LEVELS AND COMPONENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Organizational culture does not exist on its own. It is always included in the cultural context of a given geographical region and society as a whole and is influenced by the national culture. In turn, the organizational or corporate culture influences the formation of the culture of departments, work and management groups and teams.

Wherein:

· national culture is the culture of a country or a minority in a country;

organizational culture - the culture of a corporation, enterprise or association;

· working culture - the culture of the dominant activity of the society;

Team culture - the culture of the work or management team.

Organizational culture- this is a complex phenomenon, not always lying on the surface, it is difficult to "feel" it. If we can say that an organization has a soul, then this soul is the organizational culture. K. Scholts noted that corporate culture is an implicit, invisible and informal consciousness of the organization that controls the behavior of people and, in turn, is itself formed under the influence of their behavior.

In modern literature, there are quite a few definitions of the concept of organizational culture. Like many other concepts of organizational and managerial disciplines, the concept of organizational culture does not have a single "correct" interpretation. Each of those who study it seeks to give their own interpretation of organizational culture. Most writers agree that the culture of an organization is a complex composition of important assumptions (often indefinable), implicitly attributed to and shared by members of a group or organization.

Organizational culture is a set of the most important assumptions accepted by the members of the organization and expressed in the organization's declared values ​​that give people guidelines for their behavior and actions

These value orientations are transmitted to individuals through the "symbolic" means of the spiritual and material intraorganizational environment. Organizational culture has a specific structure, being a set of assumptions, values, beliefs, and symbols that helps people in an organization cope with their problems. It is considered on three levels.

Analyzing the structure of organizational culture, three levels are distinguished: superficial, internal and deep.

A) Introduction to organizational culture begins at a superficial level, including such external organizational characteristics as the products or services provided by the organization, the technology used, the architecture of production facilities and offices, the observed behavior of employees, formal language communication, slogans, etc. At this level, things and phenomena are easy to detect, but they can not always be deciphered and interpreted in terms of organizational culture.

B) Those who try to understand organizational culture more deeply affect its second, internal level. At this level, the values ​​and beliefs shared by the members of the organization are examined in accordance with the extent to which these values ​​are reflected in symbols and language. The perception of values ​​and beliefs is conscious and depends on the desire of people. Researchers often limit themselves to this level, as the next level is almost insurmountable.

B) The third, deep level includes basic assumptions that are difficult to understand even for the members of the organization without special focus on this issue. These hidden and taken for granted assumptions (eg attitudes towards nature, attitudes towards people, attitudes towards work) that guide people's behavior by helping them perceive the attributes that characterize organizational culture.

So, organizational culture covers a large area of ​​phenomena of the spiritual and material life of the team, namely: the moral norms and values ​​that dominate in it, the adopted code of conduct and ingrained rituals, established product quality standards, even the manner of dressing and behaving, etc.

There are ten content characteristics inherent in any organizational culture (components of culture):

1. Identification and purpose: meaning of I (feeling of myself), place, mission.

2. Communication system and language of communication: information transfer, interaction, exchange.

3. Clothing, appearance and self-image at work: appearance, style, image, reputation.

4. Food and how it is served: preparation, service, food preferences.

5. Awareness of time, attitude towards it and its use: the meaning of the duration of intervals.

6. Relationships between people: kinship, gender, rank, status, awards and recognition.

7. Values ​​and norms: system of needs/priorities, standards of conduct.

8. Beliefs and attitudes. Worldview.: myths, philosophy, perspective, religion, rites, rituals.

9. Development and self-realization of an employee: thought processes, education.

10. Features and methods of work: focus, direction of work, working patterns and procedures, management and leadership. Let's take a closer look at these characteristics.

1. Identification and purpose. Awareness of oneself and one's place in the organization. Culture gives people a sense of identity in relation to the group and to some extent defines their place in life.

Culture also contributes to explaining the meaning of bringing people together in a group through mission and goals (WHO MY GROUP, WHY I AM WITH THEM) (in some cultures, restraint and concealment by the employee of their inner moods and problems are valued, in others, openness, emotional support and external manifestation of their experiences; in some cases, creativity is manifested through cooperation, and in others - through individualism).

2. Communication system and language of communication. The group is distinguished by its own systems, both verbal and non-verbal communication. Unique interaction processes are developed through the use of a special set of words, special terminology and codes. Further differentiation occurs through dialects, slang, jargon, etc. (I CAN BE UNDERSTAND AND I CAN UNDERSTAND THANKS TO SPECIAL TERMINOLOGY; SOMEWHERE IT IS ACCEPTABLE TO COMMUNICATE ORALLY, SOMEWHERE THROUGH E-MAIL, ETC.) (use of oral, written, non-verbal communication, "telephone law" and open communication varies from organization to organization).

3. Clothing, appearance and representation at work. Culture manifests itself through clothing, artwork, jewelry, etc. The length or absence of hair, facial design, jewelry, workwear or uniforms can characterize a tribe or company unit (pirates, old people, teenagers, terrorists, military, medical workers, railway workers, etc.). (VNK, TEACHERS) (a variety of uniforms, business styles, norms for the use of cosmetics, perfumes, deodorants, etc., indicating the existence of many microcultures).

4. Food and the way it is served. The way food is produced, cooked, presented and eaten is culturally distinct, as every visitor to a Chinese or French restaurant knows. Religious norms forbid certain foods, such as beef or pork, or dictate how they are prepared. The method of serving may include the use of hands, chopsticks or utensils, how meals are organized for employees in the organization, including the presence or absence of canteens and buffets; participation of the organization in paying for the cost of food; frequency and duration of nutrition; joint or separate meals for employees with different organizational status, etc.)

