9 Types of Organizational Culture:

Which One Are You?

APRIL 23, 2014 BY BRITTANI SPONAUGLE

Work culture is a topic that many of

us are familiar with, mostly because we work and we more often than not
do this with other people. The type of organization, the staff, the principles,
policies and values of the work place all make organizational culture what it
is. So what type of work culture do you work in? What type works better
than others? There is a large variety of organizational cultures that
materialize in different environments; some occur au natural and some are
implemented by the higher-ups in the company. Workplace ethos silently
(and sometimes not-so-silently) guide employees on how to behave
amongst each other, with customers and with management.
If you are running an organization and need a little refresher on key
management techniques, check out this Introduction to Management
course.

Importance of Organizational Culture

The culture of a workplace makes the organization what it is. Culture is the
sum of attitudes, customs and beliefs that distinguish one group of people
from another. Organizational culture is no different from ethnic culture
except it usually includes people from all different backgrounds and
histories. These cross-cultural connections can blossom into ingenuity and
understanding that promote a better workplace and arguably a better world
community. An office culture creates a unique brand for a company which
helps them stand out amongst the rest of their competitors. It also defines
standards and set procedures that give the company and furthermore the
employees direction as they conduct their daily business. Culture unifies
people and allows them to learn from one another and strive to be the best
they can be. No company exists without a culture, but every company

operates under a different type of one. Dont worry if you are struggling a
little bit to control and motivate your team it happens. Uncover skills you
didnt know you had in the Ultimate Management System online
guide.

Types of Organizational Culture

Before we get into the specific details of the different types of cultures, there
are two overarching models that companies will fall into, strong culture and
weak culture. In a strong culture, employees have a sense of empowerment
and understanding of the company goals, regulations and philosophy. This
kind of culture allows employees to be driven and feel respected which
benefits the overall health of a company. In a weak organizational culture,
employees are lost, unmotivated and operate under a regime of fear. Fear
may motivate individuals but not for long and for all of the wrong reasons.
Employees should never feel like they will be wrongly reprimanded for
making mistakes or needing a little extra guidance. Having trouble
disciplining your employees? Dont get crazy on them for minor oversights,
in Employee Discipline you can learn all the right tricks for dealing with
confrontation. Alright, now lets explore some organizational culture
archetypes.
Academy Culture
The name says it all. Academy culture depends on employees who are
highly skilled, studious and welcome further training and advancement.
This type of work place environment thrives off of intense training for
employees being brought on board and ongoing training for the employees
already there. Organizations that choose to follow this culture are very
particular about who they hire, their existing skill sets and their willingness
to learn and grow. This format of management keeps turn-over rates low
and the employees eager to do their job to the best of their ability. Many
hospitals, universities and other educational institutions rely on academy
culture to stay up to date on the newest information and technology.
Normative Culture
This is your everyday corporate workplace. Normative culture is very cut
and dry, following strict regulations and guidelines that uphold the policies
of the organization. Employees rarely deviate from their specific job role,
break rules or do anything other than what is asked of them. These type of
organizations run a tight ship and are not suited for every type of employee.
Know anything about The Carrot, The Whip or The Plant? These are objectoriented approaches to motivating your employees. Learn more about these
techniques and others inMotivating Employees.

