Some are organised by managers, others are informal. The groups influence the behaviour of the individuals organised within them. The individuals within the groups make up the rules and norms for the behaviour of individuals. Unwritten and written rules are developed that guide the behaviour within the groups and between groups. Such is the strength of these unwritten rules that changing them can be very difficult or even impossible in the short term.
Individuals tend to conform to the group norms and rules.
It is important to understand these dynamics in companies to understand why some companies can change the way they do things very easily, yet other companies find it difficult or even impossible to change the way that things are done. This is to do with the values, beliefs, attitudes, preferences held and behaviours shown by the individuals and the groups they organise themselves into. The way things are done and the ability of the company to change these ways are sometimes termed the cultural capability of a company. When it comes to Supply Chain Management, the picture is complicated by the fact that any one company must deal with a multitude of different companies on an everyday basis. Each of those companies, be it a supplier or a customer, has its own cultural capability, its own ways of doing things and preferences of the people working in them.