Abstract
M.Com. (Business Management)
During August 1991, Kanhym Fresh Meat, Northern Transvaal, and Sams Meat (Pty)
Ltd, Pietersburg, merged their activities in the Northern Transvaal to form a joint
venture. The name of the new company is Pietersburg Abattoir (Pty) Ltd, trading as
Meatcor. Because of the different cultures and the clashes between them, this project
was undertaken to try and help create a new, strong corporate culture.
The first section of this paper gives an in-depth discussion of the theory on corporate
culture. It is very important that the people involved in the management of the company
have a clear understanding of what a strong corporate culture is before any actions can
be taken in trying to build such a culture.
The next step was to make an assessment on the state of the current culture that exists
in the company, as well as to define the desired culture of the middle and top
management of the company. To be able to do this, a culture audit questionnaire was
used. The questionnaire was answered by all middle and top management, as well as the
directors of the company. The results of the questionnaire were plotted on various
graphics. These graphics were used to assess the current culture within the company and
also to define the desired culture of the various respondents.
These results were then used to determine and define the gap between the current
culture and the desired culture. The questionnaire tested 32 dimensions of culture and
the results were given in these 32 dimensions, which were grouped into five main groups.
The last part of the paper consists of an action plan to bridge the culture gap and to
enable management to establish a new, strong corporate culture. The strategy to
develop and establish a new, strong corporate culture is discussed under the five main
dimension groups. I firmly believe that this paper, if used by management, would make
an enormous contribution towards establishing a new, strong corporate culture which in
the end will have a positive effect on the productivity and profitability of the company.