Cordia Llp
Question One
Assess the strategic position of Cordia, paying particular attention to an organisational cultural perspective. ___________________________________________________________________
Organisational culture both limits and aids strategic processes in organisations and Cordia is no different. One of the most effective ways of understanding the impact of culture on the strategic processes of a company is through the analysis of that company’s culture. A revealing model is the cultural web which is mainly suited to this purpose. The cultural web shows the behavioural, physical and symbolic manifestations of a culture that inform or are informed by the ‘taken-for-granted’ paradigms of an organisation1. The following is a depiction of the cultural web of Cordia2 as interpreted by a group of managers within the company:
1 Johnson, G, Whittington, R Scholes, K, 2011. Exploring Strategy. Text and Cases. Essex: Prentice Hall – Page 176 2 http://www.scribd.com/word/removal/76663687
The Cultural Web explained: * Stories: These refer to the past events and people that are talked about inside and outside the company. Who the company chooses to immortalise says a great deal about where it places value and what it recognizes as great performance. Cordia boasts an impressive average of 22 years long service. Staff retention is high and employees rarely leave Cordia for other opportunities. As a result Cordia’s policy is for its employees to work until 65 years of age and then retire.
* Symbols: These refer to the visual representations of the company including logos, state of the offices and dress codes. Cordia has a 9 to 5 work pattern and has a ‘Directors Corridor’ which is described as the walk way to the Managing Director and Operations Director’s offices.
* Power Structures: These are the pockets of real power within the company. It may include senior executives or even a whole department. It basically refers to the person or group of
Assess the strategic position of Cordia, paying particular attention to an organisational cultural perspective. ___________________________________________________________________
Organisational culture both limits and aids strategic processes in organisations and Cordia is no different. One of the most effective ways of understanding the impact of culture on the strategic processes of a company is through the analysis of that company’s culture. A revealing model is the cultural web which is mainly suited to this purpose. The cultural web shows the behavioural, physical and symbolic manifestations of a culture that inform or are informed by the ‘taken-for-granted’ paradigms of an organisation1. The following is a depiction of the cultural web of Cordia2 as interpreted by a group of managers within the company:
1 Johnson, G, Whittington, R Scholes, K, 2011. Exploring Strategy. Text and Cases. Essex: Prentice Hall – Page 176 2 http://www.scribd.com/word/removal/76663687
The Cultural Web explained: * Stories: These refer to the past events and people that are talked about inside and outside the company. Who the company chooses to immortalise says a great deal about where it places value and what it recognizes as great performance. Cordia boasts an impressive average of 22 years long service. Staff retention is high and employees rarely leave Cordia for other opportunities. As a result Cordia’s policy is for its employees to work until 65 years of age and then retire.
* Symbols: These refer to the visual representations of the company including logos, state of the offices and dress codes. Cordia has a 9 to 5 work pattern and has a ‘Directors Corridor’ which is described as the walk way to the Managing Director and Operations Director’s offices.
* Power Structures: These are the pockets of real power within the company. It may include senior executives or even a whole department. It basically refers to the person or group of