results, which are often closely tied to profits, market share, volume of sales, response times, etc. When a competitive culture goes wrong though, it can lead to ethical compromises like with Wells Fargo, which has paid a $3 billion settlement for using fraudulent sales practices (which resulted from, among other factors, their high-pressure work environment).

According to Harvard Business Review , one way to check if a competitive work environment is leading to a positive or toxic culture is to identify whether employees feel anxious or excited in their work environment, especially when you’re announcing the next goals and performance targets. You could use anonymized surveys to check that. 

Meanwhile, collaborative organizational culture is essential for organizations where coordinated group effort and greater consensus are necessary to get the best results. One of its biggest pluses is the high rate of employee satisfaction and retention. A dysfunctional collaborative culture can lead to high performers feeling weighed down by a disorganized team, however.

7. What does leadership look like in your company? 

Leadership represents your company culture more than almost anything else. Wise leaders understand that their leadership has a direct impact on how employees feel and perform, and whether they’re likely to stay.

In fact, according to SHRM’s 2019 report , 6 out of 10 people who have left a job, have taken this decision because of their managers and the toxic workplace environment they create.

For this part of your organizational culture assessment, you could ask the following questions:

Do managers lead by example?

Do they delegate tasks efficiently?

Are there any power struggles within the leadership team? 

Is there a positive dynamic between leaders and their teams? 

Besides this, you could assess the diversity of your leadership, and how it’s affecting both your performance and your company culture. According to a 2020 report by McKinsey, companies that have more diverse leadership are more successful and have a better chance of outperforming their competitors.  

8. Are there any organizational subcultures?

If your organization has specialized teams and/or multiple locations, it’s likely that subcultures will develop within it. A subculture in this context refers to the fact that each team or location has a slightly different way of doing things. 

It’s important to analyze whether the subcultures within your organization are compatible and consistent with your overall organizational culture: 

A compatible subculture is beneficial to your organization and means that different teams and levels can communicate easily and work together smoothly. 

If a subculture is incompatible with your organizational culture, this might create conflict between teams, or be detrimental to morale. If there are parts of an organization that don’t work together well, this may be a culture clash issue.

Of course, different locations or teams might function differently simply because of the nature of their work or because of cultural specifics. You need to address this proactively and define how you’d like to handle this. 

The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument ( OCAI ) is a tool that helps determine and evaluate an organization's culture based on the Competing Values Framework. It is widely used by researchers, consultants, and leaders to understand an organization's current culture and its desired future culture.

The OCAI is based on the Competing Values Framework (CVF), which identifies four main types of organizational cultures:

Clan culture : Characterized by a friendly and collaborative environment, this culture emphasizes teamwork, employee development, and a family-like atmosphere. The focus is on mentorship and nurturing relationships.

Adhocracy culture : A dynamic, innovative culture that encourages risk-taking, creativity, and entrepreneurship. Organizations with this culture value experimentation and are quick to adapt to change.

Market culture : This culture is results-oriented and highly competitive. Organizations with a market culture prioritize achieving goals, meeting targets, and maintaining a competitive advantage.

Hierarchy culture : A culture that values stability, structure, and control. Organizations with a hierarchy culture have well-defined roles, clear procedures, and a focus on efficiency and stability.

The OCAI typically involves surveys or questionnaires administered to employees or key organizational stakeholders. Participants are asked to rank a series of statements representing the four culture types based on their perception of the organization's current culture and the culture they believe would be most beneficial for the organization's future. The process may also involve workshops and focus groups within the organization. 

Change begins with assessing where you stand. Assessing your company's organizational culture is the first step to creating a stimulating work environment where employees feel heard, appreciated, respected, and safe . You also want them in a physical environment where they're productive and efficient. 

Company culture directly impacts how well your company will perform in the future. It also needs to evolve constantly to support your objectives, which is now more urgent than ever. In their 2018 Global Culture Survey , Katzenbach Center and PWC found out that 80% of respondents said their organization's culture must change in the next five years for their organization to be successful and grow. 

