Organizational culture refers to. The culture of an organization

Other definitions

  • “A habitual, traditional way of thinking and acting, which is shared to a greater or lesser extent by all employees of the enterprise and which must be learned and at least partially adopted by newcomers in order for new team members to become “their own”.

E. Jakus

  • “The set of beliefs and expectations shared by the members of an organization, these beliefs and expectations form the norms that largely determine the behavior of individuals and groups in the organization.”

H. Schwartz and S. Davis

  • "A system of relationships, actions, and artifacts that stands the test of time and shapes within the members of a given cultural society a rather unique shared psychology."

S. Michon and P. Stern

  • "The unique characteristics of an organization's perceived characteristics, that which distinguishes it from all others in the industry."
  • “A set of basic assumptions invented, discovered, or developed by a group in order to learn to cope with the problems of external adaptation of internal integration, which functions long enough to prove its validity, and is passed on to new members of the organization as the only correct one.”
  • "One of the ways to carry out organizational activities through the use of language, folklore, traditions and other means of conveying core values, beliefs, ideologies that direct the activities of the enterprise in the right direction."

Phenomenological concept of organizational culture

Rational-pragmatic concept of organizational culture

Within the framework of this approach, the conditionality of future development is postulated by the past experience of the organization. This follows from the position that the behavior of the members of the organization is determined by the values ​​and basic ideas developed as a result of historical development organizations. In addition, a large role in the formation and change organizational culture given to the leadership of the organization. That is why this concept is called rational - the formation of organizational culture is seen as a conscious and controlled process.

The emergence of rationalistic concepts of organizational culture is associated with the name of Edgar Schein. He defines organizational culture as “a pattern of collective basic ideas acquired by a group in solving the problems of adaptation to changes in the external environment and internal integration, the effectiveness of which is sufficient to be considered valuable and transferred to new members of the group as the correct system for perceiving and considering problems” .

There are two groups of problems: 1) the problem of survival and adaptation when the external conditions for the existence of a group (read, organizations) change and 2) the problem of integration internal processes enabling this survival and adaptation. Any group, from the moment of its inception until it reaches the stage of maturity and decline, faces these problems. When these problems are solved, the culture of the organization is formed.

The process of forming a culture is in a sense identical to the process of creating the group itself, since the “essence” of the group, the thoughts, attitudes, feelings and values ​​characteristic of its members, which are the result of collective experience and collective learning, are expressed in the system of ideas adopted by the group, called culture.

Shane's levels of culture

Edgar Schein believes that culture should be studied at three levels: artifacts, proclaimed values, and basic ideas. These levels essentially characterize the depth of the study.

Artifacts

Proclaimed values

Under proclaimed values refers to the statements and actions of members of the organization that reflect common values ​​and beliefs. The proclaimed values ​​are set by the company's management as part of the strategy or for some other reason. Employees are aware of these values, and they themselves make the choice to accept these values, pretend and adapt to the situation, or reject them. If management is persistent enough in its pursuit of certain values, if artifacts emerge that reflect the significance of those values ​​to the organization, then the values ​​pass the test. After a certain period of time, it becomes clear whether adherence to the proclaimed values ​​leads to victories or defeats in business.

In the first option, if the organization does not succeed, the leader will change in it or the former leader will reconsider strategy and policy. And then the proclaimed values ​​will depart, will be changed. In the second option, if the organization achieves its goals, employees will gain confidence that they are on the right track. Accordingly, the attitude to the proclaimed values ​​of the company will become different. These values ​​will move to a deeper level - the level of basic ideas.

Basic Views

Basic Views- is the basis of the culture of the organization, which its members may not be aware of and consider immutable. It is this basis that determines the behavior of people in the organization, the adoption of certain decisions.

Basic ideas, or assumptions, are the "deep" level of the organization's culture. They are not openly expressed in artifacts and, more importantly, cannot be described even by members of the organization. These representations are at the subconscious level of employees, they are taken for granted. Most likely, these ideas are so powerful because they led the company to success. If the found solution to the problem justifies itself over and over again, it begins to be taken for granted. What was once a hypothesis, accepted only intuitively or conditionally, is gradually turning into reality. The basic ideas seem so obvious to the members of the group that the variation in behavior within a given cultural unit is minimized. In fact, if the group adheres to some basic view, then the behavior that is based on any other view will seem incomprehensible to the group members.

