The Character of a Corporation: How Your Company's Culture Can Make or Break Your Business

by Gareth R. Jones and Rob Goffee

Book Overview

Corporate culture is more than just a way to set the tone at work--it also affects the bottom line. That's why it's critical to understand your company's culture. Authors Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 088730902X
• ISBN13: 9780887309021
• Release Date: October 1998
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 237 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Essential to survivial and success of yourself and your comp

The authors describe four corporate culture types, give a self test for determining the type of culture that exists in your corporation, then provide detailed descriptions of the culture and the behaviors for success in the culture.The cultures are mapped using a device called Jophari's Window, which for some reason they have named the Double S square. Each culture is described in terms of its socialability (the influence of relationships on the culture) and solidarity (the influence of the drive to achieve common goals on the culture.) Unfortunately, the authors have chosen names with emotional baggage to describe the four cultures - mercenary, communal, fragmented and networked. Once the reader gets beyond that "mercenary" is not a "bad" culture, the reading gets easier.Each culture has both a positive and negative side, so in all eight culture types are described. The authors also provide effective ways to determine if the culture is serving or harming the objectives of the company, if the negative or positive aspect is in evidence and provide strategies for moving from one cultural "square" to another. They also provide tips on how to survive and succeed in each type.I found this book to be very easy to understand and quite accurate in its descriptions. I recognized my company as the "mercenary" type right away! The book not only helps companies who are stuggling to change their culture, but also provides excellent input for people who are considering a job or career change. While not explicitly stated, the job seeker can compare himself to the types of people attracted to each culture and indeed frame questions to use during the job search to determine the culture of prospective employers.The book is an easy read - accomplished in one or two evenings. The style is lively and engaging. The authors use anecdotes from their many consulting engagements, usually giving the name of the actual company, to provide examples of the cultures, behaviors, and cultural change efforts.I recommend this book highly to any company seeking to understand and/or change their corporate behavior. I also recommend it to all job seekers, as it can help avoid the costly mistake of accepting a position in a company whose culture does not mesh with the seeker's personality or even sense of ethics.