"If you want to provoke a vigorous debate, start a conversation on organizational culture. While there is universal agreement that (1) it exists, and (2) that it plays a crucial role in shaping behavior in organizations, there is little consensus on what organizational culture actually is, never mind how it influences behavior and whether it is something leaders can change."

Understanding an organization's culture is a critical component to understanding the organization. But, what is organizational culture? Only once we have come to understand what organizational culture is, can we harness it to understand and transform the organizations in which we operate. Drawing on input from a LinkedIn discussion, Michael D. Watkins examines the meaning of organizational culture from multiple perspectives. 

Excerpt from article originally published May 15, 2013 in the Harvard Business Review.