When Culture Goes Wrong

Conclusions

When corporate culture goes wrong, how bad can it get? What’s right and wrong with the culture at your workplace? It’s hard to form a clear value judgment on something you live with every day, but a diagnostic survey can help. What happens when poor organizational culture permeates a company?

Here are a few symptoms:

  • Expectations are not clearly set for all employees.
  • Employees fill the void with what they believe to be the expected/desired behaviors.
  • Often, these behaviors are not aligned with desired behaviors.
  • Managers are disappointed with performance results.
  • Managers hold employees accountable for missed performance.
  • Employees are frustrated that they did not know what was expected.

What’s the result here?

  • Employees complain about communication with their managers.
  • Employees feel there is constant change in direction or confusion on goals.
  • Managers micro-manage.
  • Performance reviews are a dreaded exercise for both managers and employees.
  • Employees are often surprised at performance scores and frustrated at the result.
  • Goals are set, then not discussed again till review time.

Finally, what’s the impact on business?

  • Employee turnover is high.
  • Customer complaints are high.
  • Trust in management is low.
  • The bottom line continues to erode.
  1. What tools can we use to measure, assess and evaluate corporate culture?
  2. How can we diagnose and reevaluate it?
  3. How can we tell what’s wrong and how can we fix it?

Responses as quoted herein are usually global averages. To compare your culture with results from the USA or another market, contact the publisher. See the next page linked below, ”Assumptions You Should Avoid”.

Already taken the survey? Check out the results that can help your corporate culture.