Maybe I'm a bit weird because I live somewhere between Japan and Germany, but I've always seen culture fit within a company as being very similar to cultural as

Maybe I'm a bit weird because I live somewhere between Japan and Germany, but I've always seen culture fit within a company as being very similar to cultural assimilation when moving somewhere new -- e.g. "when in rome..." When I'm in Japan, I'm still very American, but my sense of personal space has changed because it works differently in Tokyo. Likewise, I notice all kinds of details that were completely invisible before, but that are important in Japan. This doesn't mean any of my fundamental beliefs needed to change to suit Japan, nor does it mean that I'm entirely satisfied with the way the Japanese run things, but I've managed to find a niche for myself where I can be happy without driving everybody around me too crazy. Other people have had more or less luck. Some people just adore every aspect of Japanese culture and never want to leave, and a great many more that end up either going home, or living a bubble of foreign friends and bars in Roppongi. I'm somewhere in the middle. When I think of cultural fit at a company, I think of the same sort of process. You either identify with the evolved culture and practices of the company enough to be happy and productive, or you don't. If you don't fit in, that's not a bad thing. It's the same as coming to Japan and discovering that you really don't belong there after all.