There is no ‘right’ culture, only that which fits certain organisations – however we may decide there is a preferred culture over another.

Click here to take the evaluation to help you see towards which culture type does your organisation’s culture mostly belong to. Read the description below of each of the 4 types of organizational cultures

Examples of Networked culture–(High Sociability, Low Solidarity) PR, Advertising, Marketing

Examples of Fragmented culture– (Low Sociability, Low Solidarity) Consulting, Production line work, Cutting edge Research etc

Examples of Mercenary culture – (Low Sociability, High Solidarity) Surgeons, Air Force, Army, Navy, Pilots etc

Examples of Communal culture – (High Sociability, High Solidarity) Blue Chip organisations, Retail Stores, Quality Airlines, Department Stores

Networked

Highly sociable at the top levels of management, invites to functions seen as a reward as part of the in crowd
Can be too far removed from the ebb and flow of the business at ground level
Can create divisions of ‘them and us’ (management and workers)

Fragmented

People often working to own personal objectives (at expense of team objectives). Communication can be sporadic and on a needs basis. Limited sharing of best practice can be a consequence of sporadic communication.

Mercenary

There is a process for everything, and woe betide you if you do not know it Self-preservation, covering yourself for everything you do and making sure that you do it to your potential, but can be in isolation to the rest of the business or internal partners

Communal

People tend to communicate often and openly. However this ease of communication can often lead to mixed messages or miscommunication (slips of the tongue, discrepancy between what is said and what is conveyed attitudinally). Can produce not only inaccurate information in the workplace but also complacency.