3.4.2 Functions and content of organizational culture

The content of organizational culture is not accidental or contrived. It is developed in the course of practical activity as an answer to the problems posed by the organization's external and internal environment.

The essence and content of organizational culture in practice is manifested through its functions. Organizational culture performs the following functions :

• creates certain collective ideas about the goals and method of business of the company;
• forms a certain image of an organization that distinguishes it from other entities;
• brings up feelings of community of all members of the organization;
• strengthens the commitment to and commitment to the organization;
• strengthens the system of social stability in the organization, helps consolidate the organization, ensuring its inherent standards of behavior;
• is a means of forming patterns of behavior and perception, appropriate from the point of view of the organization.

Functionally, an 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 being done;
• profiling, which allows to find a characteristic difference from other enterprises;
• recruitment of personnel by promoting the advantages of their company to job applicants.

In principle, an organizational culture is able to realize the listed and other functions, but not every culture has the corresponding potential. Thus, many enterprises have such a company 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.

In accordance with the functions discussed above, organizational culture has a certain structure . This structure can be represented by a set of assumptions, values, beliefs, and symbols, the adherence to which helps people in the organization cope with their problems.

Consider the influence of the function of forming the image of the company on the structure of organizational culture. The concept of "image" means the image, impression . The image of the company is created by the people working in it, and its success and prosperity depend on their qualifications, responsibility, ability to work with partners and clients.

The image of the company begins to take shape when the company enters the market, and often this process occurs spontaneously. Image creation management consists of several stages:

1. Fixing an already formed image (for this purpose, various diagnostic methods are used, including a survey, questioning, observation).
2. Identifying the pros and cons of the established image (positive features are those that contribute to the solution of the tasks of the company, and negative - those that reduce organizational effectiveness).
3. Identification of measures for neutralizing negative traits and enhancing positive ones by drawing up and implementing an image work program.

One of the most successful organizations in the world is McDonald's. The success of this company (its network - about 10,000 restaurants) is explained not only by the fact that its food is different in its taste from any other; One of the main components of the company's success is a strong organizational culture. Every company employee is well acquainted with the norms of behavior adopted in it. High quality, qualified service and cleanliness are the main conditions for success.

The function of forming the image of an organization involves the following structure of organizational culture:

• architecture of the company's office, its design, location, equipment and furniture, colors and volume of space, amenities, cafeteria and reception rooms, parking and cars themselves;
• applied technology and production culture, product quality * and services;
• observable behavior, language, slogans, clothing, values ​​and beliefs.

S. P. Robbins proposes to consider the content of the organizational culture of a particular firm on the basis of ten characteristics most valued in an organization:

• personal initiative, i.e. the degree of responsibility, freedom and independence that a person has in an organization;
• the degree of risk, i.e. the willingness of the employee to take risks;
• action orientation, i.e., the organization sets clear objectives and expected accomplishments;
• coherence of actions, i.e., a situation in which the actions of departments and people within an organization are coordinated in a certain way;
• managerial support, i.e., the provision of free interaction, support and assistance to executives from management services;
• control, ie, the degree of identification of each employee with the organization;
• the remuneration system, i.e. the degree of accounting for work performance, the organization of the reward system;
• Conflictness, i.e. the employee’s readiness to openly express his opinion and go into conflict * ;
• interaction models, i.e. the degree of interaction within the organization, in which the interaction is expressed in a formal hierarchy and subordination.

Other authors [F. Harris and R. Moran] suggest considering a particular organizational culture also on the basis of ten characteristics, but different from those proposed by S. P. Robbins [].

They distinguish the following ten characteristics:

• awareness of yourself and your place in the organization;
• communication system and language of communication;
• appearance, clothing and self-image at work;
• what and how people eat, habits and traditions in this area;
• awareness of time, attitude to it and its use;
• relationship between people;
• values ​​and norms;
• faith in something and attitude or disposition towards something;
• employee development and training;
• work ethic and motivation.

Evaluating any organization by these ten characteristics, you can make a complete picture of the organizational culture, against which a general idea of ​​the employees about the organization is formed.

The culture of an organization can be viewed as a derivative of two components:

1. the assumptions and preferences of those who created it;
2. experience brought by their followers.

Existing traditions and customs in organizations, work style and image are largely formed from previous experience. The source of the formation of organizational culture in most cases are the founders of the company. Traditionally, they have a decisive influence on the formation of the initial culture, on the formation of the ideal image of the future organization.

Maintaining a culture at the required level directly depends on the selection of workers, actions of top managers and methods of socialization. Organizational culture is transmitted to new employees in various forms: stories, legends, rituals, symbols of the company's power, language, etc.

Initially, efforts are being made to help new employees adapt to organizational culture. This process of adaptation is called socialization. During this period, a special training of new employees is conducted, experienced mentors are assigned to them. This is done in order to help new employees fit into the collegial management style of the company.

The process of socialization directly affects employee productivity, involvement in the organization and the desire to work in it.