An effective leader should study the types of corporate culture in order to choose the one that suits his organization. It is the right atmosphere and an effective system of relationships between employees that will bring the enterprise success and maximum labor productivity.
Corporate culture concept
Many people mistakenly believe that the company is based only on capital and production technology or the provision of services. The corporate culture of the organization is a model of behavior developed by management and employees in the process of adaptation to the external and internal environment. It should be effective and shared by the vast majority of members of the organization in question.
For the first time this term appeared in the nineteenth century. This is the merit of Field Marshal Moltke, who characterized relations in the officer environment in a similar way. Interestingly, the saber scar was a mandatory element of the “corporate culture” of that time. Today, the concept of corporate culture is characterized as:
- a way of thinking and a mode of action that has become a habit among employees of the organization;
- the beliefs and expectations of employees of the enterprise, forming a system of norms and rules of behavior;
- a system of relationships and attributes, formed over a long time, on the basis of which a unique collective psychology is formed.
Elements of corporate culture
Regardless of what format of relations is chosen in the organization, there are some basic points that make up the communications framework. Elements of corporate culture are as follows:
- A symbol is an object or action that is endowed with a special meaning for members of an organization. It reflects the values that the organization preaches.
- Legend - these are interesting moments and stages of development of the organization. They are known to all employees and are often spoken out at corporate events.
- A hero is a person personifying an ideal employee. This may be a real member of the organization, having achieved some success. But as a rule, this is a fictional character endowed with some kind of supernatural characteristics.
- The motto is a brief statement illustrating the value of corporate culture. This may be a leader’s own statement or a popular quote.
- Ceremonies are events designed to maintain the corporate spirit in the team, as well as to demonstrate it to customers and partners.
Corporate Culture Principles
The formation of corporate culture is based on some unshakable principles. Here are the main ones:
- scientific - the use in practical activities of sociological, economic, psychological and other studies;
- systematicity - planning the implementation of measures for units with an understanding of their relationship;
- humanism - in the first place is the identity of each individual employee;
- professionalism - people developing corporate standards should have an appropriate education and level of knowledge.
Corporate cultures by Sonnenfeld
Considering the types of corporate culture, Sonnenfeld evaluated them by the potential that they have for the success of each individual employee and the organization as a whole. The scientist identified four main varieties:
- "Baseball team." In this corporate culture, there is a place for key employees for whom there is a fierce struggle in the labor market.They feel free enough, and therefore employers are doing everything possible to keep them in the organization. Workers with low personal and professional indicators quickly leave the company.
- "Club culture". It implies the loyalty of employees to each other and the organization. Favored and stable conditions. Employees with great experience are encouraged in every way. Each employee goes a long, but planned way, during which all the subtleties of the organization’s work are known.
- "Academic Culture". It implies the recruitment of young promising employees who are aimed at long-term cooperation. This culture implies a limited development of the employee’s personality and prevents the migration of personnel between different departments.
- "Defense culture". This variety implies the absence of any guarantee of permanent employment and career growth. These are unstable enterprises, which often have to restructure and reduce staff in order to adapt to external unstable conditions.
The nature of the influence of culture on the organization
Types of corporate culture may differ depending on how they affect the organization. Allocate positive and negative. The former contribute to the effective resolution of problems and the development of the organization. So, a positive corporate culture has the following characteristics:
- employees perceive themselves as part of the organization, realize the responsibility for its success and therefore work on a common result;
- conscientious performance of duties is the norm of behavior, and fictitious activity meets a negative reaction;
- employees are in continuous search for the best ways to perform their duties in a quality manner;
- any labor activity is creative, and therefore employees are interested in participating in the process;
- in the process of professional activity, the employee comprehensively develops his personality;
- successful employees receive respect from colleagues;
- the team established benevolent interpersonal relationships.
Negative types of corporate culture can be characterized in the opposite way. Such features are inherent in them:
- employees evaluate the activity in terms of their own benefit, not a collective result;
- workers do not strive for comprehensive development and self-realization;
- between employees there is a hostile mood, envy or complete indifference to each other;
- staff blindly obeys management, not recognizing authority;
- the authority of the enterprise in the eyes of employees is undermined by rumors and gossip;
- high staff turnover;
- the staff does not work well enough, artificially delaying the time it takes to complete tasks;
- official duties are performed purely mechanically, without recoil and immersion in the process;
- informal employee associations of a destructive nature.
Varieties of modern domestic corporate cultures
The corporate culture of the organization is individual in nature, not only at each individual company, but also in different states. So, at domestic enterprises most often you can come across such varieties of it:
- "Friends" is a type of corporate culture characteristic of those organizations that were created primarily during the period of perestroika. This variety was formed under the influence of external conditions, when it was difficult enough to succeed on its own. Therefore, entrepreneurs actively involved relatives and friends in the affairs. The system proved to be ineffective, because up to a certain point personal relationships were higher than commercial benefits. But over time, economic goals came to the fore, which led to serious contradictions and hostility.
