Ïðåïîäàâàòåëü êàôåäðû «Ìåíåäæìåíò è
ìàðêåòèíã» Íóðìàãàìáåòîâà À.Ì
Ìàãèñòðàíò 1-ãî êóðñà ïî
ñïåöèàëüíîñòè ìåíåäæìåíò Ìàäèÿðîâà Ð.Ð
Êàçàõñêèé Íàöèîíàëüíûé
Óíèâåðñèòåò èì.àëü-Ôàðàáè, Êàçàõñòàí
ORGANIZATIONAL
CULTURE IN MANAGEMENT AND ITS ROLE IN MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES
From an open system perspective, each aspect of
organizational culture in management can be seen as an important environmental
condition affecting the system and its subsystem. Increased competition,
globalization, mergers, acquisitions, alliances, and various workforce
departments in Kazakhstan have created a greater need for organizational
culture. Thus, it has become an important pattern for the organization's
development.
Building a culture common to every member of the team
is becoming more and more important in reaching the aim, especially when it
comes to make a profit. Having the common goal and interests doesn’t make the
participants a holistic team. Here arises the importance of building the
culture [2; Ñ.139].
Basically, organizational
culture is the personality of the organization. Culture is comprised of the
assumptions, values, norms and tangible signs of organization members and their
behaviors. Members of an organization soon come to sense the particular culture
of an organization. Culture is one of those terms that are difficult to express
distinctly, but everyone knows it when they sense it. For example, the culture
of a large, for-profit corporation is quite different than that of a hospital
which is quite different that of a university. You can tell the culture of an
organization by looking at the arrangement of furniture, what they brag about,
what members wear, etc. similar to what you can use to get a feeling about
someone's personality.
Corporate
culture can be looked at as a system. Inputs include feedback from, e.g.,
society, professions, laws, stories, heroes, values on competition or service,
etc. The process is based on our assumptions, values and norms, e.g., our
values on money, time, facilities, space and people. Outputs or effects of our
culture are, e.g., organizational behaviors, technologies, strategies, image,
products, services, appearance, etc.
Different types of
culture give an organization a specific form in which all the participants act
according to the particular culture. For example in Kazakhstan, it is
considered that there is the fear of the head or chief. Apparently, this is the
legacy of totalitarianism while we were under the Russian Colony. At that time
every member of the organization had to do only the things that he was supposed
to do. And nowadays this tendency is still on. In most of the companies there
is a strong authority which doesn’t allow the employees feel free. It even
makes them feel afraid of the top management. On the other hand, these days we
have so much multinational companies and organizations that the legacy left by
totalitarianism has to be removed or replaced. Because the more the employees
from another countries, the more the different cultures. Organizational culture
with a system of authority is no longer needed. In Kazakhstan, we have a lot of
American companies which faced a cultural shock when first entered our market.
Because the most important thing for Americans is freedom of speech and they
are mostly tended to have informal relationships with no matter whom the
manager or the boss is. When they saw that Kazakhs paid a lot of attention to
the relatives and they even hire them for the company without even a certain
kind of education they were amazed. Apparently, this is our mentality which is
also an important factor.
So in the beginning it was a really challenge to have
a common business. Both sides had to eliminate some cultural behaviors and even
try to change their mentalities. It was almost impossible, but they did it.
They built a new organization where everyone accepted the rules and norms.
The importance of organizational culture and how it
contributes to organizational effectiveness and achievement is well
established. It is seen by understanding the functions of organizational
culture:
-
Culture provides a sense of identity for members, enhances
commitment to the organization’s mission, clarifies and reinforces standards of
behavior.
-
Creates the barriers from unwanted external influences, a
sense of belonging to the company, proud of her, and unites people in their
daily activities;
-
Contributes to the maintenance of rules and norms of
conduct, both among themselves and with the outside world, which reduces the
potential conflict and guarantees the stable operation
-
Facilitates adaptation of people to each other and to the
organization as a whole through participation in festivals and explore the
general rules of conduct
-
Adjusts the direction of the company in accordance with
established;
-
Crates incentives and an image of the organization in the
eyes of others at the expense of the individual elements of culture [1;Ñ.15-16].
In order to build an effective organizational culture
and help employers and employees embrace workplace courtesy, the most essential
thing is respect. All features and pillars of building the corporate culture
are related with the terms cultural awareness and respect. We have to respect
rights and responsibilities, equality, standards, perceptions, efforts,
communication, beliefs, attitudes, values, norms and so on. All these terms are
covered by culture. Because it is culture that provides each person with
identity and sense of who he/she and where he/she is from, what is his/her
perception, religion, point of view. Every person perceives and acts according
to his culture and no one has rights to blame him. Learning a little about what
you need to respect is an obligation if you're a member of a multinational
team. Without reciprocal respect, we cannot achieve multiculturalism. If we
stop at tolerance, we achieve only diversity.
Organizational culture, based on those aspects and
functions that were stated above, will serve as a shelter for the multinational
team. It will build a unique culture, which is appropriate for the specific
team and which is different from others. It is the culture that will make each
member feel that each of them is a part of the “whole organism” called a
multinational team. Giving a sense of identity, organizational culture will
direct the whole team towards the goals that were set before.
Literature:
1.
Sackmann Sonja A. Cultural knowledge in organization, Sage Publication,
California, 2012
2.
P.Christopher Earley and Elaine Mosakowski, Cultural Intelligence, Harvard
Business Review, October 2012