Fundamentals of Management, 8th ed

Organizational

Culture

The set of values,

beliefs, behaviors,

customs, and

attitudes that helps

the organization’s

members

understand what it

stands for, how it

does things, and

what it considers

important

North American

Free Trade

Agreement (NAFTA)

An agreement

among the United

States, Canada, and

Mexico to promote

trade with one

another

General Agreement

on Tariffs and Trade

(GATT)

A trade agreement

intended to promote

international trade

by reducing trade

barriers and making

it easier for all

nations to compete

in international

markets

World Trade

Organization (WTO)

An organization,

which currently

includes 140

member nations and

32 observer

countries, that

requires members to

open their markets to

international trade

and to follow WTO

rules

56

Part 1: An Introduction to Management

Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).

Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.

---

setting with rigid work rules and people dressed in conservative business attire. And

Texas Instruments likes to talk about its “shirtsleeve” culture, in which ties are avoided

and few managers even wear jackets. Southwest Airlines maintains a culture that stresses

fun and excitement.

Of course, the same culture is not necessarily found throughout an entire organization.

For example, the sales and marketing department may have a culture quite different from

that of the operations and manufacturing department. Regardless of its nature, however,

culture is a powerful force in organizations, one that can shape the firm’s overall effective-

ness and long-term success. Companies that can develop and maintain a strong culture,

such as Starbucks and Procter & Gamble, tend to be more effective than companies that

have trouble developing and maintaining a strong culture, such as Kmart.

46