Perceived Influence of Corporate Culture to Internal Communication: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

An organization owes its sense of direction to its core values and purpose and their appeal to the people who adhere to them. These core values and purpose (or ideologies) that are often expressed in concrete, observable ways (or cultural forms) are formally known as corporate culture. This is where the organization bases its policies and actions. As Mondy and Noe put it, culture provides individuals “a sense of how to behave and what they ought to be doing”, which means it has power to affect every member of an organization (quoting Schwartz 1980, pp. 148-160). It can shape their thinking and the ways they go about with their work. It pervades the whole organization so it is not surprising if it can also shape the way people interact with one another within the company. The study aimed to answer this basic question: What is the perceived relationship of corporate culture to internal communication? It was premised on Clampitt’s theory that corporate culture, though it does not directly specify, encourages certain types of interactions. To obtain answer to the research problem, the following information were determined: 1) presence of a distinct corporate culture as reflected in the ideologies and cultural forms existing in the company; 2) certain aspects of internal communication in the organization which include particular communicative behaviors used by both management and employees, expression of non-work related information, the degree of formality, communication frequency, and the media through which communication is done; and 3) if there is a relationship perceived to be existing between the organization’s culture and its internal communication. Internal communication was viewed in terms of management and employees as participants in the communication process. Using convenient sampling, fifty (50) people from Development Bank of the Philippines Main Office were asked to participate in the study. The data were acquired using self-administered questionnaires and interviews of key people of DBP. The research was descriptive survey in nature. Presentation and analysis of data gathered were in forms of percentage distribution and mean rating. The Likert and 5-point frequency scales were also used. The collected information were integrated accordingly in the data presentation and analysis. All the symbols, language, narratives, and practices mentioned are used as means to communicate and perpetuate the DBP culture except for corporate song. There is convincing evidence that DBP has a set of ideologies which they use as guide. There is also significant evidence showing that DBP explicitly states and widely communicates these ideologies and engenders a sense of belongingness. The bank’s total commitment and tangible efforts to instill these ideologies to every member account for the employees’ embrace and apparent belief in them. There is some evidence that DBP tries to influence members’ behavior to be consistent with its ideologies. Meanwhile, management and employees always practice open communication and engage in mutual information exchange. Employees freely express their feeling as well as ideas always but particular views and attitudes towards job, associates, and the organization are only sometimes made known to the management. Communication informality in terms of the medium more frequently used, they way meetings are conducted, use of first names among organizational members, and the information exchange itself is likewise sometimes practiced. Regular communication and instant feedback are always done but meetings where management and employees directly communicate with each other and where anything employees need to know about their company and their jobs are discussed or reviewed are only sometimes performed. Written memos appear to be the most frequently used medium for communication. The researcher arrived at the following conclusions: 1. DBP has a distinct corporate culture, as reflected by the ideologies it upholds and the vehicles by which this culture is expressed. 2. Communication between management and subordinates in DBP is bilateral. Messages exchanged between management and employees are not entirely formal, work-related information. There is always room for information relevant to personal views, though specific opinions are just occasionally conveyed. Members are more formal rather than casual in relating with one another during meetings and ordinary work circumstances. The bank encourages regular communication and instant feedback but face-to-fare encounters where management and employees communicate directly as well as meetings where employees are kept informed about anything related to their jobs and the bank are not consistently held. Information exchange is predominantly in form of written communication. Interactively, telephone is more frequently used than face-to-face verbal communication. 3. There seems to be a relationship between DBP’s corporate culture and some aspects of its internal communication. The cultural lone of caring about employees (“family feeling”), respecting, members as individuals in their own right, and teamwork infiltrated the corporate consciousness, as confirmed by the reciprocal communication between management and employees, where listening to what each has to say and equal opportunities for receiving and giving information matter a lot. Expression of ideas as well as feeling is never stifled, which makes building interpersonal trust and openness between management and employees possible. Formality is in large part due to the observed cultural conventions about how superiors (the supposed “elders”) should be regarded by the subordinates (“bunso”). The practice of regular communication and instant feedback may have been influenced by its consistent advocacy of teamwork. Although written memos topped the ranking of communication media, more interactive forms of communication figured high on the list which further bring attention to the bank’s participative culture.