Charles Handy (b. 1932) is an Irish philosopher whose ideas about company culture have been influential and appear prescient. He defined four types of organizational culture:

Power culture – characterized by top-down, hierarchical management and centralized decision-making

Role culture – rules- and procedures-driven, bureaucratic, with narrowly-defined roles

Task culture – results- and solutions-driven, with small, flexible, empowered teams

Person culture – focused on individuals’ needs and values

Handy argued that corporations have for too long been stuck in the power and/or role culture mode, while changes in education, the economy and in values demand greater emphasis on task- and person-focused cultures. The gig economy, the growth of highly qualified freelancers and changes in what workers seek from their careers are driving a need for more flexible, federal organizations. These are bound by a common purpose, but grant individuals and teams considerable autonomy.

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