Basic concepts are related to the fundamental aspects of existence, which can be: the nature of time and space; human nature and human activity; the nature of truth and the means of obtaining it; correct relationship between the individual and the group; the relative importance of work, family and self-development; finding by men and women their true role and the nature of the family. We do not gain new insights in each of these areas by joining a new group or organization. Every member new group brings his cultural "baggage", acquired by him in previous groups; when a new group develops its own history, it can change part or all of these ideas associated with the most important areas of its experience. It is from these new ideas that the culture of this particular group is formed.

Employees who do not follow the basic ideas will sooner or later be "in disgrace", as a "cultural barrier" will arise between them and their colleagues.

Organizational culture change

Basic ideas do not cause objections or doubts, and therefore it is extremely difficult to change them. To learn something new in this area, it is necessary to resurrect, re-examine and perhaps change some of the most enduring elements of the cognitive structure. Such a procedure is extremely difficult, since rechecking basic ideas destabilizes the cognitive space and the space of interpersonal ideas for some time, giving rise to a lot of anxiety.

People do not like to worry and therefore prefer to believe that what is happening corresponds to their ideas, even in cases where this leads to a distorted, contradictory and falsified perception and interpretation of events. In mental processes of this kind, culture acquires a special power. Culture as a set of basic ideas determines what we should pay attention to, what is the meaning of certain objects and phenomena, what should be the emotional reaction to what is happening, what actions should be taken in a given situation.

The human mind needs cognitive stability. For this reason, doubting the validity of the basic idea always causes anxiety and a feeling of insecurity in a person. In this sense, the collective basic beliefs that make up the essence of the culture of the group can be considered both at the individual and at the group level as psychological cognitive defense mechanisms that ensure the functioning of the group. Awareness of this provision seems to be especially important when considering the possibility of changing certain aspects of group culture, because this problem is no less complex than the problem of changing the individual system of defense mechanisms. In both cases, everything is determined by the ability to cope with the disturbing feelings that arise during any transformations that affect this level.

Organizational culture- these are norms and values ​​that are shared by the absolute majority of members of an organization or enterprise, as well as their external manifestations (organizational behavior).

Main functions:

  • internal integration (gives an idea to all members of the structure about the form of their interaction with each other);
  • external adaptation (adapts the organization to external environment).

The process of forming an organizational culture is an attempt to constructively influence the behavior of staff. Being engaged in the formation of certain attitudes, value systems among employees within the framework of certain organizational structure it is possible to stimulate, plan and predict the desired behavior, but at the same time, the corporate culture of the organization, which has already developed, should be taken into account. Often, managers, trying to form the philosophy of their organization, declaring progressive norms and values, even investing some money in this, do not get the desired results. This is partly due to the fact that real-life values ​​and norms come into conflict with the implemented organizational norms. Therefore, they are rejected by the majority of the collective.

Elements of organizational culture

  • Behavioral stereotypes (slang, mutual language, which is used by members of the organization; traditions and customs observed by them; rituals performed on certain occasions).
  • Group norms (models and standards that regulate the behavior of members of the organization).
  • Proclaimed values ​​(well-known and declared values ​​and principles in the organization that the organization adheres to and implements. For example, “product quality”.).
  • Philosophy of the organization (general ideological and even, possibly, political principles that determine the actions of the organization in relation to employees, customers, intermediaries).
  • Rules of the game (rules of behavior for employees at work; restrictions and traditions necessary for assimilation by all new members of the team).
  • Organizational climate (“spirit of the organization”, which is determined by the composition of the team and the characteristic way of interaction between its members, as well as with clients and other persons, quality mugs).
  • Existing practical experience(techniques and methods that are used by members of the team to achieve specified goals; the ability to perform certain actions in certain situations that are passed down in the team from generation to generation and which do not require indispensable written fixation).

Types of organizational cultures

The most popular typology was created by K. Cameron and R. Quinn. It is based on four groups of criteria that define the core values ​​of the organization:

  • discretion and flexibility;
  • control and stability;
  • integration and internal focus;
  • differentiation and external focus.

clan organizational culture. It implies a very friendly team, where its members have a lot in common. Organizational units are similar to big families. The leaders of the organization are perceived by its members as educators. The organization is inseparable thanks to tradition and devotion, internally attached great importance morale and team spirit. Business success is defined as caring for people and good feeling to consumers. With this type of organizational culture, teamwork and agreement are encouraged.

Adhocracy organizational culture. Implies active entrepreneurial and creative work. To achieve common success, employees are willing to take risks and make personal sacrifices. The leaders of such an organization are considered innovators and risk-takers. The binding element of the organization is a commitment to innovation and experimentation. The obligation to work at the front lines is emphasized. In the long run, the organization focuses on acquiring new resources and growing. Success is the production of unique products or the provision of new services. At the same time, leadership in the market of services or products is important. The organization encourages creativity, freedom and personal initiative.

