A characteristic model of behavior and its own system of values, relationships and interactions at a particular enterprise is an organizational culture, which is determined by beliefs and cultural norms shared by almost all employees, and its structure is based on levels. It invariably helps to work efficiently and harmoniously, to fulfill the most complex production tasks, and contributes to the cohesion of the team and its integration into a team. The levels of organizational culture are formed already during the formation of the enterprise. In the first years of the organization’s existence, certain rules are created that are not always written down somewhere in orders, and a set of values appears that fully corresponds to the ideas of the creators of the enterprise. Organizational culture is never in stagnation, it develops, changes and gains depth of meaning.
Structure
The following levels of organizational culture are distinguished: deep, subsurface and superficial. If we see logos and slogans relating to this enterprise, and any other attributes that are only an external way of interacting with the outside world, this is a superficial level observed by everyone at the very first contact with this institution. It should be noted that all levels of the organizational structure have their own artifacts. The superficial easily reveals all the phenomena inherent in it, but few interpret them correctly. The artifacts here are those events where the highest degree of emotionality, the involvement of all employees. And of course, the rules are quite strictly defined for them. All levels of the organizational culture of the organization can be characterized as behaviorally normative, the difference in orientation and degree of awareness.
The second, subsurface level always reflects the values, norms, beliefs, ideas of this organization shared by all employees. It is here that the desire to choose a goal and mission, to determine the means to achieve them is revealed. From the outside it is quite difficult to identify this level, close contact with this organization is needed. It is the prevailing ideas and values that are realized by the team that regulate their behavior. And, finally, the levels of organizational culture of the organization represent their deepest, reflecting in every completeness and accuracy every element of the collective organism. This is a way of leadership, and the behavior of colleagues, and methods that are used as encouragement and as punishment. The basic settings here are used at an unconscious level, but they clearly guide the behavior of all employees and determine the attitude of the team to the enterprise. The deep level is hidden from an external observer; it reflects the general psychology of company employees. It should be noted that national culture most strongly influences the basic concepts.
Edgar Shane
The American psychologist Edgar Shane most clearly explained the levels and structure of organizational culture. Moreover, he was the founder of a new scientific direction in organizational psychology. As a theorist and practitioner of modern management, he created a model explaining just such a structure of organizational culture. It is sometimes called the iceberg model, because a really stranger will see in an unfamiliar institution only the smallest part of what the levels and structure of organizational culture are.
The model is three-stage: on the first are artifacts, on the second - the declared values, and on the third - basic assumptions. And this is how Shane described the levels of organizational culture. The superficial will show the observer only visible facts. This is architecture, the technologies that are applied, the form of structure, visible behavior, ceremonies, language, rituals, myths, manner of communication and the like.
Surface level
All phenomena and things at this level are easily detected. However, they also need to be deciphered, interpreted using the terms of this particular organizational culture. Extensive explanations will require the history that has been established in the collective and the values of this organization formed on its basis, which have partly turned into myths, and created unique customs and rituals that are again characteristic only of this collective.
All this is characterized by a huge degree of involvement, emotionality, which colors all the activities and all joint actions that take place according to the originally established rules. This contributes to the cohesion of the team, by joint efforts ensuring stability and preservation of common values. Rituals can be very different: communication (rules of communication - formal and informal), workers (routine, weekdays, everyday life), management (meetings, voting procedures, decision making), official (encouraging the best, supporting basic values).
Second level by E. Shane
Levels of organizational culture are not the only isolated segments in the structure. There is an indefinite number of subcultures, the countercultures, which are either weakening or strengthening the cohesion of the collective, which are invisible to the prying eye among the monolith of the main organizational culture of subcultures. What level of organizational culture is represented by values, perceptions and beliefs that the entire motley team shares? Of course, the subsurface. People's behavior is governed by these values and perceptions. Here is an example: the decline in production, the management decides not to fire anyone, but to reduce the working week for everyone (as happened at one of the divisions of the Russian furniture giant). If this step leads to good results and the company "straightens out", the attitude to the company's management should be consolidated as a general, even universal idea of corporate values.
However, this, unfortunately, is far from always the case, and the behavior of the team most often does not meet the proclaimed values. The latter are clearly articulated rarely, and therefore diagnostics may not give an answer to how high the level of organizational culture of this enterprise is. When studying the values of the team, it is necessary to pay attention to such aspects of collective life activity as the "face" of the organization, its purpose (which is most important - quality or innovation, for example); how power is distributed (does the existing degree of inequality suit everyone); how employees are treated (whether they care, whether they respect each other, whether there are favorites among the bosses, whether the remuneration is fair); how the work is organized (is the discipline strict enough, how often is employee rotation used); what is the management style (democratic or authoritarian); how decisions are made (individually or by the whole team) and so on.
Deep level
Even more secret - the last, deepest level. This includes basic assumptions that were not realized even by the members of the organization, unless they specifically focused on this issue. However, although these are only accepted on faith, they are so strong assumptions that it is mainly they who direct the behavior of people, which Edgar Shane wrote about in his works. The levels of organizational structure are a set of basic ideas that give meaning to objects and phenomena that guide actions in certain situations. Shane calls this integrated system a "world map." This is probably a contoured map without accurate location of objects, because people feel comfortable only in the atmosphere of their own ideas, they inevitably feel discomfort in another system, because they are unable to understand what is happening, most often distorted perceiving another reality and giving it a false interpretation. All three levels of organizational culture are encrypted for an outsider, but the third is deep - especially.
