All businesses have important things in common. Yet every business is also a subculture—a world of its own, with its own customs and character—and so every good manager has to be a bit of an anthropologist.
In that role, astute business leaders will tend to notice other subcultures whose strengths and weaknesses can shed light on their own milieu. How do these cultures maintain cohesion while accommodating change? How are hierarchies established? How are values transmitted? Which elements of culture contribute the most to meeting the organization’s goals?