Try TestGorilla for free so you can start assessing your organizational culture.

Recommended reading : 

3 inspiring workplace culture change examples

7 steps to a thriving workplace: A guide to cultural transformation

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Organizational Culture for Innovation: A Case Study Involving an University Faculty

• Published: 07 October 2022
• Volume 14 , pages 4675–4706, ( 2023 )

Cite this article

• Jairo Iván Orozco Arias   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2337-8941 1 &
• Olga Lucía Anzola Morales   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4865-9125 2  

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This research was made in the faculty of Social Communication and Journalism of a Colombian private university, renowned for its high-quality standards, with the goal to identify the actual characteristics of its organizational culture and its relationship in favor of innovation. This study was made with a mixed approach and involved compiled information gathered by using two instruments: the Inventory of Organizational Culture in Education Institutions (ICOE), designed by Marcone and Martin in  Psycothema, 15 (2), 292–299 ( 2003 ), and the TB Test, designed by Bridges in  The character of organizations: Using personality type in organization development . Davies-Black Publishers ( 2000 ), as well as semi-structured interviews done to professors and administrative staff. The gathered information was compared with both theoretical models of cultural analysis built for superior education organizations and representative researchers in the area of organizational culture for innovation, a field of study broad and consolidated nowadays but one that is not usually geared toward understanding and explaining the relationship between organizational culture and innovation in high education organizations. Our findings let us make a characterization of the organizational culture of the faculty and identify its cultural strengths and weaknesses regarding adopting and favoring innovation. Also, this empirical research adds up to an effort to make studies regarding organizational culture for innovation specifically geared toward high-education organizations.

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Source: Martins and Martins ( 2002 )

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Faculty of Social Communication-Journalism, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia

Jairo Iván Orozco Arias

Faculty of Business Administration, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia

Olga Lucía Anzola Morales

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propose a model for innovation-oriented organizational culture in a faculty within a Colombian university.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on University and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

ANNEX 1. Inventory of Organizational Culture in Education Institutions (ICOE) (Marcone & Martin, 2003 )

This questionnaire aims to understand your perception regarding the organizational culture of the Faculty of Social Communication and Journalism. Please, assign a grade from 1 to 5 the following 62 states, being 1 “I disagree completely;” 2 “I disagree;” 3 “neutral;” 4 “I agree;” 5 “I agree completely.”

I believe this faculty offers an environment that motivates students to give the best of themselves.

At the faculty, “being on the look” means to be alert to signals and messages that are generated in the pedagogical process and to act accordingly.

At the faculty, all ideas that change past educational practices are strengthened periodically and formally.

The changes experimented by our faculty, from its beginnings, demonstrate a creative and innovative life.

At the faculty, we value the directors’ efforts to create and keep a good communication system with other faculty members.

The existence of agile and expeditious communication channels guarantee our work’s success.

Directors let us know what is expected from each of us in a clear and explicit way.

Work meetings are announced in advance, in such a way that we know, opportunely, the topics that will be addressed.

In our university life there is a sequence of events that show a close union of the members.

At the faculty, we share the firm commitment to our students’ learning, which drives us toward pedagogical change.

By putting innovative ideas into practice, our leaders publicly express their willingness to change.

At the faculty, we tell how, thanks to our willpower and work, we have overcome the challenges that pedagogical change implies.

We value mistakes as part of our very nature and as a sometimes necessary step for learning.

At the faculty, we share the idea that error is deferred success.

In this faculty, it is common for directors to hearten us frequently, which encourages us to move forward.

In this faculty, every work well done or success of the staff is recorded, carefully and in a timely manner, in their resume.

Our history reveals a permanent learning of the faculty members, which has contributed to the current success achieved.

In this faculty, the directors support the professors in their work initiatives.

