Understanding What Creates a Company's Culture

In recent years, managers and business specialists of placed a great deal of focus on understanding how various companies' cultures influence the productivity and efficiency of the work environment. HOW we work and HOW we interact with our coworkers seems to be as important as what we produce and the purpose of our businesses and workplaces. What can be a mystery, however, is just how those company cultures get started. What are the factors that influence the creation of a company culture?

A company's or organization's "culture" is really a collection of shared values, expectations and belief systems. It tends to be a way of operating and going about the business of doing business but it is also a way of interacting with each other and with the outside world. There are several factors that can influence the establishment and growth of a particular company's culture.

To some extent, the founders or owners of a company or organization have influence over the overall company/organization culture. These individuals tend to set the basic mission and the initial values from which a company or organization is founded. Employees and others are then drawn to this company based on "what it stands for." The views of the founders can then have a trickle down influence on the culture that grows within the organization.

External factors can influence a company's culture as well. How the company interacts with the market, competitors and other outside realities can influence what the values and systems are within the organization. The type of product or service that is being sold, as well as how it is being distributed can cause the workers to build up a way of working and to value certain aspects of what the company or business stands for over others.

The employees and workers within the organization also influence the culture-especially early in the development of the organization. The values, age, educational level, and other traits and values influence the evolution of the culture within the company. The type of personnel and the way they interact with each other-whether between employees and coworkers and/or between employees and management-can set the tone for years to come in terms of the shared values and ways of working within a company or business.