Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach, Concepts and Cases, 16/e

Cultural Aspects of Strategy Analysis and Choice

As defined in Chapter 4, organizational culture includes the set of shared values, beliefs, attitudes, customs, norms, rites, rituals, personalities, heroes, and heroines that describe a firm. Culture is the unique way an organization does business. It is the human dimension that creates solidarity and meaning, and it inspires commitment and productivity in an organization when strategy changes are made. All human beings have a basic need to make sense of the world, to feel in control, and to make meaning. When events threaten meaning, individuals react defensively. Managers and employees may even sabotage new strategies in an effort to recapture the status quo. For these reasons, it is beneficial ...