5. Awareness of time, attitude towards it and its use. Time is considered to be storage, communication and measurement of the duration of intervals.

Cultural factors influence that some people use the more precise, while others use the relative sense of time. Some cultures associate time with sunrise or sunset, with rainy seasons, with drought, or with other seasonal changes. When performing special design work, only deadlines are usually indicated.

At the same time, a new technological culture of work often operates on a round-the-clock schedule, where operations are scheduled by the minute (if we are talking about setting specific deadlines, then IT IS NECESSARY TO CONSIDER: THE CONCEPT OF TIME IN THIS CULTURE, AS THIS MAY BE THE REASON THE PHRASE "THE PROJECT WILL BE READY BY THE END OF THE WEEK" MAY NOT BE COMPLETELY NON-SPECIFIC FOR REPRESENTATIVES OF SOME CULTURES)

6. Relationships between people. Cultures establish human and organizational relationships with age, gender, status and kinship, wealth, power, and wisdom.

Depending on whether the culture is patriarchal or matriarchal, the dominant figure of power is a man or a woman. In some cultures the old are in power, in others it is the youth. A culture may give equal opportunity to women or force females to wear a veil, appear respectful, and cede many rights to dominant males.

In successful multinational corporations, multicultural relations are a global development factor along with technical support (is it possible to send a WOMAN SPECIALIST to all negotiations? PROBABLY NO, IF WE TALK ABOUT PATRIARChalAL CULTURE IT MAY SIMPLY NOT BE ACCEPTED AND THIS WILL AFFECT THE RESULTS OF THE EVENT).

7. Values ​​and norms. Culture affects how people perceive their needs and how they prioritize them (values ​​- INDIVIDUALISM OR COLLECTIVISM; PRIVATE PROPERTY OR COLLECTIVE PROPERTY, etc.)

The values ​​of culture and norms of behavior are expressed in society openly or covertly. These acceptable standards of behavior can be presented in the form of work ethics, principles of etiquette, codes of conduct, regulations and laws (the former are sets of ideas about what is good and what is bad; the latter are a set of assumptions and expectations regarding a certain type of behavior ).

8. Beliefs and attitudes. Worldview. Every cultural group has beliefs that shape the aspirations and attitudes of its members, regardless of the rationality of those beliefs or objective truth.

In national cultures this may take the form of a belief in the supernatural or a god and be associated with the acceptance of a religious system (we are the chosen people). Thus, culture makes it possible to provide guidance to people, forming a system of views on such fundamental issues of life as the characteristics of the human essence; the meaning of human life.

In organizational cultures, the dominant business philosophy is reflected in documents, procedures, and publications. Organizational beliefs and attitudes define recognition and reward systems - ceremonies and rituals that range from soirees and award ceremonies to the establishment of clubs for key employees. In addition, beliefs and attitudes are included in the myths, traditions, legends about the heroes of the group and their exceptional character. (CONFIDENCE THAT MY COMPANY IS THE BEST, PROMISING, ETC.)

outlook- ideas about the world around, the nature of man and society, which guide the behavior of members of the organization and determine the nature of their relations with other employees, customers, competitors, etc. Worldview is closely related to the characteristics of the socialization of the individual, his ethnic culture and religious beliefs.

Significant differences in the worldviews of workers seriously impede their cooperation. In this case, there is ground for significant intra-organizational contradictions and conflicts. At the same time, it is very important to understand that it is very difficult to radically change the worldview of people, and significant efforts are required to achieve some mutual understanding and acceptance of the positions of people with different worldviews. An individual's worldview is difficult to express in clear verbal formulations, and not everyone is able to explain the basic principles underlying his behavior. And to understand someone's worldview, it sometimes takes a lot of effort and time to help a person explicate the basic coordinates of his vision of the world. Beliefs can be expressed in many ways, such as the position and role of women in society. In some societies, women are revered; in others they are considered equal to men; in some cultures they are dominated by men. In an industrial work culture, women are often discriminated against when they are hired or promoted; often women's work is paid less. With the emergence of a post-industrial work culture, competence is paramount, not gender differences. Therefore, women should be given equal employment opportunities.

9. Worker development and self-realization The way people think, learn, organize and process information is unique and often different. Some cultures use holistic brain thinking, others prefer right (INTUITION) - or left hemisphere (LOGIC) development. For example, logic is highly valued in some countries, while intuition is highly valued in others. Although reasoning and learning are universal processes, the forms of education and learning can be very different (mindless or conscious performance of work; reliance on intelligence or strength; free or limited circulation of information in an organization; recognition or rejection of the rationality of people's consciousness and behavior; creative environment or rigid routine; recognition of a person's limitations or emphasis on his potential for growth).

10. Features and methods of work. Work ethic and motivation. Cultures differ in ways of perceiving and relating to work; they differ in the types of work approved, the way in which work is divided, and the methods of work. Culture, through the economy, determines the value and necessity of work for a particular group. In some cultures, all members participate in desirable and worthwhile activities, but their membership is not measured by the monetary value of the work; instead, the role and significance of the work for the association is emphasized. Culture determines the conditions, opportunities and segmentation of professional activity (attitude towards work as a value or obligation; responsibility or indifference to the results of one's work; attitude towards one's workplace; quality of working life; worthy and bad habits at work; a fair relationship between the employee's contribution and his remuneration; planning the employee's professional career in the organization).

