National culture as the basis of successful business (using the example of the Chinese economy). Analysis of the characteristics of national cultures in the field of management and business Comparative characteristics of the national characteristics of the cultures of Russia, Germany and China

The unprecedented economic flourishing that has been observed in China over the past twenty years, which, by analogy with Japan and Korea, has already received the name “Chinese miracle,” today attracts special attention from scientists and businessmen around the world. Indeed, the ancient and once greatest country, after one and a half centuries of poverty and devastation, was revived overnight by the standards of historical time! At the same time, hitherto unknown untold treasures were not discovered in it, it did not receive generous help from the Western powers, and the problems of overpopulation, hunger, lack of developed industry, etc. did not go away. Nevertheless, the miracle is evident. By the end of the 20th century, China entered the top ten world leaders, confidently catching up with its main competitors - Japan and the USA. According to Western economists, by 2049 China's GNP will exceed both of these countries.

What is the reason for such tremendous success?

The theoretical research of the authors and the experience of business interaction with the Chinese show that, despite the craze in modern China for Western economic models and management principles, the national mentality and centuries-old culture leave a strong imprint on every Chinese. We can say with confidence that no alien ideas and concepts are capable of completely changing their way of thinking, behavior and way of acting.

What exactly are we talking about? Let us consider several concepts of social culture on which, in our opinion, the “Chinese miracle” is based.

For the Chinese, who, to a greater extent than the Russians, have preserved the principles of community and collectivism, the concept of gender is very significant. Ancestral values ​​are recognized by the absolute majority of the population, which is completely uncharacteristic of the majority of today's Russians.

This means that a person is not left only to himself and,

therefore, he is not free to do as he pleases. Every

He also belongs to his own family. Not only to the family of the living, but also to the already dead

ancestors and those yet to be born. A person doesn't just relate to this

clan by origin, but feels real and concrete support from the clan.

Of course, in modern China, tribal relations have somewhat lost their

strength, but they cannot be discounted because they are still very

strong. Members of the clan are always ready to provide support to a relative, but also a person

for his part, he is obliged to provide respect and all possible assistance to his family.

The strength of the clan in China is largely due to its historical reputation. Belonging to one or another clan largely determines the attitude towards a given person in society. A person is initially assessed not by what he is in himself, but by what kind of family he belongs to. Thus, the clan to a certain extent controls the moral and ethical way of life of its members, since the very stability of the clan over time largely depends on the social recognition of its members. That is why the concept of honor is not an empty phrase for the Chinese. Hard work and diligence are also sufficiently determined by the influence of tribal relations, because Many areas of activity in China are still controlled by certain clans, communities and clans. To leave their trust means to forever close your access to this area.

As for modern Russia, here tribal relations have practically lost their former meaning.

In China, there are other regulators of moral and ethical standards. One of the strongest regulators is everyday religious consciousness. Let's consider why household. In fact, the Chinese are not very religious. Of course, there are hundreds of Buddhist and Taoist temples and monasteries, but in general the tradition is such that a deeply religious person does not remain in the world, but in search of spiritual enlightenment goes to a monastery or becomes a hermit. At the everyday level, religious consciousness is expressed in habits, signs, superstitions, among which there are ideas about karma, as well as about evil and good spirits, about the spirits of deceased ancestors, helping or harming a person committing certain actions.

In general, the morality of the Chinese manifests itself in many ways. Strikes them down

Eastern politeness. It is expressed, for example, in persistently passing

ahead of your companions. The importance of the guest is demonstratively shown. But when

in this, unlike Western culture, priority is not given to the lady. For

For the Chinese, it is completely normal not to let a woman go ahead of you. This may be indicative of the lingering patriarchal remnants of Chinese society.

The overwhelming majority of Chinese not only talk about certain moral principles, but also follow them in everyday life. In this they differ significantly from the Russians. In modern Russia, alas, for many people the concepts of morality and ethics are increasingly devoid of concrete content, and practically no attention is paid to the development of this content. Meanwhile, for quite a large number of Chinese, morality and ethics are not empty words at all.

Think about what associations the phrase “read morals” evokes in a Russian person? It has a negative connotation and means nothing more than speaking empty words or common truths. This very expression implies an attitude towards moral categories as empty, unnecessary words.

Why is this happening? Without claiming the truth of our opinion, we would venture to suggest that the devastation of the practical content of morality and ethics is associated with the lack of fear of punishment for violations associated with immoral behavior. Moreover, in modern Russia it is becoming a common opinion that the presence of certain moral principles in a person only hinders his career advancement, that without “stepping over oneself”, the moral principles established by previous generations, it is impossible to achieve success in life. One of the most common phrases calling for abandoning moral and ethical standards is: “Don’t be complex!” That is, moral behavior is considered by many members of Russian society as a kind of psychological defect, a deviation from reasonable behavior.

At the same time, in Chinese society, moral and ethical principles

apply to all spheres of life, including the sphere

management and business. Among businessmen, for example, there is a widespread belief

the need to be honest. Sometimes a simple verbal

agreements, but only if everything is clearly and precisely discussed. In China, the phenomenon of “dumping,” i.e., deliberately deceiving a partner, is extremely rare.

