All of the published models indicate that high performance is dependent on a definitive culture that abides within the organisation. An inclusive values and belief system enhances performance through trust and empowerment which in turn cultivates personal responsibility and employee involvement. According to De Waal (2012) high performance organisations have a strong openness and action orientation. Their motto is “a day not learned is a day not lived”. They spend a lot of time on dialogue, knowledge sharing and learning, as they have an incurable curiosity as to how its people and processes can be improved.
Their ongoing focus is about developing oneself and the organisation High performance organisations have a well-established set of values that drive employee behaviour. This values and belief system is well understood by employees, embedded within the organisation and consistent with the company’s approach to leadership (American Management Association, 2007). According to research by The Institute for Corporate Productivity (2011) it is critical that culture is aligned with vision, mission and strategy as culture will override everything else. The culture of a high performance organisation must be strong in all the right ways as its employees do not only adapt well to change, but they embrace it with a readiness to meet new challenges and show a commitment to innovation. Blanchard (2010) states that culture underlies everything an organisation does. Every organisation has a culture, whether it is by default or design.
The organisation’s culture can enable the organisational performance and employee passion, or erode it. Kaliprasad (2006) states that as long as the culture supports the strategy and is appropriate to the current marketplace, it is beneficial to the organisation. Because stronger cultures are more resistant to change, the challenge therefore lies in creating a culture where perpetual change is one of the stable elements. This will enable the culture to maintain its strength whilst simultaneously adapting to the shifts in the environment.