This document provides an overview of cultural patterns and corporate cultures. It begins with a quick recap of concepts from Hofstede and Hall's work on cultural dimensions. It then introduces Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner's framework of universalism vs particularism, specific vs diffuse cultures, achieved vs ascribed status, and neutral vs emotional cultures. The document describes four types of corporate cultures - the incubator culture, guided missile culture, eiffel tower culture, and family culture - based on their positioning on dimensions of egalitarian vs hierarchical and person vs task orientations. Key characteristics and examples are provided for each corporate culture type.

1. More Cultural Patterns and
Corporate Cultures

2. More Cultural Patterns and Corporate
Cultures
• A quick review
• Another theoretical framework
• Corporate cultures

3. Reading:
• Trompenaars, F. and Hampden-Turner, C.
(2007) Riding the Waves of Culture:
Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business
2nd ed. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
• Trompenaars, F. and Hampden-Turner, C.
(2004) Managing People across cultures.
Chichester: Capstone. Chapter 1

4. A quick Recap
• What is ‘culture’?
• How is it related to business?
• Hofstede’s Dimensions
• Hall’s High- and Low- context cultures
• Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s Values

5. Emotions?
Neutral Cultures
• People keep their emotions
to close friends and family
• It’s unprofessional to show
emotions at work and in
public
Emotional Cultures
• It’s all right to laugh and cry
out loud
• It’s expected to be able to
‘read’ people.

6. Rules?
Universalism
• Rules are applied to
everyone
• No exceptions
Particularism
• It depends!
• ‘Who’ makes a difference in
my judgment.

7. Circles and Borders
Specific Cultures
• People assume different
roles in different contexts.
• A manager at work can be a
friend outside and a
subordinate in another
context.
Diffuse Cultures
• Even if they assume
different roles, people keep
their status.
• A manager will always be
higher than subordinates
regardless of the
place/context.

8. Status?
Achieved Status
• One ‘achieves’ a status
based on his/her last
performance.
• One can gain and lose status
based on their
achievements.
Ascribed Statues
• One can be ‘born’ to a high-
status family and thus be of
a high status him- or herself.
• Age, education, family
background,… all contribute
to status.

9. National and Corporate Culture
• Culture is ‘powerful’, and it remains even
when you try to change it.
• Every business, organisation, team, etc. has its
own ‘culture’.
• If culture is ‘the collective personality’, we can
see different/similar ‘personalities’ of
organisations, teams, groups, etc.
• Can cultures simply be ‘shaped’ like clay?

10. Describe in one word
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11. What’s Corporate Culture?
“A pattern of assumptions, invented, discovered, or
developed by a given group, as it learns to cope
with the problem of external adaptation and
internal integration, that has worked well enough to
be considered valid, and be taught to new
members, as the correct way to perceive, think, and
feel in relation to these problems.” (Ed Schein in
Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 2004: 21)

12. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner
• Corporate cultures follow somewhere along
combinations of different dimensions.
• Corporate cultures are placed somewhere
beween:
Egalitarian Vs. Hierarchical
Person Vs. Task
• A corporate culture (and in fact ‘culture in
general) is not ‘either/or’
• A corporate culture is a ‘living organism’.

14. The Incubator Culture
• Egalitarian and Person-oriented
• All people are equal
• A creative environment where new ideas ‘hatch’
• People-oriented as there are no defined tasks per
se.
• Anyone (of any status) can come up with a great
idea (egalitarian)
• Example: Silicon Valley
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15. The Guided Missile Culture
• Egalitarian and Task-oriented
• All are equal, and the boss is ‘the task’ itself.
• Multidisciplinary teams
• The team has one goal, and that is to achieve
the task. Negotiations are on equal footing.
• Example: NASA (over 100 disciplines in science
and engineering to land on the moon)
Image source: www.theverge.com

16. The Eiffel Tower Culture
• Hierarchical, Task-oriented
• Decisions come from the top
• Specific detailed instructions, and everyone
knows what’s expected
• Safe, predictable, and stable
• Example: a factory, a large bureaucracy

17. The Family Culture
• (Not necessarily a family business)
• Hierarchical and Person-oriented
• Warm, intimate, and caring
• The older cares about the younger (like a
father to a son)
• It is not the task but the person’s satisfaction
that matters
• Example: Japanese corporations

18. 4 Corporate Cultures
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19. Think in your group
• What’s the best thing about each corporate
culture?
• What’s the worst?
• Which one would you be more comfortable
being part of?

20. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (2004: 32)

21. Management Style

22. Power Orientation

23. Source of Cohesion

24. Principle of Control

25. Guiding Star or Watchword

26. Definition of Excellence

27. More Cultural Patterns and Corporate
Cultures
• A quick review
• Another theoretical framework
• Corporate cultures

28. References
• Trompenaars, F. and Hampden-Turner, C.
(2007) Riding the Waves of Culture:
Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business
2nd ed. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
• Trompenaars, F. and Hampden-Turner, C.
(2004) Managing People across cultures.
Chichester: Capstone. Chapter 1