Daily conversations reveal our conviction that we will achieve the changes that this faculty requires to move forward.

Pedagogical innovation is constantly and publicly supported by directors.

Many projects, which at one time seemed unfeasible, have become a reality thanks to our efforts.

Opinions about work are well-regarded, no matter where they come from.

The search for consensus is the best way to resolve conflicts that originate in the faculty.

In this faculty we are used to telling each other things clearly and directly.

In the faculty, when there have been differences between professors and directors, positive action has always been taken.

In the faculty, the directors value the opinions and feelings of the staff.

The management style of directors reveals that they consider professors as responsible and capable of taking on challenges.

The directors’ communications clearly reflect what they want to say and do so with deep interest and respect for us.

We have photographs that remind us of the various stages of development we have gone through.

Directors do not miss an opportunity to demonstrate, with their own example, their commitment to the faculty.

At the faculty we act with great security, since we all know the rules of the game that rule our work.

The language used between directors and professors is clear and direct, which facilitates tasks and duties.

Many rumors circulate in the faculty about the impossibility of achieving the changes that positively transform life in this university.

In this faculty it is customary to recognize the efforts of the professors in the educational task.

The credibility of directors has been sustained, over time, in the coherence that they have managed to establish between what they say and what they do.

At the faculty, the work environment fosters autonomy and authenticity, on a level of equality and respect.

Our beliefs are very clearly reflected in the facts of daily life at the faculty.

Our students fully identify with the faculty, which is verified in daily life and in their behavior in public events.

We can easily reconstruct the history of the faculty by studying the existing documents.

In the faculty there is a real concern about the working conditions of all the staff.

At the faculty we think that managers are motivated by our good professional performance.

When we take action, the directors let us know, clearly and directly, that we have their support.

It is customary to promote our students' achievements, no matter how small they may be.

At the faculty we are told, clearly and firmly, that continuous effort is the key to success in our teaching work.

We meet periodically to review the established goals and determine what we have achieved and what we still need to achieve.

At the faculty, stories are told about how, thanks to joint efforts, very difficult goals were achieved.

The goals that are being pursued at this university respond to the demands and expectations of the community.

In the faculty, the directors encourage the participation of all the staff in the achievement of the objectives.

At the faculty, at the beginning of each academic term, the objectives and goals that will guide our efforts are established.

The history of our faculty shows us how the established goals have been achieved over time.

This faculty works to maintain communication that facilitates the integration and cohesion of the staff.

In this university, the professors’ councils constitute instances of study of deep reflection and search for adequate coordination.

The constant effort of directors and professors has made it possible to visualize a promising future.

An open doors policy allows us to participate equally in university life.

In the speeches and acts of university life, the importance of equity is highlighted as a norm of life.

In the faculty there is a recognition of efforts and a fair allocation of rewards.

In this university, when allocating resources, it has always tried to act with equity.

The motto “always do what is right” guides our actions in the daily life of the university.

What sets us apart from other universities is the enthusiasm we put into achieving our goals.

The instructions and guidelines for students, parents, guardians and the public are clear and precise.

In the faculty, before starting a new project, it is customary to create the conditions so that the professors can concentrate on their work.

Past events show us that the achievements reached have originated with the constant effort of professors and directors.

ANNEX 2. Bridges’ Test (Bridges, 2000 )

This questionnaire aims to identify the innovation profile of the organizational culture present in the faculty. Please rate the following 36 questions from 1 to 4, based on what is specified in each question, where the extreme values (1 and 4) imply that there is a strong point of view, while the average values (2 and 3) imply that the point of view is slightly inclined.

