The main characteristics of the desired organizational culture. Methodological foundations of management

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The main characteristics of the organizational (corporate) culture.

In any McDonald's restaurant, no matter where in the world it is located, you can see a familiar environment, an identical menu - all these are part of the image of one of the most successful organizations in the world. The success of this company is due not only to the taste of food, but also to a strong organizational culture. Each employee of the company is well acquainted with the norms of behavior adopted in it. High quality, qualified service and cleanliness are the main conditions for success. Do not compromise the company, use only the best ingredients for cooking - these are the fundamental principles of the company.

This corporate culture was formed by R. Krok, who headed the company until 1984. After his death, the company's position in the market remains stable. Today's leaders, fully imbued with the philosophy of R. Kroc, usually come to decisions that are in many ways similar to those that Kroc took during his leadership. This largely explains the McDonald's phenomenon, which symbolizes stability and harmony.

Corporate culture is an elusive, intangible, unexpressed category, the existence of which does not require proof. Every organization develops a set of rules and regulations that govern the day-to-day behavior of employees in their workplace. Until newcomers learn these rules of conduct, they will not be able to become full-fledged members of the team. Following them is encouraged by the administration with appropriate rewards and promotions. For example, it is no coincidence that employees of the Disney company are perceived by everyone as charming, always fit and smiling people. This is the image of the company, supported by all its employees. That is why it is quite obvious that, having received a job in a company, employees will try to behave in accordance with the rules that are accepted in it.

According to the modern theoretical approach, an organization, like any social group, has its own rules of conduct and roles. rituals, heroes, values. The culturological approach considers both the organization and its members as carriers of common values ​​and performers of common tasks. Like citizens of one country, workers must contribute to the growth and prosperity of their organization. On the other hand, they also enjoy the fruits of this prosperity. Thus, the productivity of the members of an organization and their morale are inseparable.

Every organization has its own culture. Corporate culture is similar to the personal characteristics of a person: it is a kind of intangible, but always present image that gives meaning, direction and basis to its life activity. Corporate culture- these are the values, ideas, expectations, norms shared by all, acquired as you enter the company and during your work in it. Just as character influences human behavior, organizational culture influences the behavior, opinions, and actions of people in a company. Corporate culture determines how employees and managers approach problem solving, serve customers, deal with suppliers, respond to competitors, and how they generally operate now and in the future. It determines the place of the organization in the world around it, personifies those unwritten laws, norms and rules that unite the members of the organization and bind them together.

Corporate culture develops over time like national or ethnic cultures and develops its values ​​and behavioral norms in the same way. Certain behaviors are supported in some organizations and rejected in others. Some organizations, for example, create an "open" culture where it's okay to question everything and come up with new original ideas. In others, novelty is not supported and communication is kept to a minimum. Some people prefer to work in an organization with a “closed” culture: a person comes to work, performs his individual task and returns home to his personal life, which has nothing to do with work, while someone needs a family-type organization in which personal life and work are closely related.

An organization usually creates traditions and norms that contribute to its corporate culture. For example, a performance awards ceremony affirms the value of hard work and creativity in an organization. In many companies, it is a common tradition on Fridays not to wear a jacket and tie to work, but to come in looser clothes, which helps to create an atmosphere of informal communication and rapprochement of the team. In other organizations, this is even impossible to imagine: all members of the work team adhere to formal rules in clothing, which, in turn, leaves an imprint on the forms of communication.

Corporate culture determines the degree of risk that is acceptable in an organization. Some companies reward the employee who wants to try out a new idea, others are conservative, they prefer to have clear instructions and guidelines when making any decision. Attitude towards conflict is another indicator of corporate culture. In some organizations, conflict is considered creative and is considered as an integral part of growth and development, in others, conflicts are sought to be avoided in any situations and at any organizational levels.

