A corporation's culture is like any other sort of culture - a pattern of beliefs, habits, traditions, etc., all shared by a particular group of people. Newcomers learn the patterns when they join the organization, and eventually teach them to others in informal ways.

A corporate culture usually is not a conscious thing, even for the people responsible of the organization. It may include formal policies that are laid out in black and white, but it is much more than that, it is "personality" that makes one company different than others.

Corporate culture is part of what makes a company a good place or a tough place to work. Your employees know - regardless of what the company's official "line" is - whether they are trusted, valued, or respected. They know what your priorities are, and what your bosses' priorities are. They know which procedures to follow and which rules to ignore. They know who is really in command, and how decisions get made. They know how to get around obstacles - officially and unofficially - and they know which lines they cannot cross.

In other words, they know the corporate culture operating in the company, even if they have never thought about it before.