Organizational or corporate culture began to take hold among executives and change practitioners beginning in about the 1980s. Since that time, interest in cultural assessment and change has blossomed. Culture can refer to a wide variety of behaviors, actions, meanings, and symbols in organizations, including the following. Language, metaphor, and jargon. How organizational members speak to one another, using what terms.

Communication (patterns and media). Who communicates to whom, on what topics, using what media. In some large organizations, the highest leaders send e-mail to all employees, while in others in-person communication is preferred. Artifacts. For example, dress style or office décor. Some organizations have explicit rules for who is permitted what size office, with what furniture style, or even what model of phone or cell phone calling plan is authorized.

Values, ethics, and moral codes. Organizations have espoused values, those that they explicitly articulate, and hidden underlying values, those that guide decision making but about which organizational members are usually less conscious. Decision-making style. Including what information is needed before a decision is made, who is consulted, whether opinions are freely offered, who makes the final decision, and how it is communicated.

Elements of culture can be visible, such as styles of dress, office spaces, and language choices, and they can also be invisible or hidden, such as the organization’s values, ethical beliefs, and preferences. The more deeply held the belief and more tacit the assumption, often the more difficult it is to change. Cultural interventions often complement other types of interventions rather than being undertaken in isolation.