There are many approaches to highlighting various aspects that characterize and identify the culture of an organization, both at the macro level and at the micro level. So, S. P. Robbins suggests considering corporate culture based on the following 10 criteria:

Personal initiative, i.e. the degree of responsibility, freedom and independence that a person has in an organization;

The degree of risk, i.e. employee's willingness to take risks;

Direction of action, i.e. the establishment of clear goals and expected results by the organization;

Consistency of actions, i.e. the position in which units and people within the organization interact in a coordinated manner;

Management support, i.e. ensuring free interaction, assistance and support to subordinates from management services;

Control, i.e. a list of rules and instructions used to control and monitor the behavior of employees;

Identity, i.e. the degree of identification of each employee with the organization;

The system of remuneration, i.e. the degree of accounting for the performance of work, the organization of the incentive system;

Conflict, i.e. willingness to openly express one's opinion and go to conflict;

Interaction patterns, i.e. the degree of interaction within the organization.

Evaluating any organization according to these criteria, you can get a complete picture of the organizational culture, against which the general idea of ​​employees about the organization is formed.

Organizational culture is a set of the most stable and long-lasting characteristics of an organization. Organizational culture combines the values ​​and norms inherent in the organization, the styles of management procedures, the concept of technological social development. Organizational culture sets the limits within which confident decision-making is possible at each level of management, the possibility of rational use of the organization's resources, determines responsibility, gives the direction of development, regulates management activities, and contributes to the identification of employees with the organization. Under the influence of organizational culture, the behavior of individual employees is formed. Organizational culture has a significant impact on the effectiveness of the organization.

The main parameters of organizational culture:

• 1. Emphasis on external (customer service, customer orientation) or internal tasks. Organizations are focused on meeting the needs of the consumer, have significant advantages in a market economy, and are competitive;
• 2. The focus of activity on solving organizational problems or on the social aspects of the functioning of the organization;
• 3. Measures of readiness for risk and the introduction of innovations;
• 4. The degree of preference for group or individual forms of decision-making, that is, with a team or individually;
• 5. The degree of subordination of activities to pre-drawn plans;
• 6. Expressed cooperation or rivalry between individual members and groups in the organization;
• 7. The degree of simplicity or complexity of organizational procedures;
• 8. A measure of the loyalty of employees in the organization;
• 9. The degree of awareness of employees about their role in achieving the goal in the organization

Properties of organizational culture:

• 1. Collaboration forms the team's ideas about organizational values ​​and ways to follow these values;
• 2. Generality means that all knowledge, values, attitudes, customs are used by a group or work collective for satisfaction;
• 3. Hierarchy and priority, any culture represents a ranking of values, often the absolute values ​​of society are considered the main ones for the team;
• 4. Consistency, organizational culture is a complex system that combines individual elements into a single whole.

The influence of organizational culture on the activities of the organization is manifested in the following forms:

a) Identification by employees of their own goals with the goals of the organization through the adoption of its norms and values;

b) Implementation of the norms prescribing the desire to achieve the goal;

c) Formation of the organization's development strategy;

d) The unity of the process of implementing the strategy and the evolution of the organizational culture under the influence of the external environment (the structure is changing, therefore, the organizational culture is changing).

Success in the activities of a modern company is determined to a large extent by the cohesion of the staff, the reliability and familiarity of vertical and horizontal ties, trusting, harmonious and mutually beneficial relations between management and employees. “A good organization is the most profitable investment of capital” - says one of the principles of management.

The success of an enterprise results from the interaction of all employees, pursuing common goals, which must be real, understood by each employee and reflect the main character of the enterprise. An institution that will not be different from many others like it is immediately programmed for failure, failure and bankruptcy. For years we have been told about organized work, identifying it with the work of the organization, but it is not the organization that works, but the people - the personnel of the firm. It is the human factor, that is, a well-developed organizational culture and corporate spirit, and not plants, equipment and inventories that are the cornerstone of competitiveness, economic growth and efficiency.

Organizational culture has a certain structure. The knowledge of organizational culture begins with the first "superficial" or "symbolic" level, including such visible external facts as the applied technology and process architecture, the use of space and time, observed behavior, language, slogans, etc., or whatever that can be felt and perceived through the human senses. At this level, phenomena are easy to detect, but not always decipherable and interpretable in terms of organizational culture.

