I.

Speak about at least one feature of organisational culture ( no more than 100 200

words ).

Kotter and Heskett of the Harvard Business School define organizational culture, "as an interdependent set of values and ways of behaving that are common to a community and tend to perpetuate themselves, sometimes over a long period of time"1. Robbins defines organizational culture as "a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations. This is a set of characteristics that the organization values. In my opinion organizational culture represents all the values, attitudes and behaviors that prevail in an organization, being transmitted to future generations as a way to thinking, normally feel and act, it has a decisive influence on the results and evolution of the organization. Robbins lists the following seven primary characteristics that capture the essence of an organization's culture: Innovation and risk taking Attention to detail Outcome orientation People orientation Team orientation Aggressiveness Stability Innovation and Risk Taking: Risk and returns go hand in hand. Places where you take a risk (calculated risk of course), the chances of returns are higher. Same goes for innovation. You could either be a follower or a pioneer. Pioneering has its share of risks, but at times it can also have a breakthrough outcome for the organization. Thus, innovation and risk taking is one of the main characteristics of organizational culture defining how much room the business allows for innovation.

Kotter, J. & Heskett J. Corporate Culture and Performance Free Press, 1992