The organisational culture types of South African firms

Abstract

This article sets out to examine the organisational culture types of South African firms. A literature study revealed four common organisational culture types, namely a power, role, task and person culture. An empirical study of 3000 South African firms by means of a self-administered questionnaire, investigated which of the four organisational culture types the firms exhibit. It appears that most of the respondent firms have a task culture. This culture is one that can adapt quickly, and where influence is based on expertise rather than personal authority. This in turn indicates that most South African firms do have an organisational culture that is compatible with a changing and competitive environment.