The Financial Times Guide to Management

12

Creating a culture

What kind of manager are you?

• What culture is and why it matters
• How different kinds of culture influence success and failure
• How to set missions, visions and values
• The link between risk, reputation and culture
• How you can monitor and ‘fix’ culture

Many of the problems surrounding management today – lack of trust, lack of performance, increased stress, bad ethics, bullying, tax evasion and declining job security – can be traced back to poor organisational cultures. Equally, most of the leading lights, from corporate bellwethers WL Gore to new sensations like Zappos, have achieved their success and cult status on account of the consistency and greatness of their cultures. Culture matters hugely, yet too many managers ...