Episode 10 of 33: Corporate Culture; the Modern-day Witchcraft

In this episode, we'll draw a parallel between the historical belief in witchcraft and the modern-day belief in the concept of corporate culture.

Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

The notion of witches arose in medieval times as an explanation for inexplicable events, gaining widespread acceptance and unquestioning belief. The English parliament even passed two witchcraft laws, making witchcraft, potions, and incantations punishable by death - leading to hundreds of innocent women being executed.

The term "corporate culture" similarly emerged in the mid-20th century and became a universally accepted yet ill-defined explanation for organisational behaviour.

Despite a lack of clear definition or strong evidence linking it to performance, corporate culture is frequently blamed for most corporate failures, much like witchcraft was in the past.

The author concludes by questioning the validity and utility of the concept of corporate culture, suggesting a need to look beyond it for the root causes of organisational issues.

Excerpts from ⁠⁠Magnetic Nonsense⁠⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠A Short History of Bullshit at Work and How to Make it Go Away⁠⁠

Note: podcast generated by Google LM Notebook from the original book text.