Individuals who believe people have souls can readily believe that companies do. This was the view of the late B. Kenneth West, who wrote eloquently on this subject.[i]

The embodiment of company soul lies in culture, which is easier to analyze and manage. Culture, as mentioned in Chapter 6, on due diligence, can be defined as  a force that influences what people believe, think, and do. In an organization it can shape:

• Attitudes/mental processes (how people feel and think)
• Behavior (what actions get performed and rewarded)
• Functions (how people do things)
• Norms (what rules get enforced)
• Structures (how the previous items get organized and repeated)
• Symbols (what images and phrases have special meaning)
• History (what stories and traditions get passed on to future generations).[ii]

All of these elements tend to align within a culture.[iii] So, for example, if attitudes are risk averse, so too will be the behavior, functions, norms, structures, symbols, and history.