Corporate culture

Getting started
Worn in small groups. Match the sentence beginnings (1-7) with their endings (a-g).
1 My company/organisation has a vision; ----:> a for example, it doesn't have a dress code.
2 We have an entrepreneurial culture; C-- b I know where it·s going; I share its goals .
3 People in my company are highly competitive; c the boss is autocratic, a nd wp do as we're told without question.
4 M y compa ny is pretty bureaucratic; d there are lots of regulations and 'correct procedures'. We ' Tt:>
5 My compan y has a supportive culture; encouraged to do things by the book.
6 My compan)' has a controll ing culture; e we battle each other for promotion a nd for bonuses .
7 My compa ny is quite informal; when we need them , we' re sent on training courses. Every
employee has a mentor.
g we're encouraged to look for new business and takr nsks.

2 look at the words and phrases in bold above and

match them to the following definitions.
a person who gives another person help and advice over
a pE'riod of tim e a nd often a lso coaches them in their job
m.e.t:!BJ(
2. a set of rules for wha t you can wear
:. aims
4 dema nd, total obed ience from staff
5 ex tra amounts of money given to you as a reward
6 iollow the rul.s exactly
7 view of how the co mpany will be in the future
8 invo lving ri sk-t(lking

10 Corporate culture
Aspects of corporate culture 02 2 Look at the list of aspects of company culture in
Getting started. Listen to the four speakers, and for
Talking point each one, decide which aspec t of their co mpany's
culture he/she mentions. Write one number by each
Discuss these questions in small groups.
speaker. You will not use all the numbers.
Which of the things mentioned in Exercise 1 on page 10
Candela: Sonia:
art' typical of your company's/ organisJtion's culture?
Henry: Omar:
2 Whi ch would you like to be part of your company's
cuhure? (U yau don't work for a company or
organ isat ion, talk about one you would like to work
for. ) Task tip
The speakers talk about the subject without using the
listening exact w ords in the list. You m ust listen for clues in w hat
they say to decide which is the correct answer.
You will hear four students on an MBA course discuss ing
their com panies ' cultures.

1 Before you listen, match these words or phrases Vocabulary

(1-10) with their definitions (a-j).
02 Complete each of the phrasal verbs below with one or
clit-th ro at a informal meE"tings two words (the definitions are given in brackets). When
2 back-up b Internet company you have finished, check your answers by listening to
3 get-togethers c making more efficient the conversation again.
4 sink or swim d paperwork
starting .()~t.. (beginning)
5 red l ape e responsible to the government
6 publicl y standard by which you can 2 talk things ...... .. .. .. (discuss thoroughly)
accountable judge the success of something 3 come . .. . .. ...... .. .. . ideas and solutions (produce
,, ideas and solutions)
streamlining g fierce; not involving
consideration or care about any 4 stick ........ ... . (follow. obey)
harm caused to othe rs 5 .. .. up (arrive)
8 dotcom h struggle of individuals in a 6 .... .. ahead (making progress)
competitive environment 7 it boils .... ..... .... to (th e essemialthing is)
9 yard stick succeed or fail without help
from dnyone else
Speaking
10 r.lt race support Work in pairs or groups of three. Describe the culture of
the company where you work, or a company you are
familiar with, using the following procedure.
• Before you speak. plan what you are going to say and
select words and phrases from the vocabulary you have
studied so far in this unit.
• Speak for about a minute.
• When you are listening to your partner's talk. th ink of a
question to ask at the end of it.

Useful language
I think there are three main aspects to my company's
culture: first , there's .. .
Another feature is .. .
Finally. I should say that
So. it's a good place to work, especially because .. /
l'd prefer it to be more ...
rat race

Corp orate culture 11

 Creating a corporate culture
Reading
Company
1 Read this passage fairly quickly and find out: background
who is respo nsible for infl uencing the culture within a company. Nucor Co rporation is II ; I J", \'"r"if ."
the largest stee l producer
2 how com pany cult ure affects a company's perfo rmance.
in the United States. It is also the nation's
3 what weakness many companies have w ith regard to corporat e culture.
largest recyc ler.
2 When you have finished, discuss your answers with a partner.

3 Choose the correct sentence (A-G) from page 13 for each gap in the
text (1-6). There is one sentence you will not need.

Even so, many directors are less

H
OW should a director think about
the" corporate culture" of the comfortable dealing with issues of
company on whose board he or corporate culture than they are with
F. Ken neth Iverson
she serves? Consult a management more easily quantified concepts like
text on organizational culture and you'll profitability or market share. Says are no company cars or corpo rate jets.
find a chapter or more of definition Edward Lawler, a professor at the The company offers four-year
which boils down to something like " a University of Southern California: scholarships to children of employees
pattern of shared basic assumptions. " U 3 .... .. An understanding of corporate to help them pursue higher education o r
Peter C. Browning, dean of the culture is one of the main things missing vocational training after high sc hool .
business school at Queens University, on boards, but they really need it if When business is slow, Nuco r reduces
North Carolina says: Every
U they're going to monitor what's going hours but doesn 't make workers
organization has a culture which on inside the corporation . " redundant . There's a highly effective
manifests itself in everything from So what should directors be doing incentive program. 5 ...... Ditto fo r the
entrepreneurship to risk-taking all the to evaluate corporate culture , and what shareholders: Nucor's total return to
way down to the dress code. 1 .9.. In
n actions can they take to influence it? investors last year was 37.9 %. better
some cases . it can do both. Recall how Peter Browning's favorite example than almost two-thirds of the other
18M's insular, conservative culture first is Nucor, the steel company. Nucor's companies in the Fortune 500.
helped the company soar to success- culture, which he describes as To ensure that Nucor's
and then nearly destroyed it before a "extraordinarily powerful, effective, and collaborative , trusting culture
new CEO, Louis Gerstner, arrived in unique, .. can be traced back to the continued , Browning recounts how he
1993 and saved the company. values and vision of its legendary " went out and visited innumerable
Browning considers corporate founder, F. Kenneth Iverson. The Nucor factories . I walked around. talked w ith
culture an important part of a board's story--of an egalitarian, collaborative. people on different shifts ... The n he
responsibilities . And he's not alone. In a high. performing business that's been made sure the other non-executive
recent survey, an overwhelming conSistently profitable in a notoriously directors did the same. 6 .. .... " It was
majority of directors say that culture tough industry-has been recounted in important for the board to get to know
has a powerful effect on their dozens of newspaper and magazine the culture so that we could suppo rt the
company's ethics, risk-taking, and articles and books, 4 . . Although the next generation of management as they
bottom·line performance. 2 . company earns $6.3 billion in revenues move forward , while preserving the
Furthermore, 79% say they believe a and has 9,900 employees, it has fewer values that really distinguish thi s
board can alter a company's culture. than 60 people in management. There company, " Browning says.

From Corporate Board Member

12 Corporate culture