How can a company maintain high productivity and generate innovation, all while keeping its workers motivated and inspired to create new ideas. The answer lies within the realms of organizational culture.  When analysing any company, the dynamics are generally quite diverse; employees have differentiable needs, goals, work habits, and motivators. One central unifier of an organization is its culture and relationship each person holds with the company itself.  This culture is easily visible and measurable when seeing the way workers act when they’re not being monitored: It’s a set of common beliefs shared by the entire organization. Companies around the world recognize organizational culture as fundamental in keeping workers satisfied, motivated, and happy. Google has become masterful and creating new ideas; undoubtedly a by-product of having such a strong culture.

They have the right balance. My question in regards to organizational culture, is how much is too much? Take Zappos for example: I love how focused they are on creating an open environment and bringing enjoyability to the office, where workers are intrinsically motivated and focused on customer service. If you take a look at what CEO Tony Hsieh’s desk looks like below, you’ll imediately catch on to the open office policy the company has created.

But will the finance department still be racing toy cars when the company is losing revenue? Will staffers still blow horns and ring cowbells if the profit isn’t rising by 5%? Is Zappos’ culture too extreme? I question the longevity of this kind of culture in the workplace, but only time will tell.

How much organizational culture is too much?