Hierarchical organizational culture. This type of organizational culture takes place in formalized and structured organizations. Procedures govern all activities of workers. Leaders are rational organizers and coordinators. The organization values ​​maintaining the main course of its activities. The unifying fact in it is official policy and formal rules.

Market organizational culture. This type is dominant in organizations that are focused on achieving results. The main task is to fulfill the intended goals. Employees of such an organization are always purposeful and constantly compete with each other. Leaders are tough competitors and tough administrators. They are always demanding and unwavering. The organization is united by the goal of always winning, for it success and reputation are the main values.

IN Lately interest in organizational culture has skyrocketed. This is due to the increased understanding of the impact that the phenomenon of culture has on the success and effectiveness of the organization. Numerous studies show that thriving companies differ high level culture, which is formed as a result of deliberate efforts aimed at developing the spirit of the corporation, for the benefit of all those interested in its activities.

An organization is a complex organism whose life potential is based on organizational culture. It not only distinguishes one organization from another, but also determines the success of the functioning and survival of the organization in the long term.

O. S. Vikhansky and A. I. Naumov define organizational culture as a set of the most important assumptions accepted by the members of the organization and expressed in the values ​​declared by the organization, setting people guidelines for their behavior and actions.

Organizational culture refers to the attitudes, viewpoints and behaviors that embody core values.

Organizational culture can be viewed in two ways:

a) as an independent variable, i.e. it is formed from the sum of ideas about the values, norms, principles and behaviors that people bring to the organization;

b) as a dependent and internal variable that develops its own dynamics - positive and negative. The recognized concept of "culture" as an internal variable is a way of life, thinking, action, existence. It can be, for example, the procedure for making decisions or the procedure for rewarding and punishing employees, etc.

The culture of an organization can be seen as an expression of the values ​​that are embodied in organizational structure And personnel policy and influence them.

Organizational culture has a certain set of elements - symbols, values, beliefs, assumptions. E. Shine proposed to consider organizational culture at three levels.

The first level, or superficial, includes, on the one hand, such visible external factors as technology, architecture, observed behavior, language, slogans, etc., and on the other hand, everything that can be felt and perceived with the help of human senses . 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 second level, or subsurface, involves the study of values ​​and beliefs. Their perception is conscious and depends on the desire of people.

The third level, or deep level, includes basic assumptions that determine people's behavior: attitude to nature, understanding of the reality of time and space, attitude to man, work, etc. Without special concentration, these assumptions are difficult to realize even by the members of the organization.

Researchers of organizational culture often confine themselves to the first two levels, because at the deep level there are almost insurmountable difficulties.

The properties of organizational culture are based on the following essential features: universality, informality, stability.

The universality of organizational culture is expressed in the fact that it covers all types of activities carried out in the organization. The concept of universality has a double meaning. On the one hand, organizational culture is the form in which economic acts are clothed.

For example, organizational culture may determine the order in which strategic issues or procedures for hiring new employees. On the other hand, culture is not just a shell of the life of an organization, but also its meaning, an element that determines the content of economic acts. Culture itself becomes one of the strategic goals of the organization. Certain order employment may be subject to necessity the best way adapt new employees to the current culture in the organization.

The informality of organizational culture is determined by the fact that its functioning is practically not connected with the official, administratively established rules of organizational life. Organizational culture acts, as it were, in parallel with the formal economic mechanism of the organization. hallmark organizational culture in comparison with the formal mechanism is the predominant use of oral, speech forms of communication, rather than written documentation and instructions, as is customary in a formal system.

The value of informal contacts is determined by the fact that more than 90% of business decisions in modern corporations are not made in a formal setting - at meetings, meetings, etc., but at informal meetings, outside specially designated places. Organizational culture cannot be identified with any informal contacts in the organization. Organizational culture includes only those informal contacts that correspond to the values ​​accepted within the culture. The informality of organizational culture is the reason why the parameters and results of the impact of culture are almost impossible to directly measure using quantitative indicators. They can only be expressed by the qualitative term "better - worse".

The stability of organizational culture is associated with such a general property of culture as the traditional character of its norms and institutions. The formation of any organizational culture requires a long effort on the part of managers. However, once formed, the values ​​of culture and the ways of their implementation acquire the character of traditions and remain stable for several generations working in the organization. Many strong organizational cultures have inherited the values ​​introduced by leaders and founders of companies decades ago. Thus, the foundations of the modern organizational culture of IBM were laid in the first decades of the 20th century. by its founding father, T. J. Watson.

