Inclusivity in diversity: it’s about
‘Culture’ in a business is the unwritten rules for working together
AGoogle search for “culture in the workplace” uncovers pages of lengthy definitions, similar to one another, but subtly different. Susan M Heathfield, a US-based management and organisation development consultant, probably hits the nail on the head in unpacking the concept: “People in every workplace talk about organisational culture, that mysterious word that characterises the qualities of a work environment … culture is difficult to define …”
Heathfield does go on to write that culture is made up of “the values, beliefs, underlying assumptions, atti- tudes, and behaviours shared by a group of people. Culture is the behaviour that results when a group arrives at a set of — generally unspoken and unwritten — rules for working together.”
Whatever its definition, culture is inarguably a major contributing factor to the success of an organisation, more so today than ever before, says Patrick Hull, Africa Leadership Development director at Unilever.
“A lot of organisations are struggling with the challenge of doing more with less (resources), and realise that they need more discretionary efforts from people. Lots of organisations are therefore looking at the role that culture can play in achieving the best in people and breaking previous barriers so that people are clearer on what they can do and feel more confident about innovating and taking risks,” he says.
For Unilever, culture is quite simply about how things get done, says James Hu, talent manager for South Africa at Unilever. “Our culture is purpose and performance-driven,” he says.
It sounds simple enough, but it’s not when a company is a multinational, spanning over 180 countries and totalling over 170000 employees.
Unilever has tried to overcome this challenge through its Bright Future initiative, which unifies the organisation globally, while allowing for different approaches at a national level. At the heart of the Bright Future concept is the premise that the way to do business is to focus on doing good, thereby driving the organisation’s purpose and giving it direction, says Hu.
“Bright Future gives us all the same goal and objective,” Hu explains. “Each country may approach it differently, but ultimately it ties us together.”