At the second level, the values ​​and beliefs shared by the members of the organization are studied 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.

The third - "deep" - level includes basic assumptions that are difficult to understand even for the members of the organization, but these hidden and accepted assumptions nevertheless guide people's behavior.

It is proposed to consider researching a specific organizational culture based on ten characteristics (Table 14.1.).

Table 14.1.

Characteristics of organizational culture

Together, these characteristics reflect and give meaning to the concept of organizational culture.

There can be many "local" cultures in an organization. This refers to one prevailing culture in the entire organization and the culture of its parts. Different subcultures can coexist under the roof of one common culture, but there can also be a counterculture that rejects what the organization as a whole wants to achieve.

The formation and change of organizational culture occurs under the influence of many factors, among which are:

top management focus points;

management response to critical situations;

attitude to work and style of behavior of managers;

criteria base for encouraging employees;

the criteria basis for the selection, appointment, promotion and dismissal of employees from the organization;

organization structure;

information transfer system and organizational transfers;

myths and stories about important events and people who played and still play a key role in the life of the organization;

external and internal design of the premises in which the organization is located.

The phenomenon of organizational culture is a set of certain elements (components). Firstly, these are organizational values. They are the core of the organizational culture, since on their basis the norms and forms of behavior in the organization are developed. It is the values ​​proclaimed by the founders and the most authoritative members of the organization that become the factor on which the cohesion of employees, the unity of views and actions depend, and therefore the achievement of the organization's goals is ensured.

Values ​​are usually understood as the properties of objects, processes or phenomena that have emotional appeal to members of the organization. The distribution of values ​​in a social group, for example, among company employees, sociologists call the value image of this group or organization. As for the individual employee, within the organization, within the framework of a common value image, each of them occupies an individual value position. Value images and positions change in the process of interpersonal interaction and exchange of values.

Organizational values ​​and norms are:

The purpose of the organization and its "face" (high level of technology; superior quality; leadership in its industry; devotion to the spirit of the profession; innovation);

Seniority and power (powers inherent in a position or person; respect for seniority and power; seniority as a criterion of power, etc.);

The significance of various leadership positions and functions (importance of leadership positions, roles and powers of departments and service);

Treatment of people (concern for people and their needs; impartiality and favoritism; privileges; respect for individual rights; training and development opportunities; career; fair pay; motivating people);

Selection criteria for leadership and supervisory positions (seniority or performance; priorities in internal selection; influence of informal relationships and groups, etc.);

Organization of work and discipline (voluntary or compulsory discipline; flexibility in changing roles; use of new forms of work organization, etc.);

Decision-making processes (who makes the decision, who is consulted; individual or collective decision-making; the need for agreement, the possibility of compromises; etc.);

Dissemination and exchange of information (information of employees; ease of information exchange);

Nature of contacts (preference for face-to-face or written contacts; rigidity or flexibility in using established channels of official communication; importance given to formal aspects; accessibility to senior management; use of meetings; who is invited to which meetings; rules of conduct when holding meetings);

The nature of socialization (who communicates with whom during and after work; existing barriers; special conditions for communication);

Ways to resolve conflicts (desire to avoid conflict and compromise; preference for using formal or informal ways; participation of top management in conflict resolution; etc.).

Thus, any organization carries out its activities in accordance with those values ​​that are essential for its employees. When creating organizational cultures, it is necessary to take into account the social ideals and cultural traditions of the country. In addition, for a more complete understanding and assimilation of values ​​by the employees of the organization, it is important to provide a different manifestation of values ​​within the organization. The gradual acceptance of these values ​​by the members of the organization will allow achieving stability and great success in the development of the organization.

The functional role of the existence of the values ​​of the organization is directly related to the very fact of human life in society. K. Klakhohn believes that without values, the life of society would be impossible; the functioning of the social system could not remain directed towards achieving group goals; individuals could not get from others what they need in terms of personal and emotional relationships; they would also not feel in themselves the necessary measure of order and community of goals. All this can be confidently attributed to corporate cultures: without a unified value system, organizations would not be able to function sustainably and achieve their goals.

