Why Companies Struggle With Corporate Culture

While the vast majority of CEOs and CFOs feel that corporate culture is important to their organization, a stunningly low percentage think that their culture is right where it should be, according to a recent survey conducted by Columbia Business School and Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. The resulting report, "Corporate Culture: Evidence from the Field," indicates that formidable barriers stand in the way of positive progress, and organization leaders need to spend more time helping to develop the corporate culture. In addition, the report notes that managers must eliminate inefficient workplace interactions, while better engaging employees. Once such obstacles are overcome, however, an improved culture can have a major beneficial impact on key success drivers, such as employee productivity and profitability. "We discovered that culture is almost like air—it's everywhere yet invisible," said Shivaram Rajgopal, a professor at Columbia Business School. "When harnessed correctly, corporate culture can turn into a tailwind of progress instead of a headwind of obstruction." Nearly 2,000 CEOs and CFOs took part in the research.