According to RIM its culture is innovative, creative, encouraging and provides an environment that inspires people to realize their full potential. However according to Boy Genius Report an RIM employee wrote a letter stating the that RIM employs smart people with many great ideas for future but unfortunately the culture at RIM does not allow us to speak openly without having to worry about the career-limiting effects.
There are four layers that an organisational culture considers. The internal environment consists of elements within the organisation such as its technology, structure or business processes. Competitive environment is the industry specific environment comprising the organisations customers, suppliers and competitors. The general or macro environment includes political economic social, technological and legal factors that affect all the organisations. The external environment consists beyond the organisations control, it combines competitive and general environment.
According to Henry Hintzberg culture is the soul of organisation; the beliefs and the values and how they are manifest. According to Davis culture is a pattern of shared beliefs and values that give members of an organisation meaning and provide them with the rules for behaviour in their organisation (1984)
There are three components of culture. Artefacts represent the visible level e.g. the language or etiquette that someone coming in to contact with a culture will observe. RIM represents a very corporate orientated culture; where people are well dressed and well educated.
Espoused beliefs are beliefs members hold about their work and situations they deal with. As mentioned above according to an employee RIM culture is quite controlled whereas according to RIM’s own consent it is an innovative environment where people are welcomed to give new ideas. Basic underlying assumptions are deeply held ideas about the organisation the environment and the sources of success.