Inconsistencies in managerial and employee perceptions of Veolia's culture

Abstract

This thesis presents how employees and managers make sense of their organization's corporate culture, using Veolia as a case study. Ten managers and ten employees were interviewed focusing on five cultural concepts: ecology, employee well-being, diversity and inclusion, shared values, and communication. Based on an interpretive approach, four key insights emerged. First, Veolia uses normative and neo-normative control mechanisms to shape employee and managers identities to achieve a unified culture. Second, employees and managers make sense of corporate culture through an economic or a humanistic logic, and sometimes both. Third, employees and managers expressed diverse and often contradictory interpretations of cultural elements, particularly regarding diversity initiatives. Four, contrary to some prior research, we found no significant differences between managers' and employees' perceptions of the corporate culture. Finally, our research presents the inconsistencies that exist within organizations while acknowledging the effects of neo-normative control mechanisms. These findings and framings provide practical information on how organizations can justify their cultural initiatives to better resonate with the workforce.