These characteristics of the culture of the organization together reflect and give meaning to the concept of organizational culture. The content of an organizational culture is determined not by a simple sum of expectations and the actual state of affairs for each characteristic, but by how they are interconnected and how they form the profiles of certain cultures. A distinctive feature of a particular culture is the priority of the basic characteristics that form it, indicating which principles should prevail in the event of a conflict between its different components.

In this context, it is not necessary to speak of organizational culture as a homogeneous phenomenon. In any organization, there are potentially many subcultures.

Currently, the main task of organizational culture is to create a “team” in the organization, a common vision and directions for action of all employees. According to V. Ogloblin, "people create culture as a mechanism for reproducing social experience, helping to live in an organizational environment and maintain the unity and integrity of their enterprise when interacting with other organizations."

Organizational culture ensures the formation of moral and ethical values ​​and attitudes of the life of the organization; strengthening the ties of employees with the management of the organization, a sense of solidarity at all levels of employees; organization of work and management of human resources in such a way that the activities of the enterprise provide high mobility, social protection for those who work at this enterprise. With the help of organizational culture, a corporate identity is created, aimed at developing the quality and prosperity of the organization, a benevolent attitude from the external environment is won. .

Organizational culture includes the following elements:

1. Vision (philosophy) of the organization, explaining the reason for its existence;

2. Dominant values ​​followed by the administration of the organization and the majority of employees when making management decisions;

3. Norms and rules of conduct that the organization adheres to in relations with the environment and employees;

4. Expectations of the results of the organization's activities as a whole (affect the interests of both individual employees and various groups);

5. Procedures and behavioral rituals that are associated with activities within the organization

Based on the analysis, we can conclude that the elements of organizational culture are presented at two levels - internal and external. The elements of the internal level are the mission of the organization, goals, philosophy of the founders of the organization, values, communications, traditions, myths, rituals, legends, heroes of the organization, corporate events. The external level is represented by symbolic components that are visible manifestations of corporate culture - symbols, slogan, paraphernalia, clothing, material manifestation of corporate culture. Consider the elements of the two levels of organizational culture in more detail.

The main component of organizational culture is the mission of the organization. The mission statement is "a brief description of the goals, strategies, values ​​that are priorities for the organization." With the help of the mission, the company expresses the main purpose for which it was created. Employees should be well aware of both the mission of the organization and its goals, since it is in them that the core values ​​​​of the organization are usually laid.

The next element of organizational culture is the philosophy of the founders of the organization. Traditionally, it is the founders of the company that have a decisive influence on the formation of organizational culture. Determining the goals of the organization is the most important moral issue that the leader must decide.

Another important element of organizational culture are the values ​​of the organization. Values ​​are most often represented by the properties of a certain object that can satisfy the needs of one person or group of people. Many studies conducted in the field of personnel management have shown that modern specialists want to receive more from the organization than just high wages. Employees also expect that "they will feel comfortable in an organization whose cultural values ​​coincide with their personal value orientations" .

Stories, legends and myths are also components of the internal level of organizational culture. However, this form of transferring organizational values ​​is not the most reliable, since the main idea of ​​the event is sometimes not clearly expressed. Stories are stories based on events that happened in reality. Myths are stories about the past, which is presented as "the good old days." Legends are a retelling of real events that are carefully embellished with fictional details. In legends, there is always a hero or heroine (leaders and employees of the company who have achieved outstanding success).

An important element aimed at maintaining and strengthening the organizational values ​​of the company are rituals. Rituals are an ordered system of actions that combine the core values ​​of an organization. The main rituals present in almost every organization include recognition rituals (honoring the best employees, participation in corporate holidays), rituals for the entry of a new employee into the organization, etc.

A significant element of organizational culture is the language of communication. Each organization has its own language of communication, having learned which, new employees carry out its preservation and development.

The final element of the internal level of organizational culture are corporate events. These events are necessary for establishing relations between employees, their acquaintance with colleagues and company management (picnics, holidays, celebrations of anniversaries and dates and events significant for the organization).

Next, consider the elements of the external level of organizational culture. Its important components are symbols and slogans. The material manifestations of culture - furniture, tools, appliances, appliances, clothing, office interior - also play an important role.

There are other approaches to the allocation of various elements that characterize and identify organizational culture.

Some scientists, when building the structure of corporate culture, used the approach proposed at one time. I. Lokatos in the work "Methodology of research programs". I. Lokatos created an approach to structuring a scientific theory, according to which the theory has a “rigid” (unchanging) core and several “protective belts”, which in turn serve both to protect against the refutation of the “core” and to select hypotheses that complement it .

Prominent representatives of this approach are Jerry Johnson and his “cultural network” model, as well as the famous researcher of corporate culture G. Hofstede and his “onion” culture diagram. In both models mentioned, there is a "core" that reflects the essence of the organization, and "protective belts", which are obvious manifestations of organizational culture.

It should be noted that at first glance there may be no correlation between the “core” and the “protective belt”, which often causes a researcher to misinterpret the manifestations of corporate culture.

Today, the model proposed in the early 80s of the 20th century by Tom Peters and Robert W. has become popular. This model considers the seven main success factors of the company, influencing which the company sets the necessary parameters for the activity of the entire organization.

The model distinguishes between "hard" and "flexible" elements of organizational culture. "Rigid" elements, which include strategy, structure and systems, are easily changed with the help of managerial decisions, their "rigidity" is manifested in unconditional and clear determinability.