However, not all corporate values, realized and even accepted by an employee as such, really become his personal values. Awareness of a particular value and a positive attitude towards it is not enough. A really necessary condition is the practical inclusion of the employee in the activities of the organization aimed at realizing this value. Only by acting on a daily basis in accordance with corporate values, observing the established norms and rules of conduct, an employee can become a representative of the company that meets intra-group social expectations and requirements. Full identification of an employee with the company means that he not only realizes the ideals of the company, clearly observes the rules and norms of behavior in the organization, but also internally fully accepts corporate values. In this case, the cultural values ​​of the organization become the individual values ​​of the employee, occupying a strong place in the motivational structure of his behavior. Over time, the employee continues to share these values, regardless of whether he is within the organization or working elsewhere. Moreover, such an employee becomes a powerful source of these values ​​and ideals, both within the organization that formed him, and in any other company, firm, etc.

The next component of organizational culture is the philosophy of the organization, i.e. a set of fundamental, core values ​​that answer the question of what is most important for a given organization.

The third component of organizational culture is ceremonies, rituals and slogans.

The fourth component is legends and myths.

The fifth component is habits.

The sixth component is the norms and style of behavior.

According to other researchers, culture includes the following components:

Characteristics of behavior when people interact, such as rituals and ceremonies, as well as the language used in communication;

Standards that are accepted throughout the organization, such as “earn it - got it” or how to justifiably refuse a new task; The so-called rules include:

- "rules of the game" that a newcomer must learn in the process of becoming a member of the organization;

Psychological climate in the organization

The first, least detectable and deep level, is represented by the worldview. These are ideas about the world around us, the nature of man and society. More than any other phenomenon of organizational culture, the worldview is associated with ethnic culture and religious beliefs. No wonder considerable difficulties arise in the organization of joint ventures, where employees are carriers of different worldviews. In this case, the ground for significant contradictions and conflicts among the employees of the organization arises, and significant additional efforts are needed to harmonize the worldviews of the members of such a team. At the same time, it is important to understand that it will not be possible to radically change the worldview of people. The only thing that can be achieved is a new level of mutual understanding and acceptance of the positions of representatives of another culture.

Another section of this level of culture is organizational mythology, the implementation of which is a more painstaking process. One of its directions is characterized by the statement: "The people should know their heroes" and involves the creation of a hero's halo for one of the organizers of the company or its employees. If there is no character corresponding to the scale of the task, he can be attracted from outside by inviting him as an honorary president, astronaut or politician. A historical character can also be involved as a person-symbol.

In turn, Edgar Shein proposed a hierarchy of levels of organizational culture, which is based on some basic ideas about the nature of the surrounding world, reality, time, the space of human nature, human activity, human relationships (Fig. 1.1).

Fig. 1.1 The structure of the organizational culture of E. Shein

Data, implicit and assumed beliefs, guide people's behavior by helping them perceive the attributes that characterize organizational culture. They are in the sphere of the subconscious, and, accordingly, are not sufficiently realized even by their carriers - members of the organization. They are revealed only in the course of a special analysis and, basically, are only hypothetical.

The second level represents the values ​​and beliefs shared by the members of the organization, 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. They are realized to a greater extent than the basic ideas and are often directly formulated in the program documents of the organization, being the main guidelines in its activities. As a rule, they are formed by its management to the attention of all employees. Set values, which may be explicit or implicit, in turn determine the social norms that govern the behavior of members of the organization. Declared values ​​do not always correspond to the true values ​​of the organization.

The third level is the external manifestations of organizational culture. These include the technology and architecture used, the use of space and time, the specific observable actions of people (rituals, ceremonies...), the layout and decoration of the organization's premises. It is like a visible part of the organizational culture. However, the meaning of these external manifestations remains incomprehensible if the basic ideas that stand behind these external manifestations are unknown. At this level, things and phenomena are easy to detect, but they can not always be deciphered and interpreted in terms of organizational culture.

The main properties of organizational culture are presented in Figure 1.2.

