The concept of 'organisation culture' has become popular since the early 1980s. There is no consensus about its definition but most authors will agree that it is something holistic, historically determined, related to the things anthropologists study, socially constructed, soft and difficult to change. It is something an organisation has, but can also be seen as something an organisation is. Organisation cultures should be distinguished from national cultures.
Cultures manifest themselves, from superficial to deep, in symbols, heroes, rituals and values.
Differences in national cultures have been studied for over fifty countries. National culture differences are reflected in solutions to organisation problems in different countries, but also in the validity of management theories in these countries. Different national cultures have different preferred ways of structuring organisations and different patterns of employee motivation. For example, they limit the options for performance appraisal, management by objectives, strategic management and humanization of work. The position of an organisation on these dimensions is determined in part by the business or industry the organisation is in.