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Leaderhip Vs Management

Organisational Culture:

The key to

Competitive Advantage

Table of Contents

Table of contents 1

Abstract 2

Introduction 3

Discussion
• Defining Organisational Culture 3
• The Relationship between Organisational Culture 5
& Competitive Advantage
• Why is Managing Corporate Culture Important? 6
• Culture as a Source of Competitive Advantage 8
• Cultivating an Effective Organisational Culture 9
• Implications for Managers 10

Conclusions 11

Glossary 13

References 14
Organisational Culture:
The Key to Competitive Advantage

Abstract

This paper examines how corporate culture affects competitive advantage in an organisation and what the implications are for managers. Initially, the definitions of culture and specifically organisational culture are looked into as they are currently understood. (A glossary is included with various definitions). The significance of core values in cultivating an organisational culture is discussed, including the seven dimensions by which corporate cultures may be characterised.

Secondly a brief look into the relationship between organisational culture and competitive advantage leads to the question of why managing corporate culture is important. In this section a distinction is made between adaptive and unadaptive cultures and their significance in determining competitive advantage for organisations. Examples of organisations who have harnessed organisational culture to give them a competitive edge are also included.

Then a brief look into the source of an organisation’s culture is undertaken by looking at the possible elements and factors that comprise company culture.
Ways of cultivating and managing an effective organisational culture are discussed with recommendations by different authors on how managers can achieve this goal.

Finally the implications for managers are given regarding recruitment of...