There are several main features of organizational cultures, according to which they differ from each other. A special combination of such features gives each culture its individuality, allows it to be identified in one way or another.

The main features of organizational culture are:

  • reflection in the mission of the organization of its main goals;
  • focus on solving instrumental (i.e. production in the broad sense) tasks of the organization or personal problems of its participants;
  • degree of risk;
  • measure of correlation between conformism and individualism;
  • preference for group or individual forms of decision-making;
  • degree of subordination to plans and regulations;
  • the predominance of cooperation or rivalry among participants;
  • loyalty or indifference of people towards the organization;
  • orientation to autonomy, independence or subordination:
  • the nature of the relationship of management to staff;
  • group orientation or individual organization labor and incentives;
  • orientation towards stability or change;
  • source and role of power;
  • means of integration;
  • management styles, relationships between employees and the organization, ways of assessing employees.

The culture of an organization contains both subjective and objective elements.

The subjective elements of culture include beliefs, values, images, rituals, taboos, legends and myths associated with the history of the organization and the life of its founders, customs, accepted norms of communication, slogans.

Values ​​are understood as the properties of certain objects, processes and phenomena that are emotionally attractive to most members of the organization, which makes them models, guidelines, and a measure of behavior.

Values ​​primarily include goals, the nature of internal relationships, the orientation of people's behavior, diligence, innovation, initiative, labor and professional ethics etc.

It is believed that today it is necessary not only to rely on existing values, but also to actively form new ones. Therefore, it is important to carefully monitor everything new, useful that others have in this area, to evaluate it fairly and impartially. At the same time, old values ​​cannot be completely destroyed or suppressed. On the contrary, they must be treated with care, used as a basis for the formation of new values, including appropriate mechanisms, including joint creativity.

The data obtained by G. Hofstede on the measurement of the above variables for ten countries are shown in Table. 13.1. It should be emphasized that not all people in every country surveyed feel and act exactly according to their scores.

The considered model can be used in evaluating the work of the organization, as well as for a comparative analysis of organizations, countries, regions.

Speaking about the peculiarities of culture in different countries and in various organizations, it must be borne in mind that in Russia there are differences by region. Thus, studies show that, for example, the Swedish model (basically) is more acceptable for the North-West region of Russia and, first of all, for St. Petersburg, Novgorod and Pskov, as well as for individual regions Western Siberia, whose economic and organizational culture is somewhat similar. Priority in such a culture is given to the quality of life and care for the weak, which, according to the theory of the Dutch researcher Hofstede, indicates its “feminine” beginning. The bearers of such a culture are characterized by a high degree of individualism, they stick close to their leaders, they are overcome by a sense of insecurity, and so on. And in this they differ, in particular, from the Americans.

The latter are also individualists, but they are much further from their leaders, they need rigid structures to manage them, they are reluctant to perceive uncertainty, assertive in achieving their goals, being carriers of the “male” principle in economic culture. A certain similarity in this regard is characteristic of the economic and organizational culture of such regions of our country as the Moscow region, the center of the Urals, Transbaikalia and others that are closer to the American or German economic models. Consequently, a business model that is acceptable for the North-West region may turn out to be untenable and ineffective in the Central region. Middle Volga region or the Caucasus, if only because of differences in the manifestation of the cultural factor.

This circumstance fully applies to individual organizations located in the respective regions. This means that each organization must develop and adopt its own code of business culture, which should reflect its characteristic attitude towards legality, product quality, finance and production obligations, distribution of business information, employees, etc.

Thus, the fundamental role of economic and organizational culture in the models of organizational systems is manifested both in the creation of an appropriate management system in them and in the formation of organizational culture. If, for example, any system has an organizational culture with a "feminine" beginning, then the management style in it should be more democratic, distinguished by collegiality in making managerial decisions. In accordance with this, it is necessary to build the organizational structure of this system, for which the most appropriate would be a linear-staff, matrix or other similar type of management structure.

In the conditions of an organizational culture with a “male” beginning, the style of management in an organization should be distinguished by authoritarianism, rigidity and one-man management in making managerial decisions, which is also reflected in the organizational structure, which should most likely be linear or linear-functional.

According to the place of organization and the degree of influence on it, several types of cultures are distinguished.

An indisputable culture is characterized by a small number of core values ​​and norms, but the requirements for orientation to them are rigorous. It does not allow spontaneous influence both from outside and from within, it is closed (closedness of culture is an unwillingness to see shortcomings, to wash dirty linen in public, the desire to maintain ostentatious unity). A closed culture overwhelms staff and becomes a defining moment of motivation. But the values ​​and norms themselves, if necessary, are consciously adjusted.

