Deciphering organisational culture: case study of a diversified conglomerate in Saudi Arabia

Organisational culture refers to common assumption and beliefs guiding employee practices and behaviours. It is important for managers to be able to assess their organisation's culture since it is one of the most difficult subjects to address. The purpose of this study is to decipher the organisation culture of a large, diversified conglomerate based in Saudi Arabia. The theoretical framework used to decipher the organisation culture is that of Robbins et al. (2005). This study follows the work of Jaghargh et al. (2012) done in the Iranian context. A survey questionnaire sent to 180 participants elicited 97 responses. Overall, the assessment results show an overall positive culture with some dimensions showing slightly negative perception. This paper demonstrates the use of an assessment technique as an important tool for managers to understand where the organisation culture requires improvement. The paper makes some recommendations for the dimensions where organisations can make improvements.