It may seem simple or easy to place a company in one of these general groupings, yet each company is uniquely different. These models are provided to give some indication of the complexity of making generalized statements about the type of company culture that exists. They do provide some indications of critical factors to watch for, and some guidelines to use in trying to determine the culture of a company. Culture is influenced by the age of the company, as noted in the Adizes model. Some cultures can only survive in the early stages, for example.
Death can come in many ways.
In the corporate life cycle, death comes more often than success, particularly in the beginning. It is interesting to review the top companies of 100 years ago - few of those companies exist today. By digging into how things work, you can gain a glimmer of why they work that way. If you are in a position to influence the corporate culture, by understanding where you are, you can make changes to move your company, organization or department in a different direction. Beware of casting the corporate culture in concrete.