Corporate culture in a democratic South Africa

Abstract

This study investigated whether the different home languages of employees of a large financial institution in the Western Cape had an influence of their perception of organisational structure and processes. The author conducted a series of interviews with management-level employees who speak Afrikaans, English and Xhosa as home languages in an attempt to ascertain the extent of the influence of individual cultures on perceptions and actions in corporate society. Specific attention was given to how these individuals perceived meetings, decision-making processes and conflict. These interviews were transcribed verbatim and studied by means of narrative analysis using a specialised software package to provide a better insight into the roles language and culture play within the South African organisation. Based on the narratives provided by the respondents in this study, the author concluded that individual culture does play a significant role in the perceptions of organisational structures such as conflict management,interaction during meetings, decision-making and acceptance of authority.