Question: When Is Culture Too Strong? An organization's managers may attempt to influence employee attitudes and behaviors by building a particular kind of culture. The process of building a strong culture can have a dark side if managers create values and norms that ultimately cause employees to behave in unethical ways. In other words, sometimes a culture can become too strong, and its members may all begin to act unethically and without regard to their effects of their actions on others. Think about the ethical issues involved in building organizational culture and address the following issues:
1. When and under what conditions can values and norms become so strong that they cause employees to act in unethical ways?
2. Think about the four main factors influencing organizational culture. How could they be used to create a culture that causes employees to act in unethical ways?
3. Why might differences in national culture lead to unethical behavior in a global organization?