The management of these elements proceeds within the framework of classical management approaches. The “flexible” elements represented by skills, personnel, leadership style, and shared values, on the other hand, are more complex in nature.

Due to this nature, they are difficult to define and require non-standard and individual decisions when making management decisions aimed at them.

The main feature of approaches to the study of corporate culture by Western researchers is a pronounced emphasis on the factors of spiritual culture, that is, values, rituals, etc. So E. Shane, D. Koter, D. Heskett, R. Kilman consider the organizational culture of an enterprise mainly only at the level of basic values, ideas, norms, rules, that is, more like "spirituality of the enterprise".

This is also expressed in special attention to the level of fundamental (basic) ideas and beliefs on the part of these authors.

In the works of Russian scientists, there is a tendency towards equal attention to the material elements of corporate culture and elements of spiritual culture. In the works of O.S. Vikhansky, V.A. Spivak. working conditions and means of work as factors of culture are no less important than basic attitudes and values.

The main reason for focusing on the spiritual elements of culture in countries with developed economies is the high level of development of the means of production, the financial system and the well-functioning process of introducing innovations.

Structural transformations are continuing in the Russian economy, associated with building an effective financial system and material and technical base, which explains the interest in the material elements of corporate culture.

It seems to us that an approach in which equal attention is paid to the material and spiritual side of corporate culture is more adequate to the state of the domestic economy and the goals of the long-term development of effective business structures in Russia.

Outside observers (mostly consumers) are influenced by organizational culture through artifacts and proclaimed values ​​and beliefs, such as advertising slogans and slogans.

However, the proclaimed values ​​are often only voiced, while the actions of the enterprise may completely contradict them. For example, Reigeg, a company that claims to be committed to developing an efficient and reliable health care system, was found guilty in a recent investigation of advertising its drugs and asking doctors to prescribe them to combat symptoms for which they were not properly approved. .

Therefore, in order to achieve the set goals, in addition to the declaration of values ​​and the introduction of corporate myths, it is necessary to create an appropriate culture of management and control, a culture of production, a culture of labor tools, etc.

The material elements of culture have an equally strong influence on the efficiency of the enterprise and the image of the enterprise, as well as spiritual ones. In the absence of strong material labor factors, it is impossible to create a solid client base that will ensure the future successful existence of the company.

All of the above elements of organizational culture together reflect and fill the whole concept of organizational culture with meaning.

Help in understanding this concept can be provided by a model of the relationship between the content of the organization's culture, its manifestation, perception and interpretation of this culture by employees. (Fig. 1.2)

Thus, we can conclude that the organizational culture is rich in content, it is characterized by important elements, such as the mission of the organization, goals, philosophy of the founders of the organization, values, communications, traditions, myths, rituals, legends, heroes of the organization, corporate events, symbols, slogan, paraphernalia, clothes. These components form the organizational culture of a modern company.

Rice. 1.2.

Based on specific cases, management needs to make a decision - whether to try to change the culture, adjust people to new conditions, or, on the contrary, support what has already been created. Culture is a fundamental phenomenon, it is created over the years and changes extremely hard, but it would be wrong to assume that the only possible solution in maintaining it would be to fire unnecessary people and hire people who are exclusively suitable for culture, and when changing, dismiss everyone and hire new ones, respectively. For these two options, there are more effective and less radical methods of achieving the goal, and for both they are consonant. (Fig. 1.3).

Objects and objects of attention, evaluation, control by managers. This is one of the most powerful methods of maintaining culture in an organization, as the manager lets employees know what is important and what is expected of them through repeated actions. By changing its priorities, management sets the behavior of employees. At Diskom, the management's position is extremely clear; over the past two years, attention has been paid only to profit, and this benchmark was conveyed to employees very clearly, which, in our opinion, is a mistake.

Rice. 1.3.

It is clear that the goal of any business is to maximize profits, but employees should not be reminded every day that they are just a means to achieve this goal. If we slightly change the landmark here, without changing its direction, the situation may change. Profits are made by people if the management emphasizes that it expects from its employees not profit, but their professional development, it will require impeccable knowledge of the assortment, partner factories, customer base, and so on. The employee will have the impression that management is focused on professionalism, and a more professional employee is a means to maximize profits.

Leadership response to critical situations and organizational crises.

The depth and scope of the crisis may require the organization to either strengthen the existing culture or introduce new values ​​and norms that change it to some extent. Unfortunately, the recent crisis has not been in the company's favor when it comes to culture. The fact is that the culture in the company was formed in accordance with military honor, met the principles of “we don’t abandon our own people in war”, “man is the number one value”, and so on. The year 1998 the company was lucky to survive without losses, of course, this happened due to many factors, but this gave confidence that the company, despite the complexity of the situation, does not dismiss employees. Of course, times have changed, the leadership too, but habits and attitudes have remained. And when the new leader, succumbing to the general panic, began to quickly reduce employees, he thereby compromised himself, which, after the crisis, led to voluntary layoffs. In other words, no matter what the crisis, management needs to follow the course initially set, since further consequences can be even more serious.

Role modeling, education and training. Aspects of organizational culture are learned by subordinates through how they should perform their roles. Managers can deliberately build important "cultural" signals into training programs and daily assistance to subordinates at work. Employees learn organizational culture through the roles they play. Therefore, here the leadership should show the ideal model of behavior by its own example. For example, if management wants customers to be treated in a certain way, it must show through personal communication with the customer how this role should look in the context of this organization. Also, during the training of employees, it is necessary to focus on aspects of organizational culture. Educational films, materials can promote cultural aspects, contain symbolism, and so on.