 Pragmatic Culture
You know that saying the customer is always right? Well, that is the first
and only rule of a pragmatic culture workplace. The customer or client
comes before anything or anyone else. Because every customer is different,
these type of work places are very opposite of the normative culture
environment as employees dont adhere to strict rules. Whatever the
customer wants, the customer gets (within reason, of course).
Club Culture
Nothing but the best. This type of culture requires employees to be very
skilled and competent in their niche of work. Educational qualifications,
prior work experience and even personal interests are taken into
consideration before an employee is hired. (Learn effective hiring
methods if your organization follows club culture.) Club culture can be
seen in organizations like the FBI, commercial pilots and specialty branches
of the military. The hiring process can be pretty intense for these work
environments, requiring multiple interviews, a stellar resume (and
references to back it up), background checks and so on. The upside of being
a part of a club culture is your hard work will pay off. These types of
employers often reward hard work with promotions but with that are
frequent appraisals of your work and role within the company.
Baseball Team Culture
This could be the best type of organizational culture from an employees
stand point. Remember how pragmatic culture focuses on the customers?
Well, baseball team environments say its all about the employees. As long
as the workers are happy, comfortable and feel respected, the work will get
done and the employees will want to stick with the company for the long
haul. Google is a good example of a baseball team culture, the employees
get to pretty much do what they want, soup up their offices with whatever
makes them feel creative and its on the company dime. Company outings
are a regular thing, social events within the office and incentives are a big
component of this type of culture. Sounds good, right?
Fortress Culture
Contrary to baseball culture, fortress culture could be the worst (or the best
if youre really good at what you do) for employees. This type environment
is all about the numbers. If the organization is doing well as a result of the
employees productivity then the employees continue to have a job. If the
organization begins to see a downfall in success then the individuals that
arent pulling their weight are terminated. An example of a company that

follows this structure is WorldStrides and more specifically their sales

department. Salespeople have a very important job to do, they seek out
business, secure business and retain business. If a salesperson is not
fulfilling their quota or cannot meet the demands of the department then
the company will replace them in hopes of a better outcome with someone
else. Another downside to this type of work culture is the time and money
invested in training these employees. With such a high termination rate
these companies will hire a new set of people and be forced to train them
only to find out they cannot stay up to speed. However, if you are good at
what you do you will often be praised and will not have to worry about job
security.
Tough Guy Culture
Tough guy culture is basically another way of saying micro-management.
Employees are monitored every step of the way and when something does
not meet the standards or expectations of the company the employee is
given guidance and monitored further. It can be a tough (hence the name)
environment for some to work in especially if you are independent and have
a creative mind. An example of this would be in a customer service role.
Most companies have scripts that customer service representatives must
follow when answering calls in a call center. If you stray from the script at
all, even just a word, it can mean the difference between being in good
standing with management or bad. Calls are often recorded for quality
assurance and the employees will be reviewed consistently to ensure that
they are following the protocol. Sometimes these cultures follow the threestrikes-youre-out practice in which you can be terminated if you do not act
on any corrections provided to you during your review. Its hard to be
watched all the time but these type of companies just want to ensure
consistency and commitment to their customers and they need employees
that can be shaped to do just that. Performance reviews can be tricky, try
not to intimidate your employees, instead find tactful ways to say what you
need to say in Performance Evaluation Comments.
Process Culture
This type of office culture provides a set of regulations and procedures that
the employees follow. Its different than the normative culture as the
regulations are not a bullet-pointed list of dos and donts so much as it is
an ideology that the employees adhere to. Employees know what they are
getting into when they sign-up and are often self-starters. Unlike tough guy
culture, these employees are not micro-managed and they rarely are given
performance reviews. If they are given reviews its annually and its to
assess their work on a large scale, their aspirations within the company and

potentially a discussion about salary. More often than not, government

agencies run operate under the process culture.
Bet Your Company Culture
This culture is for the patient risk-takers. Organizations that follow this
culture are known to literally bet the success or failure of their company on
single decisions of which the outcome is completely unknown. It can be a
wild ride working for this type of company as you dont know what each day
is going to bring. The consequences of the decisions made by the
individuals working in the bet-your-company culture can be so dire that the
company goes under; contrarily, they can be so excellent that the company
thrives more than ever before.
Now you see that there are many different types of culture that develop
within a company. Some companies practice more than one of these and
some are strictly one of the above. Overall, rooting your employees on while
ensuring the customers are happy is the best balanced culture there is. Try
talking to your employees about what they like and dislike about the work
place and you can begin understanding what changes need to be made for
the health of your organization. Want to build a team of all-star employees?
(Who doesnt!) The course Develop Superstars will show you how.