What is a corporate culture?

2. A contributor named creditderivatives posts this about the

culture at Deutsche Bank Equities: "These guys were brilliant and

no-nonsense. Very tolerant atmosphere, but very focused. These

guys argued over the correct pricing approach for equity swaps

as opposed to which March Madness bound team had the best

chance of winning it all."

An "equity swap" is a complex financial bet, but in the end it

comes down to this: one side believes a stock will go up (or down)

more than another, and they put money on it.

There's not a lot of information here, but from what you

have, can you brainstorm a short list of words fitting the

culture and values Deutsche Bank fosters?

One important characteristic of corporate culture is

employee interaction: the way workers relate to each other

on the job. At Deutsche Bank, does it sound like the culture

values teamwork among workers, competition, or some mix?

Explain.

3. BigFatPanda writes, "I'd rather work on a desk with the trash

talk, like where people are on the verge of cutting each other."

"A desk" is Wall Street talk for a team of analysts working

together on investment strategies.

How would you describe the culture BigFatPanda prefers?

One of the recurring questions all managers face is "Will

more and better work get done if people work together or

compete with each other?" It's pretty obvious where

BigFatPanda comes down on this. From what he says and the

way he says it, what do you suppose are some of the potential

disadvantages of this organizational culture of competition?

4. jjc1122 writes, "When i used to work at the chicago mercantile

exchange, there were a lot of crazy stuff. traders routinely doing

coke in the bathroom, old irish guys hurling racial insults, fights,

and sleeping with their hot female clerks."

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9.6 Case Studies 461

He adds that his experience dates from 2005, but he'd heard that

things were actually a lot crazier in the earlier part of the

decade.

Two aspects of corporate culture are workplace mood (the

social energy and decorum of an office) and leisure time

. How has jjc1122's manager tuned those

aspects of the organization's culture?

One aspect of working culture involves life valuesthat is, the

extent to which on-the-job experience leaks out to color

nonwork concerns and life. What kinds of life values are

exhibited by this organization? What kind of theoretical

ethical argument could be made to criticize the manager's

promotion of these values?

The two basic ways that an organizational culture is instilled

are codes (established rules guiding an organization's

members) and social conditioning (guidance is provided by

following the cues and examples of others in the

organization). Do you suspect the values of jjc1122's Chicago

Mercantile Exchange workplace were established more by

codes or social conditioning? Why?

The instillation of a workplace culture through social

conditioning functions in a variety of ways. Three are

listed here. Can you fill in for each how it may have

worked in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 2005?

1. Stories and myths embedded in daily

conversations may indicate culturally

appropriate conduct.

2. Heroes or stars in the organization may

consistently communicate a common message

about the organization's guiding values.

3. The dress, speech, and physical work setting may

be arranged to cohere with the organization's

values.

One social way that an organizational culture may reinforce

itself is through a self-selective process. What is a selfselective

process? How might that process have worked to

reinforce the values guiding work life at the Chicago

Mercantile Exchange?

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9.6 Case Studies 462

5. Bondarb writes, "When i am out with goldman people and

somebody tells a joke they all look at the most senior GS person

there to see if they are allowed to laugh." GS is Goldman Sachs,

the global investment bank.

Make the case that employees constantly looking to

superiors for guidanceeven whether they should laugh at a

jokeshows that a strong, clear corporate culture exists at

Goldman.

Make the case that employees constantly looking to

superiors for guidanceeven whether they should laugh at a

jokeshows that a weak, ill-defined corporate culture exists

at Goldman.

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