Criteria for determining rewards and statuses. Culture in an organization can be learned through a system of rewards and privileges. The latter are usually tied to certain patterns of behavior and thus set priorities for employees and indicate values ​​that are more important for individual managers and the organization as a whole. The system of status positions in the organization works in the same direction. Thus, the distribution of privileges (a good office, a secretary, a car, etc.) indicates the roles and behaviors that are more valued by the organization. The company "Discom" does not pay attention to exemplary behavior, does not encourage it in any way, which is a huge mistake. In order for a culture to work for an organization, it is necessary to encourage its bearers to become an example.

Criteria for hiring, promotion and dismissal. This is one of the main ways to maintain culture in an organization. What the organization and its management proceed from, regulating the entire personnel process, quickly becomes known to its members by the movement of employees within the organization.

Personnel decision criteria can help or hinder the strengthening of an organization's existing culture.

It is difficult and unnecessary to change the recruitment process in a company like Diskom. This process was initially chaotic and was based more on trust in a person than on his professional qualities, because it was believed that professionalism is earned, and a personality is formed. Perhaps if this state of affairs is left unchanged, then this will become the most powerful support for the culture of the organization, since “we hire a person, not a professional computer” and there is a distinctive cultural feature.

Organizational symbols and rituals. Most of the beliefs and values ​​that underlie the culture of an organization are manifested not only through legends and sagas that become part of organizational folklore, but also through various rites, rituals, customs and ceremonies. Rituals include typical team events that are held at a set time and on a special occasion to influence the behavior and awareness of employees of the organizational environment. Rites are a system of rituals. Even certain managerial decisions can become organizational rituals that employees interpret as part of the organizational culture. Such rituals act as organized and planned actions that have the main "cultural" significance. The observance of rites, rituals and ceremonies strengthens the self-determination of workers. We believe that the original symbolism cannot be changed, it can only be improved over time. Regarding rituals, we propose to return some customs that have been forgotten.

Thus, we can conclude that in order for the company to be a single mechanism, work effectively and acquire a face different from others, it is necessary to make every effort. There are six main tools for influencing organizational culture, through which you can both maintain organizational culture and change it. If the management policy is aimed at maintaining the organizational culture, then through these six levers of influence it is necessary to promote and strengthen the initially set cultural principles of the company, if the management is set to change, then the organization must be reoriented on six points.

From the foregoing, it can be seen how important organizational culture is for the life of an organization. Organizational culture accumulates values, promotes the development of personnel, establishes rules for resolving conflicts, determines the role and place of each employee, establishes certain types of communications, creates an internal and external image of the enterprise, and also regulates the rules and norms of behavior.

It determines the attitude of staff to work, to clients, colleagues, superiors and other things that directly affect the success of the organization. Therefore, the desire of management to use organizational culture as a factor in increasing the competitiveness of the organization is natural. In other words, organizational culture can be a tool for personnel management. Naturally, this is only possible if the organizational culture is formed and/or maintained purposefully.

When studying any phenomenon, process, subject, the following situation often arises. A seemingly simple phenomenon, as it is studied in the perception of the researcher, undergoes significant changes, becoming more and more complex both in content and in the methods of cognition used. Sometimes, as the phenomenon is studied, the idea of ​​​​it changes to the exact opposite. This happens, in particular, when studying the organizational culture of an enterprise. For the first time, E. Shane proposed studying organizational culture at three levels (Fig. 19.3).

Knowledge of organizational culture begins with the first, "superficial" or "symbolic" level, which includes such visible external factors as the technology and architecture used, the use of space and time, observed behavior, language, slogans, etc., t .e. everything that a person can feel and perceive with his five senses (see, hear, taste and smell, touch). At this level, things and phenomena are easy to detect, but they can not always be interpreted in terms of organizational culture 110].

Rice. 19.3.

In attempts to get to know organizational culture more deeply, its second, "subsurface" level of proclaimed values ​​is touched upon. The proclaimed goals, strategies and philosophies, values ​​and beliefs shared by the members of the organization are subjected to study, in accordance with the extent to which these values ​​are reflected in symbols and language. The perception of values ​​and beliefs is conscious and depends on the desire of people. Researchers most often limit themselves to this level, since the next level is very complex and requires the use of special analytical techniques.

The third, "deep" level includes basic assumptions that are not easy to realize even by the members of the organization (without special focus). Hidden and taken for granted assumptions guide people's behavior, helping them to perceive the attributes that characterize organizational culture. Among such assumptions are features of perception, thoughts and feelings, subconscious beliefs and ideas. Depending on which of these levels are the object of study, organizational culture is divided into subjective and objective.

Subjective organizational culture is based on the assumptions shared by employees, expectations, group perception of the organizational environment with its values, norms and roles that exist outside the personality. This includes some elements of symbolism, stories about the organization and its leaders, myths, taboos, rites, rituals, language of communication, slogans. Subjective organizational culture serves as the basis for the formation of a management culture, i.e. leadership and decision-making styles, delegation of authority and participation in management, relationships with customers and suppliers, personnel motivation systems, etc.

Objective organizational culture usually associated with the subject environment of the organization, natural conditions, features of the architecture and design of the company building, equipment, furniture, communications, infrastructure, roads, parking lots, cafeterias, etc. They reflect the organizational culture to the extent that they reflect its core values ​​and beliefs, and therefore can be changed in line with those values. For example, not always harsh climatic conditions and the complexity of architectural masterpieces testify to the wretchedness of the organizational culture of firms located in such natural areas. A fairly unassuming design can hide deep content.