Does the faculty pay more attention to the requests of the clients-students or to its internal knowledge on how to work well? – Clients 1 2 3 4 know how to work well

Is the faculty better at producing and delivering goods and services or creating new ones? – Producing 1 2 3 4 creating new ones

What matters more to the faculty: management systems or people’s dedication to their work? – Management systems 1 2 3 4 people’s dedication

What does the faculty like more: to make procedures and policies very clear and explicit or do you prefer to leave people without much detail so that they can work their way within the basic instructions? – Make clear 1 2 3 4 leave without much detail

Can employees openly see how decisions are made in the organization or are decisions hidden from top management and appear mysteriously? – Very open 1 2 3 4 very hidden

Is leadership based on decision-making, taking into account detailed information on facts and events, or is it based on an approach to the fact or event in a schematic way and in general terms? – Detailed information 1 2 3 4 general terms

Is the faculty concerned about fulfilling the roles and functions of people, established effectively, or does it allow people to work based on the full exercise of their talents? – Official roles 1 2 3 4 people’s talents

Would you say that the faculty emphasizes rapid decision-making or waits for all points of view, even if this implies delays? – Rapid decision-making 1 2 3 4 delayed decision-making

Are decisions made based on market data and facts or rather on internal factors such as the experience and beliefs of the directors and the capacities of the faculty? – Market data 1 2 3 4 internal factors

Are the actions of the faculty based on current events and the present, or are they focused more on trends and expectations for the future? – Present 1 2 3 4 future

How decisions are really made in the faculty: with the head (moderated with a bit of humanism) or with the heart (supplemented with information)? – Moderated, with the head 1 2 3 4 balanced, with the heart

If there is an error in the faculty, is it due to hasty decisions or because many options were kept that delayed the decision? – Hasty decisions 1 2 3 4 too many options

In a project or job, do people collaborate naturally from the beginning or do they do it in a forced way and after each one defines the extent of their responsibilities? – From the beginning 1 2 3 4 in a forced way

When the changes have already been discussed, what demands more attention: the monitoring of the steps to achieve the objective or the final result and meet the agreed deadline? – Monitoring of the steps 1 2 3 4 final result

When it comes to staff issues, what is taken more seriously: policies and rules or individual circumstances and situations? – Policies and rules 1 2 3 4 individual circumstances

Are the actions of the faculty based mainly on the priorities and strategies already traced or on the opportunities and signs identified in the market or the environment? – Priorities 1 2 3 4 opportunities

Are the actions of the faculty influenced more by relationships with customers and competitors or are they the result of its identity, of following the organizational mission and culture? – Relationships 1 2 3 4 identity/mission

Is the faculty better at producing reliable products and services or generating ideas and designs whose results are presumed to be good? – Reliable products and services 1 2 3 4 novelty ideas

In the faculty, does the word “communication” mean giving and receiving information or keeping in touch with all the collaborators? – Giving and receiving 1 2 3 4 keeping in touch

Does the faculty work by established procedures and rules or does it work and decide mainly as things happen? – Procedures 1 2 3 4 as things happen

Is the scope of the faculty determined by the external challenges that are presented to it or by the availability of resources? – External challenges 1 2 3 4 resources

Is the form of leadership in the faculty identified more as solid and down to earth or more as intuitive and visionary? – Down to earth 1 2 3 4 visionary

Which is more accurate to describe what is expected of leaders: to act according to rational policies and rules or to act according to their sensitivity and sense of humanity? – Rational policies 1 2 3 4 sensitivity and a sense of humanity

To deal with situations, does the faculty choose between trying to decide as soon as possible or looking for options? – Decide soon 1 2 3 4 look for options

Does the faculty have an open point of view and allow itself to be influenced by the clients-students and the opinion of the employees or does it have a closed point of view and always respond to an already established management system? – Open 1 2 3 4 closed

Is action taken more in a practical and efficient way or in an ingenious and inventive way? – Practical way 1 2 3 4 inventive way

When you think of “what is right,” do you think more of what is logical and rational or what is human and sensible? – Logical and rational 1 2 3 4 human and sensible

Does the faculty in general seek to “hold on to something solid” or “go with the flow”? – Hold on something solid 1 2 3 4 go with the flow

