Social anthropologists are now as fascinated by corporate cultures as they once were by head-hunting tribes in Borneo. If increased profitability is an organizational goal, one of the best places to start improvements is with an examination of the organization's work culture. Basically, it is the sum total of the formal and informal systems by which things happen in an organization. The work culture reflects not only the organizational flowchart, but also who really has the power to make things happen, and how that power is used. The strongest component of the work culture is the beliefs and attitudes of the employees, the people who make up the culture.
Studies indicate that the single greatest influence on the work culture is the manager.
Employees soon realize that the best way to get ahead in an organization, while staying out of trouble, is to pay attention not so much to what the manager says, but to what the manager does. Actions, in fact, do speak louder than words. The belief system of the manager, as indicated by the manager's behavior, will usually be mirrored by a significant number of employees. Some of the major high-performance organizations, such as IBM, carefully select their employees to fit in with the existing corporate culture. Not everyone, of course, may want to work in such a uniform culture, but it does produce a highly productive organization, as well as very low employee turnover.