Organisational Culture

Like a typical Gen-Y, I have had my fair share of job hopping (not as many as some I know though). And what I've noticed is that although organisations are made up of individuals working together, there was an unmistakable difference in corporate culture in each organisation. It isn't just working style, but age spread, dressing and even physical attractiveness.


While we always hear and read about equality in the workplace, we cannot totally run away from some sort of discrimination during the job application process. No matter how hard a recruiter or hiring manager wants to be impartial, there is always that human aspect of the interview that sways the decision. And of course on paper, anything can be justified if we put our minds to making sense of our choices.

Culture starts from the top and trickles down through the ranks. Whether intentional or unintentional, people with similar ideologies are recruited and remain on, which forms the culture of the organisation. I couldn't agree more with the following statement which I found in one of my study references:-

One of the many challenges in addressing culture is that people naturally gravitate to others like themselves so the culture of an organisation can self-propagate if recruitment processes and environment remain unchallenged. (IRM, 2012)

On a personal level, I feel that I've absorbed a bit of culture from each organisation I've been a part of. Perhaps the most obvious one is my use of language, email etiquette and stakeholder servicing. In effect, I'm a 'rojak' case, so as any other person who've job-hopped at some point, I think.

Every experience, pleasant or unsavory, is a learning point for personal growth. In fact, the steepest learning trajectory is usually during the difficult times.