The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication: A Guide to Internal Communication, Public Relations, Marketing, and Leadership

Organization Building Blocks and Culture

Every organization—large or small, public or private, for profit or nonprofit—has only four basic components with which to create an organization for its enterprise: strategy, structure, people, and processes. These four elements flow from a clear statement of the organization's mission or purpose. These building blocks are used to formulate, shape, integrate, and manage the assets of the organization. Thus, the organization's culture is formed, shaped, and reinforced through the interplay of these elements. For example:

1. Strategy articulates how resources will be focused and applied to accomplish the organization's mission.
2. Structure determines positioning and arrangement of resources the organization ...