In terms of strategy, is the faculty more focused on satisfying the clients-students and competitors or on the maximum use of the capacities of its employees? – Clients and competitors 1 2 3 4 capacities of its employees

When there are big changes, does the faculty prefer to do them step by step or all at once and in an integral way? – Step by step 1 2 3 4 integral way

Is the structure of the faculty based mainly on the hierarchy and the tasks of the organizational chart or on the relationships of its members? – Based on tasks 1 2 3 4 based on relationships

When planning projects, are deadlines followed and delivery dates met or are schedules made flexible and negotiated according to circumstances? – The plan is followed 1 2 3 4 it is flexible

Does the faculty seek alliances to work with other organizations or does it prefer to face the market on its own? – Works with others 1 2 3 4 goes on its own

Is the faculty better described as clinging to tried and true ways or open to new and uncertain ones? – Clinging to tried ways 1 2 3 4 open to new ways

Which word best describes your leader: criticism or motivation? – Criticism 1 2 3 4 motivation

Finally, are plans made thinking about the future or are they made living day to day? – Future 1 2 3 4 day to day

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Orozco Arias, J., Anzola Morales, O. Organizational Culture for Innovation: A Case Study Involving an University Faculty. J Knowl Econ 14 , 4675–4706 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-022-01069-9

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• NB Natalie Baumgartner is the Chief Workforce Scientist at Achievers , an employee-engagement platform. She’s a thought leader, advisor and speaker on corporate culture, employee experience and organizational transformation.

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Home » Management Case Studies » Case Study: Analysis of Organizational Culture at Google

Case Study: Analysis of Organizational Culture at Google

Google Inc came to life with the two brilliant people as the founder of the company. Those two were Larry Page and Sergey Brin . Both of them are a PhDs holder in computer science in Stanford University California. In their research project, they came out with a plan to make a search engine that ranked websites according to the number of other websites that linked to that site. Before Google was established, search engines had ranked site simply by the number of times the search term searched for appeared on the webpage. By the brilliant mind of Larry and Sergey, they develop the technology called PageRank algorithm . PageRank is a link analysis algorithm that assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of document, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of measuring its relative importance within the set. All this in-depth research leads to a glorious day which is on September 15, 1997 where Google.com domain was registered. Soon after that, on September 4, 1998, they formally incorporated their company, Google Inc, at a friend’s garage in Menlo Park California. The name Google originates from “Googol” which refers to the mathematical equivalent of the number one followed by a hundred zeros. In March 1999, the company moved into offices at 165 University Avenue in Palo Alto. After that, the company leased a complex of buildings in Mountain View. Ever since then, the location of the headquarter remain unchanged.

Google’s core business is to provide a search engine for the cyber user who would like to go to their desire site. The Google search engine attracted a number of internet users by its sleek and simple design but result in amazing search result. After the initial stage of Google establishing itself in the world, it began selling advertisements associated with the search keywords. The advertisements were text-based in order to maximize the page loading speed. Most of the Google Inc revenue relies on the advertisement and they had been successfully with the help of AdWords and AdSense in their system. After having some experience in the industry, Google itself launched its own free web-based email service, known as Gmail in 2004. This service is established to meet the need of the cyber user in order to store and send their document through online. In the same year, one of the most captivating technologies that Google had launched is the Google Earth. Google Earth is an amazing creation that is a map of the earth based on the satellite image. It requires you to type the desire location that you want to view and it will process the image for you. Furthermore, Google Inc made a new partnership with NASA with even enhances the Google technologies. Google also had its own Google Video which allows user to search the internet for videos. One of the most important things in the Google Inc is that they have a strong organizational culture which brings them closer and stronger compare with other firms. The values that they emphasis on are creativity, simplicity and innovation in order to gain competitive advantage against their competitor.