The deep level, of course, is of the greatest interest, since it is in it that the "socio-spiritual field" develops, which forms the organizational culture of the company. To study it, a sufficiently deep study of the cultural ideas of employees, their basic philosophical ideas (about the meaning of life, objects and phenomena, the role of man in the world) is necessary. Doubt in the consistency of their basic ideas and their significant divergence from generally accepted ones always causes a person to feel anxiety and insecurity. In this sense, the cultural field of the organization is the carrier of certain protective functions that allow a person to experience comfort and feel stability next to people who share his basic ideas. Culture allows you to create conditions conducive to the fact that collective representations reinforce each other.

The deep level of the study of organizational culture is most associated with the concept of the study of culture in the broadest sense of the word. However, the first two levels are more often studied: superficial and subsurface.

Organizational culture is a model of behavior characteristic of a particular enterprise, a system of values, interactions and relationships, determined by cultural norms, beliefs and shared by the majority of employees. The levels of organizational culture form the basis of its structure.

From the article you will learn:

• what are the levels and structure of organizational culture;
• levels of formation of organizational culture;
• levels of development of organizational culture.

At the surface level, phenomena are easy to spot, but difficult to correctly interpret. Artifacts of this level are events with a high degree of emotional involvement of the staff, carried out according to certain rules (see Table 1).

The next subsurface level of organizational culture reflects the norms, values, ideas and beliefs of the organization shared by its employees. At this level, the desire of the organization to choose its goal and mission, as well as determine the means to achieve them, is manifested. Formed values ​​and ideas are realized by the staff and regulate the behavior of team members.

The subsurface level can be seen with closer contact with the enterprise, the following aspects of life are relevant here:

the purpose of the company is innovation, customer focus;

distribution of power - the degree of acceptable inequality is set;

concern for personnel, respect, fairness, adequate remuneration;

organization of work - discipline, rotation of personnel;

decision-making - individual, group.

And the last, deep level of the organizational culture of the organization most accurately and fully reflects the behavior of people, the way of leadership, the methods of reward and punishment. It uses unconscious basic settings that guide the behavior of employees and determine their attitude towards the enterprise.

The deep level is hidden from an external observer and reflects the general psychology of the personnel of a given company. The basic attitudes used are often not realized even by the members of the team themselves (see Table 1). Basic concepts are greatly influenced by national culture.

Read also related articles:

Structure and elements of organizational culture

Structure of organizational culture formed during the development of the organization. Objective organizational culture belongs to the very first superficial level and is usually associated with the physical reflection of the enterprise. It consists of the following elements:

company building, its design;

office location;

equipment and furniture;

clothing style of employees;

colors and volumes of space.

Subjective organizational culture is determined by the subsurface and deep levels and includes the following elements:

myths, legends and stories about the company and its heroes, leaders;

organizational ceremonies, rituals, taboos;

language of communication and slogans.

It is the subjective organizational culture that is the basis for the formation of leadership style and problem solving, managing the company as a whole.

Levels of formation of organizational culture

Formation of organizational culture includes the development of its structure at all levels. The main components of organizational culture are the mission of the enterprise, its values, goals, norms, customs, rituals.

Level #1

Company's mission is a set of provisions that reveal what the organization does, a kind of religion of the company. Each of its members must clearly understand this mission in order to actively organize themselves for its implementation. The presence of a clear and formulated mission is a source of tremendous energy for the team. Thanks to her, enthusiasm and inspiration in work is born. Based on the adopted mission, goals, objectives of the enterprise and criteria for the effectiveness of decisions made by management are developed.

Level #2

Values companies show what is important for the personnel of this company. These are some kind of indicators that determine the success, job satisfaction of employees and the professional prestige of the enterprise. Core values ​​are at the core of any organization. They help to combine the ideas of the creators with the individual interests of employees. Leading individual values ​​are called: an atmosphere of respect in the team, creative implementation, diligence, justice, responsiveness, tolerance, initiative, competitiveness.

Level #3

Purpose of the enterprise is the desired result that the company is working to achieve. Among the goals, goals-tasks, goals-systems and goals-orientations are distinguished.

Level number 4.

Enterprise norms are means of regulating the behavior of employees and entire teams, operating continuously in time, general rules that are binding on everyone. The normative side of the organizational culture includes a fairly wide range of requirements.

Level #5

Rituals and customs form a system of behavior of employees, create a certain stereotype that regulates behavior, often freeing them from making an independent decision. With the help of ritual forms of interaction, you can quickly introduce the staff to the leading organizational values ​​and traditions, form unity and corporate spirit of the team.

All elements of organizational culture are designed to preserve it as a whole.

Levels of development of organizational culture

The development of organizational culture is an inevitable process at all levels of the enterprise. Changes in the external environment, economic changes and new technologies, internal reforms dictate their conditions, and management is forced to look for ways to change that can increase the efficiency and dynamism of the company's organizational culture.

Cultural development work includes the following steps:

1. analysis of culture - assessment of its current state, comparison with the desired culture and an intermediate assessment of elements that need to be changed;
2. assessment of the effectiveness of the existing ideology, goals and mission of the organization and, if necessary, the formation of new ones;
3. thinking through a model of effective leadership;
4. development of special proposals and measures;
5. change of accents in personnel policy;
6. using the experience of previous activities, ingrained traditions and procedures.