A weak culture contains practically no corporate values ​​and norms. Each element of the organization has its own, and often contradictory to others. The norms and values ​​of a weak culture are easily amenable to internal and external influence and change under its influence. Such a culture separates the participants in the organization, opposes them to each other, complicates the management process and ultimately leads to its weakening.

A strong culture is open to influence both from within and from without. Openness implies openness and dialogue between all participants, organizations and outsiders. She actively assimilates all the best, no matter where it comes from, and as a result only becomes stronger.

It must be borne in mind that a strong culture, like a weak one, can be effective in one and ineffective in another.

Let's take a look at some of the most well-known types of organizational cultures.

W. Hall offers the ABC (ABC) corporate culture, Where:

A - artifacts and etiquette (superficial level). Specific visible elements of culture, such as language, form of greeting, clothing, physical location (open or closed spaces);

B - behavior and actions (deeper level). Stable patterns and stereotypes of behavior, including methods of decision-making by individuals, organization of teamwork and attitude to problems;

C. Handy developed a typology of managerial cultures. He assigned each of the types the name of the corresponding Olympian god.

The culture of power, or Zeus. Its essential point is personal power, the source of which is the possession of resources. Organizations professing such a culture have a rigid structure, a high degree centralization of management, a few rules and procedures, suppress the initiative of workers, exercise tight control over everything. Success here is predetermined by the qualifications of the manager and the timely identification of problems, which allows you to quickly make and implement decisions. This culture is typical for young commercial structures.

Role culture, or culture of Apollo. It is a bureaucratic culture based on a system of rules and regulations. It is characterized by a clear distribution of roles, rights, duties and responsibilities between management employees. It is inflexible and makes it difficult to innovate, so it is ineffective in the face of change. The source of power here is the position, not the personal qualities of the leader. Such a management culture is inherent in large corporations and government agencies.

The culture of the task, or the culture of Athena. This culture is adapted to management in extreme conditions and constantly changing situations, so the focus here is on the speed of problem solving. It is based on cooperation, collective development of ideas and shared values. The foundation of power is knowledge, competence, professionalism and possession of information. This is a transitional type of management culture that can develop into one of the previous ones. It is characteristic of design or venture organizations.

At the same time, many practical ideas for developing an organization's culture and creating a favorable climate in it are quite simple and effective. Thus, the internal enmity that is tearing apart labor collectives is, alas, an international problem. It is associated with disputes, stress. Where the microbe of civil strife has settled, as a rule, the microclimate is not the same, the labor productivity is not the same.

What Japanese psychologists did not use to rid the teams of unnecessary passions! But all the techniques used (calm classical music, wallpapers painted in cheerful colors, supplying air with pleasant aromatic additives to the working rooms) turned out to be powerless: tension in the teams was not completely eliminated. And then a simple idea was born - to put a friendly, affectionate fluffy dog ​​between the tables. Disputes as if removed by hand, people seemed to have been replaced.

Demand without supply is unthinkable in Japan. A new type of paid services was immediately formed in the country - renting pets. In addition to the dog, you can order a cat, a parrot or even a pig at rental points. The time factor does not matter: take the animal at least for a day, at least for a month, the main thing is to pay. The rental rates are quite high, though – for a dog borrowed for three days, you have to shell out 300,000 yen (about $3,000). However, the Japanese do not at all consider that they are allegedly being robbed, realizing that it is not so easy to raise a playful, sociable dog that will willingly and without whims carry out the commands of strangers. And yes, it's hard to maintain. Therefore, before renting an animal to the workforce, the company representative makes sure that the dog or cat in the new premises will be properly cared for.

At the same time, organizational culture turns into a kind of utopia, when desirable ideas are presented as reality, which in reality is completely different. It is far from always that organizational culture can be considered a fundamental factor in management, and the meaning that managers associate with the word “culture” cannot be put into it.

The reason for misconceptions about organizational culture lies on the surface. It is always flattering to consider your organization an open and customer-oriented enterprise, believing that these two positive qualities are characteristic of it. Often such ideas are unrealistic, do not reflect the actual state of affairs. Apparently, managers do not know well what their employees think, and perhaps they do not want to know.

In functional terms, organizational culture helps to solve the following tasks:

  • coordination through established procedures and rules of conduct;
  • motivation, implemented by explaining to employees the meaning of the work performed;
  • profiling, which allows you to gain a characteristic difference from other organizations;
  • attracting staff by promoting the advantages of their organization.

