LEGAL ADVICE
Organizational Culture— What it is and Why is it Important? by Rashmi Airan, Consultant, The Franchise Consulting Company I have been a professional in the legal, business, government, and community sector during my years as an adult. Though I was not aware of it as I was working in these various positions, I was exposed to an organizational culture that focused on outcomes and results over values and behavioral norms. As a young twenty-something fresh out of college, I worked in a culture that emphasized roles withhierarchy and thrived on competition. Later as an eager
114
lawyer, I worked in a culture that inherently operated with many sub-cultures embedded within the organization. I am often asked to help others on finding the right f ranchise opportunity where there is a foundation of integrity in the organization’s culture. I have spent a significant amount of time doing research and understanding how corporations within one industry would operate in an organizational culture that is completely different from an entity that functions in another area altogether. As defined by
FEBRUARY 2020 | WWW.FRANCHISEJOURNAL.COM
Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, culture is defined as “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization.” Clearly, however, every organization (whether corporate, governmental, or non-profit) formulates and operates with a culture unique to that entity, thus begging the question: What is organizational culture, why is it important, and can it be defined? Culture is, essentially, the underlying values, assumptions, and beliefs that act as the heartbeat of an organization. These all contribute to the