To change the culture, a special management strategy is needed in the organization:

change in management style;

change of focus in personnel development programs;

changing the criteria for motivating employees;

change of organizational symbols and rituals.

In conclusion, it is important to emphasize that organizational culture brings the company a very specific material result. A properly formed organizational culture allows you to effectively implement the strategy of the enterprise, increases the cohesion of the team and the efficiency of its work.

A characteristic model of behavior and its own system of values, relationships and interactions in a particular enterprise is an organizational culture, which is determined by beliefs and cultural norms shared by almost all employees, and the basis of its structure is levels. It invariably helps to work effectively and smoothly, to fulfill the most complex production tasks, promotes team cohesion and uniting it into a team. Formed levels of organizational culture already in the formation of the enterprise. In the first years of the organization's existence, certain rules are created, not always written down somewhere in the orders, and a set of values ​​appears that fully corresponds to the ideas of the founders of the enterprise. Organizational culture is never stagnant, it develops, changes and gains depth of meaning.

Structure

There are the following levels of organizational culture: deep, subsurface and superficial. If we see logos and slogans relating to this enterprise, and any other paraphernalia, which is only an external way of interacting with the surface level, observed by everyone at the first contact with this institution. It should be noted that all levels of the organizational structure have their own artifacts. The superficial easily detects all the phenomena inherent in him, but few people correctly interpret them. Artifacts here are such events where the degree of emotionality and involvement of all employees is highest. And of course, the rules are quite strictly defined for them. All levels of the organizational culture of the organization can be characterized as behavioral normative, the difference in direction and degree of awareness.

The second, subsurface level always reflects the values, norms, beliefs, ideas of the given organization shared by all employees. It is here that the desire to choose a goal and mission, to determine the means to achieve them is revealed. It is quite difficult to recognize this level from the outside, close contact with this organization is needed. It is the prevailing ideas and values, realized by the team, that regulate their behavior. And, finally, the levels of the organizational culture of the organization represent their deepest, reflecting in all its completeness and accuracy each element of the collective organism. This is a way of leadership, and the behavior of colleagues, and methods that are used as a reward and as a punishment. The basic settings are used here on an unconscious level, but they clearly guide the behavior of all employees and determine the attitude of the team towards the enterprise. From an external observer, the deep level is hidden, it reflects the general psychology of the company's employees. It should be noted that the national culture most strongly influences the basic ideas.

Edgar Shane

The American psychologist Edgar Shane explained the levels and structure of organizational culture in the most accessible way. Moreover, he was the founder of a new scientific direction of organizational psychology. Being a theorist and practitioner of modern management, he created a model that explains just such a structure of organizational culture. It is sometimes called the iceberg model, because a truly outsider will see in an unfamiliar institution only the smallest part of what the levels and structure of organizational culture are.

The model is three-stage: the first contains artifacts, the second contains the proclaimed values, and the third contains the basic assumptions. And this is how Shane described the levels of organizational culture. The surface will show the observer only visible facts. These are the architecture, the technologies that are applied, the form of the structure, the visible behavior, the ceremonies, the language, the rituals, the myths, the manner of communication, and the like.

surface level

All phenomena and things at this level are easily detected. However, they also need to be deciphered, interpreted using the terms of this particular organizational culture. The history established in the collective and the values ​​of this organization formed on its basis, partly turned into myths, which created unique customs and rituals, which again are peculiar only to this collective, will require lengthy explanations.

All this is characterized by a huge degree of involvement, emotionality, which colors all events and all joint actions that take place according to the initially established rules. This contributes to the cohesion of the team, which jointly ensures stability and the preservation of common values. Rituals can be very different: communication (rules of communication - formal and informal), work (routine, weekdays, everyday life), managerial (meetings, voting procedures, decision-making), official (encouragement of the best, support of basic values).

The second level according to E. Shane

Levels of organizational culture are not the only separate segments in the structure. There are an indefinite number of subcultures, countercultures, invisible to the outside eye, that either weaken or strengthen team cohesion among the monolith of the main organizational culture. What level of organizational culture is represented by the values, perceptions, and beliefs shared by the entire diverse team? Of course, subsurface. Human behavior is governed by these values ​​and beliefs. Here is an example: there is a decline in production, the management decides not to fire anyone, but to reduce the working week for everyone (as happened in one of the divisions of the Russian furniture giant). If this step leads to good results and the enterprise "corrects", the attitude towards the company's management should be fixed as a general, even universal idea of ​​corporate values.

However, unfortunately, this is not always the case, and the behavior of the team most often does not correspond to the proclaimed values. The latter are rarely clearly articulated, and therefore diagnostics may not give an answer to how high the level of organizational culture of a given enterprise is. When studying the values ​​of the team, it is necessary to pay attention to such aspects of collective life as the "face" of the organization, its purpose (which is more important - quality or innovation, for example); how power is distributed (whether everyone is satisfied with the existing degree of inequality); how employees are treated (do they care, do they respect each other, do the bosses have favorites, are the rewards fair); how the work is organized (is the discipline strict enough, how often is the rotation of employees used); what is the management style (democratic or authoritarian); how decisions are made (individually or as a team) and so on.

deep level

Even more secret - the last level, deep. This includes basic assumptions that are not realized even by the members of the organization, unless they specifically focus on this issue. However, although these are just taken for granted, they are so strong assumptions that they basically direct people's behavior, which Edgar Schein wrote about in his works. The levels of the organizational structure are a set of basic concepts that give meaning to objects and phenomena that guide actions in certain situations. Shane calls this integrated system a "map of the world." This is probably a contour map, without precise definitions of the location of objects, because people experience comfort only when they are in the atmosphere of their own ideas, in another system they inevitably feel discomfort, because they are unable to understand what is happening, most often perceiving a different reality distortedly and giving it a false interpretation. All three levels of organizational culture are encrypted for an outsider's eye, but the third - deep - especially.