In principle, organizational culture is able to implement the listed and other functions, but not everyone has the appropriate potential. Many enterprises have a corporate culture that not only hinders the achievement of economic success, but also does not allow them to recognize themselves and use their capabilities in the interests of the company.

To assess the effectiveness of the management system (and hence the effectiveness of the organizational culture), the ultimate goal of which is the creation and sale of products (works, services) on the market, the resource efficiency indicator can be fully used. This is a modified indicator of resource productivity, which takes into account, along with other factors, market financial and credit relations and inflationary processes.

In addition to the main generalizing performance indicator, for a more complete assessment of the organizational culture, a number of auxiliary indicators should be used, such as the level of industrial relations, the standard of management, the degree of personnel stability, etc.

Other definitions

  • “A habitual, traditional way of thinking and acting, which is shared to a greater or lesser extent by all employees of the enterprise and which must be learned and at least partially adopted by newcomers in order for new team members to become “their own”.

E. Jakus

  • “The set of beliefs and expectations shared by the members of an organization, these beliefs and expectations form the norms that largely determine the behavior of individuals and groups in the organization.”

H. Schwartz and S. Davis

  • "A system of relationships, actions, and artifacts that stands the test of time and shapes within the members of a given cultural society a rather unique shared psychology."

S. Michon and P. Stern

  • "The unique characteristics of an organization's perceived characteristics, that which distinguishes it from all others in the industry."
  • “A set of basic assumptions invented, discovered, or developed by a group in order to learn to cope with the problems of external adaptation of internal integration, which functions long enough to prove its validity, and is passed on to new members of the organization as the only correct one.”
  • "One of the ways to carry out organizational activities through the use of language, folklore, traditions and other means of conveying core values, beliefs, ideologies that direct the activities of the enterprise in the right direction."

Phenomenological concept of organizational culture

Rational-pragmatic concept of organizational culture

Within the framework of this approach, the conditionality of future development is postulated by the past experience of the organization. This follows from the position that the behavior of the members of the organization is determined by the values ​​and basic ideas developed as a result of the historical development of the organization. In addition, a large role in the formation and change of organizational culture is assigned to the leadership of the organization. That is why this concept is called rational - the formation of organizational culture is seen as a conscious and controlled process.

The emergence of rationalistic concepts of organizational culture is associated with the name of Edgar Schein. He defines organizational culture as “a pattern of collective basic ideas acquired by a group in solving the problems of adaptation to changes in the external environment and internal integration, the effectiveness of which is sufficient to be considered valuable and transferred to new members of the group as the correct system for perceiving and considering problems” .

There are two groups of problems: 1) the problem of survival and adaptation when the external conditions for the existence of a group (read, organizations) change and 2) the problem of integrating internal processes that ensure the possibility of this survival and adaptation. Any group, from the moment of its inception until it reaches the stage of maturity and decline, faces these problems. When these problems are solved, the culture of the organization is formed.

The process of forming a culture is in a sense identical to the process of creating the group itself, since the “essence” of the group, the thoughts, attitudes, feelings and values ​​characteristic of its members, which are the result of collective experience and collective learning, are expressed in the system of ideas adopted by the group, called culture.

Shane's levels of culture

Edgar Schein believes that culture should be studied at three levels: artifacts, proclaimed values, and basic ideas. These levels essentially characterize the depth of the study.

Artifacts

Proclaimed values

Under proclaimed values refers to the statements and actions of members of the organization that reflect common values ​​and beliefs. The proclaimed values ​​are set by the company's management as part of the strategy or for some other reason. Employees are aware of these values, and they themselves make the choice to accept these values, pretend and adapt to the situation, or reject them. If management is persistent enough in its pursuit of certain values, if artifacts emerge that reflect the significance of those values ​​to the organization, then the values ​​pass the test. After a certain period of time, it becomes clear whether adherence to the proclaimed values ​​leads to victories or defeats in business.

In the first option, if the organization does not succeed, the leader will change in it or the former leader will reconsider strategy and policy. And then the proclaimed values ​​will depart, will be changed. In the second option, if the organization achieves its goals, employees will gain confidence that they are on the right track. Accordingly, the attitude to the proclaimed values ​​of the company will become different. These values ​​will move to a deeper level - the level of basic ideas.

Basic Views

Basic Views- is the basis of the culture of the organization, which its members may not be aware of and consider immutable. It is this basis that determines the behavior of people in the organization, the adoption of certain decisions.

