Power Culture

• Relatively autocratic
• In an organisation with a power culture, power is held by just a few individuals or a central figure, whose influence spreads throughout the organisation and who determines the dominant culture
• Power cultures are often found in small businesses or in businesses who have very charismatic leaders e.g. Steve Jobs at Apple
• There are few rules and relegations in a power culture, what the boss says goes
• What those with power decide, is what happens
• Employees are generally judged by what they achieve rather than how they do things or how they act
• A consequence of this can be quick decision-making, even if those decisions arent in the best long-term interests of the organisation
• A power culture is usually a strong culture, though it can swiftly turn toxic
• The collapse of Enron, Lehman Brothers and RBS is often attributed to a strong power culture
• Power culture organisations include; Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Tesla, Space X, X and the Boring Company
• Summary of power culture

  • control radiates from the centre
  • concentrates power among a few
  • few rules
  • swift decision making