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Discuss The Postive And Negative Influences Of Corporate Culture

The culture of an organisation can be seen as a set of core characteristics that are collectively valued by all members of that organisation; and, corporate culture is believed to be a key element in the success of any organisation (Visagie et al. 2002). Schein (2004) emphasises that organisational cultures provide group members with a way of giving meaning to their daily lives, setting guidelines and rules for how to behave and most important, reducing and containing the anxiety of dealing with an unpredictable and uncertain environment. The aim of this paper is to provide a clear demonstration of appropriate theoretical frameworks in relation to corporate culture; with the concentration on analysing its positive and negative influences on the success of organisations in the hotel industry. To demonstrate some of the points, issues regarding the Disneyland Hotels will be used as examples.

As Schein states, “culture is both a dynamic phenomenon that surrounds us at all times, being constantly enacted and created by our interactions with others and shaped by leadership behaviour, and a set of structures, routines, rules and norms that guide and constrain behaviour.” (Schein, 2004, p.1). Corporate culture is one of the major issues in academic research and education, in organisational theory as well as in management practice, therefore many versions of definition of corporate culture can be found in the available literature.

Schein (1992) explains organisation culture as the deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an organisation, that operate unconsciously and define in a basic “taken for granted” fashion an organisation’s view of its self and its environment. Brown (1998) cites the work of Eldridge and Crombie (1974) who states that the culture of an organisation refers to the unique configuration of norms, values, beliefs, ways of behaving and so on that characterise the manner in which groups and individuals...