The Importance of Corporate Culture

The concept of company culture is important for most employers.  It is important because it actually constitutes an operating system for employers.  It assists in decision-making and determines how people behave when the boss is not looking.

An example of the importance given to corporate culture is the pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk, which encourages its culture in a set of principles called the “Novo Nordisk Way.”  It is a set of 10 norms known as “essentials” and are meant to guide decision-making.  

The type desired culture can vary significantly among companies.  A couple of companies with high employee ratings have examples of different approaches.  SpaceX does poorly on work-life balance, but scores highly for attributes likes innovation and perks.  Lockheed Martin does well among its employees on work-life balance, but less well for being on the cutting edge.  Some companies even have more aggressive cultures such as “we push past possible” and “we accept risks,” used by another drug company, Moderna.

The bottom line is that companies should take culture seriously.  This writer had a recent experience addressing workplace conduct such as fraternizing among employees and managers, and the practice of employees hugging each other and the like.  In this day of employee sensitivity and harassment allegations, what type of workplace culture should the company promote?

This article is part of our August 2025 Newsletter. 

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