Basic assumptions include such inexplicable concepts as the nature of time, the nature of space, the nature of reality, the nature of man. Naturally, the most encrypted are human activities and human relationships. The levels of organizational culture include numerous layers of attitudes and relationships, including religious factors, which also have a strong influence on organizational relationships, especially in some regions. This can also include ethical attitudes - gender relationships, adherence to work schedules, the appearance of employees and the like, as it were, trifles, but the world consists of them. It is quite easy to observe such artifacts, but it is difficult to interpret. To understand the organizational culture of a particular group of people, you need to go to their level of ideas in order to carefully consider their values ​​and artifacts. And it must be taken into account that it is at the deepest level that the national culture has the greatest influence.

Studying

Edgar Shane thoroughly worked out the concept, and the levels of organizational culture obediently divided the monolith of human relationships in the team. The study must begin from the very first, superficial level of artifacts. Otherwise, probably, it cannot happen. After all, a new employee, for example, begins acquaintance with the team and the company without fail from the most visible signs of it.

In the process of immersion on the level of values, he tries to dive, to penetrate from subsurface ideas to deep ones. But the formation of the levels of the organizational structure takes place in the opposite direction. First, the deep level develops, without this, creation and creativity itself are impossible. Then values ​​gradually appear and, finally, artifacts.

Relationships and rejection

As already mentioned, organizational culture is not a monolith. It consists of a (predominant), many groups of subcultures and countercultures, which either strengthen or weaken the overall culture of the organization. The basic principles of the subculture usually do not contradict too much, they most often accept almost all the values ​​of the dominant culture, but from them the organization receives some specificity, unlike the rest. These are both gender and territorial or functional subcultures. There are a great many of them. But the counterculture may well act as a direct opposition to the dominant culture and its values, including patterns of corporate behavior.

The counterculture denies all the declared basic goals of this organization, and in this case a deep level of development of organizational culture is often reached, that is, the counteraction is carried out almost reflexively. In real life, it can be shareholders who put together a group to remove management or change the company's strategy, as well as managers who lack power, or unions fighting for justice. If an organization is undergoing some kind of transformation, the role of countercultures can be greatly enhanced, and the dominant organizational culture will have to fight for its territories where its priorities are shared.

Control

Organizational culture can and should be managed. This process, of course, is very complex, relationships occur among a large number of people who constantly replace each other, and even permanent members of the team necessarily change their internal ideas under the influence of certain circumstances that can neither be predicted nor prevented. Phenomenologists completely deny the impact on organizational culture. However, supporters of a rational pragmatic approach are sure of something else. They insist that there can be a purposeful influence on people's ideas, and through this their behavior will change. Leaders have the most impact on fundamental collective values, they inspire employees and their dreams and aspirations.

Of course, provided that the leaders have obvious and sincere obligations for everyone regarding universal values, which they absolutely must share. Great attention on their part to what is happening in the organization, to all the details, even insignificant ones, guarantee the success of influencing organizational culture. Clever leaders skillfully manipulate things and symbols, create new patterns of behavior by personal example. Even surface-level attributes, when manipulated in this way, become more and more effective over time, thus influencing the subsurface level of the organization's culture. In this way, even the team's basic assumptions can be changed. However, the results here are almost impossible to predict, since the process is long and difficult, and by influencing one variable, one can achieve irreversible changes in another. Usually only their initiator believes in good changes.

Influencing factors

Organizational culture is the basis of the potential of each enterprise, it is it that determines its success in the long term. This is exactly what distinguishes one organization from another, this is the soul of each team. The formation of organizational culture is influenced by many internal and external factors. The internal goals and mission of the enterprise, its strategy, as well as the nature of the work and content. An important role is played by the education and qualifications of workers, their level of general development. And, as was said, the personality of the leader is of particular importance. External factors influencing organizational culture include the economic conditions of a given time and circumstances, national characteristics, as well as the characteristics of the business environment in the organization and the entire industry.

If we move away from Shane's research, we can find another division into levels of organizational culture - into objective and subjective. This version itself is much simpler and much less about management. At the objective level, there are visual things: from the design of premises, furniture and equipment to catering and the appearance of employees. We can say that this refers to the purely physical environment of the organization. The subjective level is a bit more complicated: it is the language of communication and the communication system, the relationship between employees. These are norms and values, rituals and traditions. This attitude to time, motivation and the basis for the formation of levels of organizational culture is precisely its subjective component. It almost entirely depends on the management culture, leadership style and problem-solving skills of leaders, which, of course, helps to maintain organizational culture in the team.

Methods

The methods used by leaders to maintain organizational culture include the following:

• Attention to objects and objects, to assessments, to monitoring the activities of employees.
• Rapid response to crises and critical situations.
• Properly worked out criteria for statuses and rewards, hiring, dismissal and, on the contrary, promotion.
• Initiative in the formation of traditions and symbols of the organization.

By itself, organizational culture cannot exist, it is always in the context of the culture of the geographical region and the whole society, besides, it is influenced by national culture. But without an organizational culture, no corporate enterprise can exist, since it forms the culture of individual units, teams, groups - both workers and managers.