The Google Culture

Google is well known for their organizational cultures distinctiveness and uniqueness compared to their immediate competitors. On the Google corporate website, they have listed down 10 core principles that guide the actions of the entire organization. These are the values and assumptions shared within the organization. These values are also termed as ‘espoused values’, where it is not necessarily what the organization actually values even though the top executives of the company embrace them.

In Google, the daily organizational life is distinctive and is one that thrives on informal culture. The rituals that portray the organization’s culture as unique and possesses a small-company feel are portrayed daily at lunchtime, where almost all employees eat together at the many various office cafes while at the same time having an open, relaxed conversations with fellow Googlers that come from different teams. Also, because one of the Google culture’s main pillars are the pillar of innovation, every Googler are very comfortable at sharing ideas, thoughts, and opinions with one another in a very informal working environment. Every employee is a hands-on contributor and everyone wears several hats. Sergey and Brin also plays a big part of laying the foundation on what the Google culture is and the founders have continued to maintain the Google Way by organizing a weekly all-hands “TGIF” meetings for employees to pose questions directly at them.

Here are some of a few of their core principles which will provide a look into Google’s management philosophy and the type of culture they want to possess:

In Google, the motivated employees who ‘live’ the Google brand and are aligned to the company call themselves ‘Googlers’. Even former employees of Google have a name which they refer to themselves as ‘Xooglers’. This shows that in Google, their employees are so involved in the organization that they have their own symbolic name that mirrors the organization’s name and image, which is a sure sign of existing strong cultural values that are present within the company.

After tremendous growth in Google, the organization moved from a humble office building in Palo Alto, California back in its early days to its current office complex bought over from Silicon Graphics. The complex is popularly known as the Googleplex, which is a blend of the word ‘Google’ and ‘complex’. Googleplex is the result of a careful selection that serves to establish Google’s unique and individualistic culture in the eyes of the employees and the public. The corporate campus is built to provide a very fun, relaxed and colorful environment both inside and outside. Innovative design decisions provides Google employees 2000 car lots underground so that open spaces above and surrounding the building are filled with unique and interesting architectures that includes an on-site organic garden that supplies produces for Google’s various cafes, a bronze casting of a dinosaur fossil, a sand volleyball court, heated “endless pools” and also electric scooters along with hundreds of bikes scattered throughout the complex for Googlers to get to meetings across campuses. Googleplex is a significant departure from typical corporate campuses, challenging conventional thinking about private and public space. This also points out the alignment of values that are present in Google’s culture such as innovation, fun, laid-back, creativity and uniqueness that clearly shows that their organizational culture is truly unique and different from that of their competitors and other organizations.

Within the Googleplex, a truly attractive, fun and extraordinary workplace environment exists for Google employees. The interior of the headquarters is furnished with items like lava lamps and giant rubber balls while sofas, Google color coded chairs, and pool tables can be found at lounges and bar counters to express Google’s laid-back working atmosphere. The lobby contains a grand piano and a projection of current live Google search queries. The employees’ various needs are also taken care of by facilities such as the 19 cafes on campus which serves a variety of food choices for their diverse workforce, a gym, massage parlor, laundromats, and even micro kitchens, which provides snacks for employees who want a quick bite. This ensures that employees can be more productive and happy without ever leaving the workplace. A manifestation of Google’s creative and innovative culture is shown by the unconventional building design with high ceilings to let natural light in, durable floors made of tiny quartz stones, working British phone booths splashed in Google colors, and lounges that also serve as DIY libraries with cleverly placed low-reach book racks adorned with colorful Lego sets and cubes. All these innovative, creative and colorful designs are symbols of Google’s unique organizational culture that emphasizes on continuous innovation.