Basic ideas, or assumptions, are the "deep" level of the organization's culture. They are not openly expressed in artifacts and, more importantly, cannot be described even by members of the organization. These representations are at the subconscious level of employees, they are taken for granted. Most likely, these ideas are so powerful because they led the company to success. If the found solution to the problem justifies itself over and over again, it begins to be taken for granted. What was once a hypothesis, accepted only intuitively or conditionally, is gradually turning into reality. The basic ideas seem so obvious to the members of the group that the variation in behavior within a given cultural unit is minimized. In fact, if the group adheres to some basic view, then the behavior that is based on any other view will seem incomprehensible to the group members.

Basic concepts are related to the fundamental aspects of existence, which can be: the nature of time and space; human nature and human activity; the nature of truth and the means of obtaining it; correct relationship between the individual and the group; the relative importance of work, family and self-development; finding by men and women their true role and the nature of the family. We do not gain new insights in each of these areas by joining a new group or organization. Each member of the new group brings his own cultural "baggage", acquired by him in previous groups; when a new group develops its own history, it can change part or all of these ideas associated with the most important areas of its experience. It is from these new ideas that the culture of this particular group is formed.

Employees who do not follow the basic ideas will sooner or later be "in disgrace", as a "cultural barrier" will arise between them and their colleagues.

Organizational culture change

Basic ideas do not cause objections or doubts, and therefore it is extremely difficult to change them. To learn something new in this area, it is necessary to resurrect, re-examine and perhaps change some of the most enduring elements of the cognitive structure. Such a procedure is extremely difficult, since rechecking basic ideas destabilizes the cognitive space and the space of interpersonal ideas for some time, giving rise to a lot of anxiety.

People do not like to worry and therefore prefer to believe that what is happening corresponds to their ideas, even in cases where this leads to a distorted, contradictory and falsified perception and interpretation of events. In mental processes of this kind, culture acquires a special power. Culture as a set of basic ideas determines what we should pay attention to, what is the meaning of certain objects and phenomena, what should be the emotional reaction to what is happening, what actions should be taken in a given situation.

The human mind needs cognitive stability. For this reason, doubting the validity of the basic idea always causes anxiety and a feeling of insecurity in a person. In this sense, the collective basic beliefs that make up the essence of the culture of the group can be considered both at the individual and at the group level as psychological cognitive defense mechanisms that ensure the functioning of the group. Awareness of this provision seems to be especially important when considering the possibility of changing certain aspects of group culture, because this problem is no less complex than the problem of changing the individual system of defense mechanisms. In both cases, everything is determined by the ability to cope with the disturbing feelings that arise during any transformations that affect this level.

The essence of organizational culture: basic concepts and components. Definition of the concept of organizational culture. Functions and properties of organizational culture

In the narrow sense of the word, culture is the spiritual life of people, a set of ethical norms, rules, customs, and traditions. obtained in the process of upbringing and education. In this sense, one speaks of moral, aesthetic, political, everyday, professional, humanitarian, scientific and technical culture.

In the broad sense of the word, culture includes the results of people's activities in the form of buildings, technology, legislation, universal values ​​and social institutions. In the dictionary it is: “a social system of functionally useful forms of activity organized with the help of norms and values, entrenched in social practice and consciousness of society. Culture in society is represented by material objects, social institutions (institutions, traditions), and spiritual values.

Organization - (from late Latin organize - I communicate a slender appearance, I arrange) - 1) a kind of social systems, an association of people who jointly implement a certain program (goal) and act on the basis of certain principles and rules (for example, an employment service); 2) internal order, consistency of interaction with respect to autonomous parts of the system, due to its structure; 3) one of the general management functions, a set of processes and (or) actions leading to the formation and improvement of the relationship between the parts of the whole (structural elements of the system).

Organizational culture:

Organizational culture is a set of beliefs, attitudes, norms of behavior and values ​​common to all employees of the organization. They may not always be clearly expressed, but in the absence of direct instructions, they determine the way people act and interact and significantly affect the progress of the work (Michael Armstrong);

Organizational culture - a set of core beliefs, self-formed, learned or developed by a particular group as it learns to solve the problems of adaptation to the external environment and internal integration, which turned out to be effective enough to be considered valuable, and therefore transferred to new members as the right image perceptions, thinking and attitudes towards specific problems (Edgar Shane);

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 (O.S. Vikhansky and A.I. Naumov);

Organizational culture is a socio-economic space that is part of the social space of society located within the company, within which the interaction of employees is carried out on the basis of common ideas, ideas and values ​​that determine the characteristics of their working life and determine the uniqueness of the philosophy, ideology and practice of managing this company.

