Ensuring Cultural Fit

The cultural imperatives of an organization are often not written down or even discussed, but all successful managers must learn what to do and what not do do in their organizations.

An organization's culture, or personality, refers to the key characteristics that the organization values and that distinguish it form other organizations. Managers need to be aware of organizational culture because they are expected to respond to the dictates of the culture themselves and also to develop an understanding of the culture in those they are managing.

The cultural imperatives of an organization are often not written down or even discussed, but all successful managers must learn what to do and what not do do in their organizations. In fact, the better the match between the manager's personal style and the organization's culture, the more successful the manager is likely to be. Founders create culture in three ways. First they hire and keep employees who think and feel the way they do. Second, founders indoctrinate and socialize these employees to their way of thinking. Their, founders act as role models, and their personality becomes central to the culture of the organization.

ACTION POINT: Identify the unwritten cultural imperatives for your organization.