GRACELDA T.

PANGANTIHON, CoE
University of the Immaculate Conception
Mater in Information Technology

Organizational Culture How does it Affects Corporate Performance

Developing the right organization culture is not just the responsibility of the
human resource department. The top management of every company is proactively
involved in the process. And why not, after all the corporate culture has a major
impact on employee morale and productivity. It is not about just being a good
employer, but about having employees committed to the vision and the strategy of the
organization, and possessing the will and the means to make these a reality.
There are however many companies who view their corporate culture only as a
recruitment tool and an element in employee motivation and communications. The
focus is now shifting and organizations are realizing that an effective corporate culture
engages employees at a fundamental level, and translates that engagement into high
performance. An effective culture also aligns with the business strategy to ensure the
organization meets its long-term goals.
Both research and practical observation of successful companies have
established a direct link between strong corporate cultures and high performance.
Culture has a vital and measurable impact on the organizations ability to
deliver on its strategy. Thats why you cant ignore it when tackling issues such as risk
management, customer relationship management, business process outsourcing,
change management, wellness, growth, or leadership. Thus culture is central for a
successful operation and to long-term effectiveness of the company.
Joji Gill, Director-HR, Microsoft India, says, Culture is the underlying shared
assumptions, values and beliefs of the organization which describes the way it
works.
She adds, Values are the foundation of any company and if the foundation is
weak the company can never grow and hence its very crucial to build strong values.
These values should be around innovation and methodology on how you focus and
utilize resources, and creates a vision of the organization.
Every organization has its own unique culture or value set. For instance, at
Microsoft the culture is an embodiment of their six core values that include integrity
and honesty; open and respectful; willing to take on big challenges; passion for
customers, partners and technology; accountable for commitments and personal
excellence and self-improvement.
Microsoft believes it is very important for the entire organization to have the
companys values align with its overall performance, including employee retention.
Recently the company did a few changes in the value system and is looking at few
more like feedback from peers and stakeholders.

Patni feels if the culture of the organization is not proper and transparent then
it leads to high attrition rate as corporate culture matters to the employees. Kalpana
Jaishankar, VP-HR Operations and People Development, Patni, feels that it is important
for an organization to build a performance culture, and if the employees are not
performing then it is necessary that the organization should give them a fair chance to
improve. She adds, The value system should be inculcated in all the employees, and
at Patni we have articulated values wherein customers come first.
Sudeesh Yezhuvath, Chief Operating Officer of Subex Azure, asserts that
fairness, innovation and commitment are the three values that drive the organization
culture. He believes that merging two cultures (when an organization has merged or
acquired another) well, is a supreme challenge that needs to be actively shaped and
carefully managed. He says, Organizations do not achieve a cultural change by
accident. They achieve it with a defined strategy for high involvement and a
measurable action plan. Hence, his company has a cultural integration task force
which looks at the alignment of the corporate culture at different levels.
The importance of corporate culture is growing as the result of several recent
developments. Companies are encouraging employees to be more responsible and act
and think like owners. They are also encouraging teamwork and the formation of
teams as a strong culture is one in which they work together effectively, share the
same values, and make decisions to meet the organizations primary goals and
objectives.
Microsofts employees are empowered to do their job, the company encourages
team spirit and do not focus on hierarchy. The company has My Microsoft, an
employee performance review system driven by certain values.
At Patni, open culture is encouraged and values workshops are conducted by
senior staff members to find out employees ideas about the companys values.
A company must cultivate a creative corporate culture that transcends the
ability to capitalize on emerging opportunities, and begins to create and exploit
opportunities in the global marketplace. Jaishankar adds, Our employees are
knowledge workers and hence we have given them freedom to innovate, we also have
learning environment for them. The employees are given freedom to freely interact
with their seniors, but we make sure that they are loyal and flexible to the
customers.