The basic assumptions include such inexplicable concepts as the nature of time, the nature of space, the nature of reality, the nature of man. Naturally, the most encrypted are human activity and human relationships. The levels of organizational culture include numerous layers of attitudes and relationships, including religious factors, which also strongly influence organizational ties, especially in some regions. This also includes ethical attitudes - gender relations, adhering to the work schedule, the appearance of employees and the like, like trifles, but the world consists of them. Observing such artifacts is quite easy, but difficult to interpret. To understand the organizational culture of a particular group of people, you need to go to their level of ideas in order to carefully consider their values and artifacts. And it must be borne in mind that it is at a deep level that the national culture has the greatest influence.
The study
Edgar Shane thoroughly worked out the concept, and the levels of organizational culture obediently shared the monolith of human relations in the team. Learning must begin with the very first, superficial level of artifacts. Otherwise, probably, it cannot happen. Indeed, a new employee, for example, begins acquaintance with a team and a firm without fail from the most visible ones.
In the process of immersion on the level of values, he tries to dive, to penetrate from subsurface representations to deep ones. But the formation of levels of organizational structure are in the opposite direction. First, a deep level develops; without this, creation itself and creativity are impossible. Then values and finally artifacts gradually appear.
Relations and rejection
As already mentioned, organizational culture is not a monolith. It consists of a dominant culture (predominant), many groups of subcultures and countercultures, which either strengthen or weaken the general culture of the organization. The basic principles of subculture are usually not too contradictory, they most often accept almost all the values of the dominant culture, but from them the organization receives some specificity, unlike the rest. These are both gender and territorial or functional subcultures. There are a great many of them. But the counterculture may well come forward as a direct opposition to the dominant culture and its values, including patterns of corporate behavior.
The counterculture denies all the declared basic goals of this organization, and in this the deep level of development of organizational culture is often achieved, that is, opposition is almost reflexive. In real life, these can be shareholders who have put together a group to shift leadership or change the company's strategy, as well as managers who lack power, or unions fighting for justice. If an organization is undergoing certain transformations, the role of countercultures can be greatly enhanced, and the dominant organizational culture will have to fight for its territories where its priorities are shared.
Control
Organizational culture can and should be managed. This process, of course, is very complex, relationships occur among a large number of people who constantly replace each other, and even permanent members of the team necessarily change their internal ideas under the influence of certain circumstances that cannot be predicted or prevented. Phenomenologists completely deny the influence on organizational culture. However, proponents of a rational pragmatic approach are convinced of the other. They insist that there can be a targeted effect on people's perceptions, and through this their behavior will change. Leaders are most affected by fundamental collective values; they inspire employees and fulfill their dreams and aspirations.
Of course, provided that the leaders have obvious and sincere obligations for everyone regarding universal values, which they certainly must share. The huge attention on their part to what is happening in the organization, to all the details, even insignificant ones, guarantee the success of influencing the organizational culture. Smart leaders skillfully manipulate things and symbols, create new patterns of behavior by personal example. Even the attributes of the surface level with such manipulation over time begin to work more efficiently, thus affecting the subsurface level of the organization’s culture. In this way, even the basic assumptions of the team can be changed. However, it is almost impossible to predict the results here, since the process is long and difficult, and by influencing one variable, you can achieve irreversible changes in another. Usually only their initiator believes in good changes.
Influencing factors
Organizational culture is the basis of the potential of each enterprise, it is it that determines its success in the long term. This is exactly what distinguishes one organization from another, it is the soul of each team. The formation of organizational culture is influenced by many internal and external factors. Internal include the goals and mission of the enterprise, its strategy, as well as the nature of the work and content. An important role is played by the education and qualifications of workers, their level of general development. And, as was said, the personality of the leader is of particular importance. External factors affecting the organizational culture include the economic conditions of a given time and given circumstances, national characteristics, as well as features of the business environment in the organization and the entire industry.
If you move away from Shane’s research, you can find another division into the levels of organizational culture - objective and subjective. This version in itself is much simpler and much less relevant to management. On an objective level are things of a visual plan: from the design of premises, furniture and equipment to catering and the appearance of employees. We can say that this refers to the purely physical environment of the organization. With the subjective level a little more complicated: it is a language of communication and a communication system, the relationship between employees. These are norms and values, rituals and traditions. This is a relation to time, motivation and work ethics. The basis for the formation of levels of organizational culture is precisely its subjective component. It almost entirely depends on the management culture, leadership style and the ability of managers to solve problems, which, of course, helps to maintain an organizational culture in the team.
Methods
The methods that managers use to maintain organizational culture include the following:
- Attention to objects and objects, to assessments, to monitoring the activities of employees.
- Quick response to crises and critical situations.
- Correctly worked out criteria for statuses and remuneration, hiring, dismissal and, conversely, promotion.
- Initiative in the formation of traditions and symbols of the organization.
Organizational culture itself cannot exist; it is always in the context of the culture of the geographical region and the whole society, and it is also influenced by the national culture. But without an organizational culture, not a single corporate enterprise can exist, since with its help a culture of individual divisions, teams, groups — both workers and managerial ones — is formed.