- “Family” is a corporate culture in which there is a rigid hierarchy. At the same time, interpersonal relationships are based on the emotional component, and not on official rules and norms. The manager is driven by the belief that the staff understands and feels his desires, and therefore there are no clear instructions and rules. As a result, there is a misunderstanding that leads to financial losses.
- The "culture of the boss" is characterized by the fear of leadership. At the same time, employees consider the boss guilty of all the failures of the organization. They believe that at other enterprises directors are much better. Each individual employee feels helpless.
Realizing the inefficiency of such approaches, the heads of domestic enterprises are gradually moving to other formats of relationships with employees. The formation of corporate culture begins to be carried out in accordance with the following provisions:
- strengthening control over compliance with corporate standards and the introduction of fines for their violation;
- the creation of staff units that are responsible for the formation and implementation of corporate culture;
- norms and rules are documented;
- external experts are invited whose task is to develop and implement corporate culture standards.
Corporate ethics
Corporate ethics is a system of values, beliefs, traditions and norms of behavior accepted among employees of the organization. The following key attributes can be distinguished:
- common values that employees share in life and work;
- unconditional faith in a leader;
- established communication in the team;
- the correct attitude to time, which is expressed in the formation of an effective work schedule;
- relationships between employees taking into account age and status;
- continuous development of professional abilities of employees;
- methods of stimulating employees to new achievements and career growth.
Corporate ethics is a necessary component of any organization. Despite the existence of standard schemes, a unique communication mechanism between employees is formed in each company.
Strong corporate culture
A power culture is formed when the director has a pronounced trait of economic activity. Moreover, this person has such personal strength and leadership qualities that he becomes an indisputable authority for his subordinates. Features of the corporate culture of power are rigidity, total control and power. The manager also has a number of close associates whom he unconditionally trusts.
Such a corporate culture is mainly characteristic of organizations that are at the stage of formation. Thanks to this, the company is quite mobile and easily adapts to changes in its field. But this depends solely on the characteristics of the leader, his ability to maneuver and adapt to any conditions.
The main problem of this corporate culture is to limit the growth of the organization. The fact is that the head does not want to delegate his authority, and it is physically impossible to independently control the activities of more than 50-60 people. Desiring to maintain power in their hands, the director hinders further development.
By the time the stage of sustainable activity begins, middle managers begin to leave the company, not seeing the prospects for further development. The way out is the formation of the holding. Key managers should become the head of the main divisions.
Targeted Corporate Culture
The target culture is inherent in companies in which activities are aimed at the systematic and gradual resolution of specific tasks. This system shows itself perfectly in conditions of market instability or in dynamically developing industries.At the same time, there is a strict form of reporting and total control of all stages of work.
When selecting staff, great attention is paid to the professional qualities of employees. In addition, communicative qualities play an important role, because such a corporate culture implies teamwork.
Personal corporate culture
Personal culture is not so common, because it implies that all members of the team have exceptionally high professional qualities. They fully cope with their duties in the absence of a leader. The absence of any of the employees in their place does not disrupt the process. We can say that each of them is an independent leader, but for some reason they decided to work together.
As an example, we can cite consulting firms, law firms, architectural bureaus. Here everyone can satisfy their career ambitions. But as a rule, organizations with such a corporate culture do not last long. Sooner or later, someone begins to feel like a leader and tries to seize power.
Role corporate culture
The typology of corporate culture according to Handy also considers bureaucratic (or role). It is typical for large organizations that operate in stable market conditions and hold fairly solid positions. A distinctive feature of this corporate culture is that the duties and rights of each employee are clearly defined. The company is a certain system of cells in which the staff is embedded.
Role-based culture sets strict limits for each individual employee. Therefore, during the interview, applicants for the position are evaluated, primarily on the basis of the ability to adapt to the team and accept the established rules. An employee is guaranteed promotion through the ranks, but excessive initiative is not welcome, and therefore he will have to refrain from realizing his own ideas and ambitions.
The main disadvantage of this system is that in case of changes in the external environment of the organization it will be difficult to readjust and adapt to them. The staff is often unable to adequately respond to unforeseen situations, because people are used to strictly observing job descriptions.
Shane Culture Levels
Considering the levels of corporate culture, it is worth starting with basic ideas about human nature and relationships. It is these assumptions that guide the employee, largely determining the attitude to work. Since these are subconscious categories, they are revealed in the process of the life of the labor collective.
The second level is moral values and beliefs that are shared by all employees. Moreover, their perception is absolutely conscious in nature and entirely depends on the desire of the workers. These provisions may well be spelled out in the program documents of the company. But not all declared values can meet the true goals of the enterprise.
The third level implies an external manifestation of corporate culture. This is the mode of operation, and customs of behavior, and the manner of working with clients, and the appearance of employees, and even the interior of the office space. But external manifestations make sense only if there is a clear understanding of the previous two levels.