Rice. 1.2. Properties of organizational culture

Clearly, if an organization's culture is aligned with its overall purpose, it can be an important factor in organizational effectiveness. Therefore, modern organizations see culture as a powerful strategic tool to orient all departments and individuals towards common goals, mobilize employee initiative and ensure productive interaction. In other words, we can talk about organizational culture only when top management demonstrates and approves a certain system of views, norms and values ​​that directly or indirectly contribute to the achievement of the strategic objectives of the organization. More often than not, organizations develop a culture that embodies the values ​​and behaviors of their leaders. In this context, organizational culture can be defined as a set of norms, rules, customs and traditions that are supported by the subject of organizational power and set the general framework for the behavior of employees that are consistent with the strategy of the organization.

Speaking of developing, organizational culture has the property of dynamism and goes through certain stages in its movement (Fig. 1.3.).

Rice. 1.3. Stages of development of organizational culture

At each of the presented stages, their own “growth problems” appear, which is natural for dynamic systems, however, different organizational cultures choose their own ways of solving them, more or less effective.

Fast-growing organizations are focused, as a rule, on the successful achievement of their goals. The priorities of the organizational culture of such organizations are: professional competence, confidence in oneself and one's knowledge, desire for self-improvement, "equality of chances" in career development, reliability and completeness of information, high quality requirements. The achievements of employees are necessarily taken into account and rewarded, which gives rise to job satisfaction, commitment to the organization and its organizational culture. To facilitate the development of such a fast-growing organization, the organizational culture must have increased dynamism, flexibility and a high ability to change.

Slowly growing organizations are guided, as a rule, by bureaucratic norms and values, first of all, by power and status, self-affirmation, the hierarchy of unity of command. Such a bureaucratic culture can exist for a long time without changes and movement forward, until some really serious contradictions force the organizational culture to change.

Consistency is the second most important property, indicating that organizational culture is a rather complex system that combines individual elements into a single whole, guided by a specific mission in society and its priorities.

Structured organizational culture means a strict hierarchical subordination of its elements, which have their own degree of relevance and priority.

Organizational culture also has the property of relativity, since it is not a “thing in itself”, but constantly correlates its elements, both with its own goals and with the surrounding reality, other organizational cultures, while noting its strengths and weaknesses, reviewing and improving one or the other parameters.

The heterogeneity of an organizational culture means that there can be many local structures within it, reflecting the differentiation of culture by levels, departments, divisions, age and national groups, etc.

Organizational culture should not be interpreted as a monolithic phenomenon, as representations that are equally perceived by all employees of the organization. In particular, the nature and content of labor can cultivate specific behaviors, values, and this, in turn, forms a special subculture (for example, workers may have different beliefs, norms and behavior compared to management personnel).

Sharing is another essential feature of organizational culture. Any organizational culture exists and develops effectively only due to the fact that its postulates, norms and values ​​are shared by the staff. The degree of separability determines the strength of the impact of culture on workers. The higher the degree of separability, the more significant and strong influence on the behavior of personnel in the organization have norms and values, goals, codes and other structural elements of organizational culture. Moreover, such influence is not violent, coercive, but is based on the voluntary and natural acceptance by employees of the postulates of organizational culture as their own.

Annotation: The concept of organizational culture. Three levels of organizational culture according to E. Shain. Characteristics of organizational culture according to P. Harris and R. Moran. Organizational Culture Assessment (OCAI) and use of the results of its analysis. Formation and maintenance of organizational culture. organizational rituals. National factors in organizational culture. G. Hofstede's model. Model Lane and Distefano. Model W. Ouchi. Organizational development. Change management. Change types. Driving forces of change. Resistance to change: forms, sources. Methods for overcoming resistance according to J. Kotter and L. Schlesinger.

Purpose of the lecture: consider the concept organizational culture, as well as approaches to its formation on the basis of scientific research. Determine methods to overcome resistance.

Most Western and Russian entrepreneurs have come to understand that the organization that develops effectively is the one in which a close-knit team is created, hierarchical barriers are eliminated, everyone is maximally interested in the overall success, because his material well-being depends on it. The organization that has a developed organizational culture.