The importance of organizational culture for the successful functioning of the company is generally recognized throughout the civilized world. Without exception, all successful companies have created and maintain strong organizational cultures that are most consistent with the goals and values ​​of the company and clearly distinguish one firm from another. A strong culture helps the process of forming large companies.

The main characteristics of organizational culture:

Organizational culture- a set of material, spiritual, social values ​​created and created by the company's employees in the process labor activity and reflecting the uniqueness, individuality of this organization.

Depending on the stage of development of the company, values ​​can exist in various forms: in the form of assumptions (at the stage of an active search for one’s culture), beliefs, attitudes and value orientations (when the culture has developed in the main), norms of behavior, communication rules and work standards (when fully developed culture).

The most significant elements of culture are recognized: values, mission, company goals, codes and code of Conduct, traditions and rituals.

Values ​​and elements of culture do not require proof, are taken for granted, passed on from generation to generation, forming the corporate spirit of the company, corresponding to its ideal aspirations.

Most interpretations are based on the understanding of culture in the broad sense of the word.

Corporate culture- a system of material and spiritual values, manifestations that interact with each other, inherent in a given corporation, reflecting its individuality and perception of itself and others in the social and material environment, manifested in behavior, interaction, perception of oneself and environment(A.V. Spivak).

The concept of organizational culture makes more sense when we talk about a company, a firm, an organization. After all, not every organization is a corporation. That is, the concept of "organizational culture" is broader than the concept of "corporate culture".

Functions OK:

    Security function is to create a barrier that protects the organization from unwanted external influences. It is implemented through various prohibitions, "taboos", restrictive norms.

    Integrating function forms a sense of belonging to the organization, pride in it, the desire of outsiders to join it. This makes it easier to solve staffing problems.

    Regulating function supports the necessary rules and norms of behavior of the members of the organization, their relationships, contacts with the outside world, which is a guarantee of its stability, reduces the possibility of unwanted conflicts.

    adaptive function facilitates the mutual adaptation of people to each other and to the organization. It is implemented through general norms of behavior, rituals, rituals, through which the education of employees is also carried out. By participating in joint activities, adhering to the same ways of behavior, etc., people more easily find contacts with each other.

    Orienting function culture directs the activities of the organization and its participants in the right direction.

    Motivational function creates the necessary incentives for this.

    Imaging function organization, i.e. its image in the eyes of others. This image is the result of people's involuntary synthesis of individual elements of the organization's culture into an elusive whole, which, nevertheless, has a huge impact on both emotional and rational attitudes towards it.

Properties OK:

    Dynamism. In its movement, culture goes through the stages of origin, formation, maintenance, development and improvement, cessation (replacement). Each stage has its own "problems of growth", which is natural for dynamic systems. Different organizational cultures choose their own ways of solving them, more or less effective. This property of organizational culture in the formation of culture is taken into account by the principle of historicity.

    Consistency is the second most important property, indicating that the 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. This property of organizational culture in the formation of culture is taken into account by the principle of consistency.

    Structuring of constituent elements. The elements that make up the organizational culture are strictly structured, hierarchically subordinated and have their own degree of relevance and priority.

    OK has 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 certain parameters.

    Heterogeneity. Within an organizational culture, there may be many local cultures, reflecting the differentiation of culture across levels, departments, divisions, age groups, national groups, and so on. called subcultures.

    Separability is another important 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 has norms and values, goals, codes and others. structural elements organizational culture.

    adaptability property organizational culture lies in its ability to remain stable and resist negative influences on the one hand and organically merge into positive changes without losing its effectiveness, on the other hand.

Signs of the organizational culture of the company:

    the culture of the organization is social, since many employees of the enterprise influence its formation;

    the culture of the organization regulates the behavior of team members, thereby influencing the relationship between colleagues;

    the culture of the organization is created by people, that is, it is the result of human actions, thoughts, desires;

    the culture of the organization is consciously or unconsciously accepted by all employees;

    the culture of the organization is full of traditions, as it undergoes a certain historical development process;

    the culture of the organization is knowable;

    the culture of the organization can change;

    the culture of the organization cannot be comprehended with the help of any one approach, since it is multifaceted and, depending on the method used, is revealed in a new way each time;

    company culture is a result and a process, it is in constant development.

Methods for studying the organizational culture of a company (study strategies):

    holistic strategy - field methods of studying the situation by real immersion in it;

    metaphorical strategy (linguistic) strategy - a strategy involving the study of the documentary-linguistic arsenal of communication and communications of employees, their heroes and anti-heroes of the company;

    quantitative strategy involves the use of surveys, questionnaires, interviews and other methods that quantify specific manifestations of culture.


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