Cornerstones for Twenty-First Century Organizations

Abstract

Of course, it is difficult to say which cultural traits are important or even ideal for organizations of the twenty-first century. There is an infinite number of different situations in which an organization can be. Each situation can call for another cultural profile that is deemed potentially “better”. Nevertheless, some important organizational characteristics and cultural dispositions that are particularly suitable to cope with the challenges of the twenty-first century can be described. But what are the ‘challenges of the twenty-first century’? To determine them, some important developments and megatrends will be outlined in this chapter. On this basis, the universal success factors for twenty-first century organizations will be derived and translated into universal goals for twenty-first century organizations. These universal goals are then expressed in specific cultural dispositions for reflexivity, notions and emotions.