Direction " Organizational culture"is a field of knowledge that is part of a series of management sciences. It comes from a relatively new field of knowledge" Organizational Behavior ", which explores the general approaches, principles, laws and patterns in the organization.

The main goal of organizational behavior is to help people perform their duties in organizations more productively and to get more satisfaction from this.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary, among other things, to determine the value orientations of the individual, organization, etc. First of all, we mean norms, rules, or standards.

Each specific organizational behavior has its own organizational culture that form a single whole.

Organizational culture is a set of norms, rules and standards accepted and supported in society and organizational relations. Thus, organizational relations are the interaction, opposition or neutral attitude of structural elements in the organization and outside it.

In this way, organizational culture, represents:

• the values ​​and norms learned and applied by members of the organization, which at the same time decisively determine their behavior;
• atmosphere or social climate in the organization;
• the dominant system of values ​​and behaviors in the organization.

Levels of organizational culture

According to the research of E. Shine, organizational culture must be considered from the perspective of three levels.

So, the first level is knowledge organizational culture. At this level, a person learns the totality of external factors that form the culture of organization.

At the second level, which is called "subsurface" or "organizational ideology", a person begins to perceive the values, beliefs, beliefs shared by all members of the organization through language, symbols, behavior.

At the third level "deep" there is an unconscious acceptance of hidden offers on faith. For example, the attitude to being, the perception of space and time, the attitude of people to work and to each other, etc.

Characteristics of organizational culture according to F. Harris and R. Moran

According to the research of these scientists, organizational culture should be considered according to the following characteristics: (Table 30.1).

The organizational cultures defined above reflect and give meaning to the organizational culture. The team of the organization, sharing faith and expectations, creates its own physical environment, develops a language of communication, performs actions that are adequately perceived by others and shows feelings and emotions accepted by all. All this helps employees to understand and interpret the culture of the organization, i.e. give meaning to events and actions.

OCAI Corporate Culture Tool is based on the theoretical model "Framework of Competing Values". Four dominant types of corporate culture emerge from this framework. The tool was developed based on the analysis of empirical studies of 39 indicators that define a comprehensive set of organizational performance measures. As a result of these studies, two of the most important indicators have been identified and four core values ​​have been formulated, which represent opposing or competing assumptions. The tool is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of corporate culture and identify those aspects of it that it is desirable for the company to change, and considers those aspects that determine the foundation of the organization's culture.

Components organizational culture, on which the assessment is based:

1. External characteristics.
2. General leadership style in the organization.
3. Employee management.
4. The binding entity of an organization.
5. strategic goals.

Formation organizational culture

Process external adaptation and survival associated with the search for and finding the organization of its niche in the market and its adaptation to the constantly changing external environment. This is the process by which an organization achieves its own goals and interacts with the external environment. Within the framework of this process, issues related to the tasks to be performed, methods for their solution, reactions to successes or failures, etc.

In almost any organization, employees tend to take part in the following processes:

• determine in the external environment what is important and what is not;
• develop options for measuring results achieved;
• determine the reasons for success and failure in achieving goals.

It has been noticed that the employees of the organization feel the need to develop acceptable ways to bring information about their own capabilities, advantages and successes to the representatives of the external environment.

Process internal integration is a relationship with the establishment and maintenance of effective relationships in the work between members of the organization. Essentially, it is the process of finding ways to work together and collaborate within an organization. The process of internal integration begins with the definition of oneself, which in a certain way applies both to individual groups (subcultures) and to the entire team of the organization as a whole.

Working with each other, members of the organization's team seek to define for themselves the "organizational world" around them.

At almost all stages of the development of an organization, the managerial culture of its leader (personal faith, values, norms and behavior) in most cases determines the culture of the organization.

As defined earlier, the formation of organizational culture is associated with the external organizational environment:

• the business environment in general and in the industry in particular;
• elements of national culture.

The adoption by an organization of a certain culture can be predetermined by the specifics of the type of economic activity in which it operates, with the characteristics of the market, consumers, etc.