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ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · Organisational culture

A partnership of independent barristers shares offices and a clerk, but each barrister pursues their own cases and career goals, and the organisation exists mainly to support them. Which of Handy's cultures is this, and what is a typical difficulty in managing it?

This is a person culture, where the organisation exists to serve the individuals in it, as with professional partnerships. The typical difficulty is that these experts value autonomy, so management finds it hard to direct them or impose organisational objectives.

  1. ARole culture; individuals resist change to procedures
  2. BPerson culture; it is hard to direct individuals who put their own interests above the organisation'sCorrect
  3. CTask culture; teams are too large to coordinate
  4. DPower culture; staff fear the central leader

Explanation

In a person culture the organisation exists to serve the individuals within it, as with barristers, architects or doctors in partnership. Because the individuals hold the expertise and value their autonomy, management control is weak and hard to exercise.

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