Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Organisational culture has become a popular topic since more and more companies have joined the competition of world economy in the information era. It has also become an important method to support a company’s strategy. Products such as “hardware” no longer provide the main focus when companies strive to gain their markets. It has become accepted that culture, which plays a role as part of the company’s “software”, functions equally well as, and sometimes even more efficiently than products. The aim of this research study was to apply the theory to practice by answering the question: In the real organisation’s operation, which cultural attributes embody the value layer of organisational culture? This research study focuses primarily on Schein’s model of organisational culture. This model is applied to the case studies of Naspers’ culture and of Tencent’s culture. The result of the application of Schein’s model to these two companies leads to a comparison of their organisational culture. In the end, my own analysis is discussed based on the comparison. From this part, innovation, risk taking, attention to detail, outcome orientation, people orientation, team orientation, customer orientation, aggressiveness, stability and easy-goingness are shown to be the cultural attributes that embody values in a real organisation’s operation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Organisasiekultuur het ‘n populêre onderwerp geword sedert al meer maatskappye deel geword het van die mededinging van die wêreldekonomie in die inligtingstydvak. Dit het ook ‘n belangrike metode geword om ‘n maatskappy se strategie te ondersteun. Produkte soos “hardeware” verskaf nie meer die hooffokus wanneer maatskappye daarna streef om hulle markte te bekom nie. Dit word nou aanvaar dat kultuur, wat ‘n rol speel as deel van die maatskappy se “sagteware”, ewe goed as produkte funksioneer, en soms selfs meer doeltreffend. Die mikpunt van hierdie navorsingstudie was om teorie op die praktyk toe te pas deur die volgende vraag te beantwoord: Watter kulturele attribute beliggaam die waardelaag van organisasiekultuur in die werking van die ware organisasie? Hierdie navorsingstudie fokus primêr op Schein se model van organisasiekultuur. Hierdie model word toegepas op gevallestudies van die kultuur van Naspers en Tencent. Die resultaat van die toepassing van Schein se model op hierdie twee maatskappye lei tot ‘n vergelyking van hulle organisasiekultuur. Ten slotte word my eie analise bespreek, gebaseer op die vergelyking. In hierdie deel word aangetoon dat innovasie, die neem van risiko’s, aandag aan detail, resultaat-georiënteerdheid, mens-georiënteerdheid, span-oriëntasie, kliënt-oriëntasie, aggressiwiteit, stabiliteit en onbesorgdheid die kulturele attribute is wat die waardes in ‘n ware organisasie se werking beliggaam.