Google engages their employees by applying adaptive culture in the organization. From their core competency in search engine technology, Google has responded to customers change in needs by expanding onto the mobile market. The employees analyze, anticipate and seek out the opportunities to improve the organization’s performance by being proactive and quick in coming out with new technologies and solutions for mobile services. It aims to help people all over the world to do more tasks on their phone, not to mention the several different ways to access their Google search engine on a mobile phone. In addition, Google recently entered the smartphone market by launching the Google Nexus One smartphone in response to customer’s increasing need for smartphones, which is gaining ground on popularity because everyone is going mobile in the Information Age. This is the result of Google employees’ common mental model that the organization’s success depends on continuous change to support the stakeholders and also that they are solely responsible for the organization’s performance. The employees also believe that by entering into other markets beyond their core competency, the change is necessary and inevitable to keep pace with an ever changing and volatile technological market.

Google’s organizational culture places a huge importance of trust and transparency by having an informal corporate motto namely “Don’t be evil”. This slogan has become a central pillar to their identity and a part of their self-proclaimed core principles. It also forms the ethical codes of the organization where Google establishes a foundation for honest decision-making that disassociates Google from any and all cheating. Its ethical principles means that Google sets guiding principles for their advertising programs and practices, which is where most of their revenues come from. Google doesn’t breach the trust of its users so it doesn’t accept pop-up advertising, which is a disruptive form of advertisement that hinders with the user’s ability to see the content that they searched. And because they don’t manipulate rankings to put any of their partners higher in their search results or allow anyone to buy their way up the PageRank, the integrity of their search results are not compromised. This way, users trust Google’s objectivity and their ethical principles is one of the reasons why Google’s ad business had become so successful. The founders of Google believe strongly that ‘in the long term we will be better served, as shareholders and in all other ways, by a company that does good things for the world even if we forgo some short term gains.’

Analysis of Google Culture

Satisfied employees not only increase productivity and reduce turnover, but also enhance creativity and commitment. Google is already having a playful variation culture in the organization for the employees. This can enable the employees to have an enjoyment environment and this will be able enhance the relationship between the employees and strengthen their bond to work as a team. An enjoyment environment definitely can let the employees to feel satisfied and subsequently will increase productivity. Apart from that, this will shape a convenient work process for the employees that will smoothen the decision making process for the management team. Google already identified the employees are the organization’s internal customers and this is the reason why it has been constantly giving employees a sense of purpose, enhancing their self-esteem and sense of belonging for being a part of the organization. The company was reorganized into small teams that attacked hundreds of projects all at once. The founders give the employees great latitude, and they take the same latitude for themselves. Eric Schmidt says that Google merely appears to be disorganized. “We say we run the company chaotically. We run it at the edge. This can adapt the culture Google and therefore they can individually to generate the ideas on their own.

On the other hand, Google hires employees that have good academic results but without practical experience and this will be a threat to Google in terms of their organization’s operation. Google is a results-driven organization and if employees with only creative ideas but lacking of skills to realize the ideas they have initially planned, this will absolutely reduce the productivity of the organizations. Google had been public listed on year 2004 and therefore Google had to take the shareholders’ views into consideration before making any decision. The shareholders had been strongly emphasizing on reducing the employee benefits due to the high cost invested on it. This leads to the organizational culture would be degraded and the employees would feel less satisfied and affect their produced results. Employees are very important asset the Google while the shareholders also the contributor of funds for Google. The management team has to weight the importance of both of the stakeholders for the Google as this will create a different organizational culture .

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OrganisatiOnal Culture: a Case study

abstract Culture plays an important role in the performance of the organisation and in how potential employees perceive the company as an employer. A review of organisational culture and the lessons learnt from other successful organisations is imperative for the growth of the organisations. With the Schein's model of organisational culture as a theoretical framework, this paper discusses the employee-centric culture of Asia Pacific International Limited (APIL). The paper reviews the strengths and weaknesses of APIL in terms of its organisational culture. The paper would then discuss the case-studies of two successful organisations, J.C Penny and Infosys, both of which have a strong employee-centric culture like APIL. Based on the lessons learnt from these two case studies, we recommend a few organisational changes in the culture of APIL, which would lead to the success and growth of APIL.

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