For the Chinese, morality is not an abstract category, but the basis on which the entire structure of society rests and the relationships between people - members of this society. Public morality is expressed, for example, in the fact that it is difficult for a person to deceive, it is difficult to break his word, because this is really condemned and the person who has committed such an offense will experience discomfort. Moral principles keep people within the behavioral paradigm accepted in a given society better than any laws and punishments for their violations.

Of course, there are scammers and deceivers in every country in the world, but the Chinese, as a rule, do not intentionally deceive. If this happened, it means there were good reasons for it, for example, the wrong behavior of the partner. If the Chinese considers that the partner has not fulfilled his obligations in some way, then in this case he can easily refuse his own.

Chinese history is rich in examples of when its heroes do not go against justice, do not seek profit, but, on the contrary, shun it. Selflessness, conscience and honor are the highest values ​​professed by public morality. Examples to follow are refusals of certain actions, if at least something in them could cast the hero’s honor in the slightest doubt.

It is very important for any Chinese to leave a good impression. This has always been given great attention, not only at the level of senior corporate management, but also at the lower level. Any street vendor is just as concerned about leaving a good impression as the head of a large company. The only difference is the way they do it. There is a widespread idea that if you skimp on small things, then you will never succeed in big things.

Westerners, especially those who travel to China not as tourists, but

invitations, as part of official delegations, increased attentiveness

To the Chinese it seems like a bluff, a deception, a desire to simply show off. This impression arises because in ourselves the desire to leave a good impression is not developed. And because what goes without saying for a Chinese “hurts the eyes” of a European. However, in fairness, it should be recalled that in cases where an appeal to moral principles is used by an opponent in order to gain something or even deceive, the Chinese can easily “forget” about their morality and repay the offender “in the same coin.” The deception of a deceiver, unlike the ethics of Christianity, is not considered immoral in China. On the contrary, it is rather a concern for the preservation of virtue.

In China, respect for rank and the opinions of elders is very common. This also has a significant impact on business practices. For example, negotiations that have a real content are carried out only at the level of senior managers. All other actions are related either to preparing negotiations, or to clarifying contractual terms, or to “avoiding” negotiations under a plausible pretext. But often even successfully conducted negotiations with the immediate management of the company may turn out to be ineffective if they are not agreed upon with the party leadership of a certain level.

It can be stated that it is much safer for foreigners to do business in China than in many other countries in the world. This is due both to the principles of Confucian morality rooted in the mind, and to the real economic policy of the state aimed at attracting foreign investment into the country, one of the fundamental principles of which is to ensure the security of both the foreign partners themselves and their investments.

It should be noted that the Chinese at all times, when appointing a person to

this or that position attached great importance to his moral and

psychological qualities, and not just his knowledge and skills. Chinese

rulers and military leaders, for the purpose of better governance, deeply studied

psychological characteristics of residents of individual provinces and cities,

as well as other countries. This tradition has not been lost in our time. It is interesting that today Chinese experts also think about Russian national business culture. Here is a retelling of one of the chapters of the book by Chinese researcher Chen Feng, “Scorched Businessmen” (or “The Businessman’s Bible”), not published in Russian:

“From ancient times to our time, Russian people have always been very fearless, not afraid of either Heaven (in the sense of the Divine) or earth (apparently, this means that Russians are not afraid of the opinions of people, and not of punishment from the devil, since ideas The Chinese's ideas about hell do not coincide with those of the West). Everywhere they behave like winners and are always determined. The rest of the world views them as huge "polar bears". This is also because with their behavior they can easily scare other people. Although on the surface Russians seem simple-minded and stupid, they think very functionally, and their internal attitude towards people is aggressive. For example, in their ideas there is no place for small or weak countries; as a rule, they do not have any position or assessment regarding them.

Initially, Russian people do not understand the word “fear”. And, figuratively speaking, if he has a wallet with money in his pocket, then his shoulders are straight and his back is straight. A Russian person, even if he does not have real wealth, still behaves widely. He always has enough desires. He is always ready to measure his strength with you. And they fight with everyone, testing their strength. If you ask a Russian person what he relies on, he may answer that on himself, on the natural resources of the country and its armed forces. If a Russian is confident that he has managed to rise above other people, then in his self-awareness he becomes even stronger. What else should he be afraid of?

The Russian economy is underdeveloped. However, Russia has a large territory, many natural resources and significant military strength. All these factors in most cases are favorable for her.

Sometimes Russians behave rudely, like wolves who want to drive a deer, and hold the world like a bull by the ear. In the 1960s, the head of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR N. S. Khrushchev spoke at the UN. He spoke forcefully, threatening and pounding his shoe on the podium. Of course, such rude behavior is insane and unacceptable in the world. But it is precisely this that is the national feature of the Russian spirit. And if the head of state behaves so recklessly, arrogantly and unbridledly, despising everyone, it is difficult to imagine that the people could have any other attitude towards the world.

Russia is like Japan, England or France, because these countries also lack initial strength. But if Japan does not have enough strength due to its small territory and scarce natural resources, then the Russians do not have enough internal energy due to too large a territory and insufficient human resources.

But at the same time, Russians are very different from other peoples. They have a wild mind and an unbridled heart and, therefore, are always potentially ready to conquer the world. They always consider themselves heroes. This self-confidence and unbridled heart have already entered the flesh of the Russian person. This is also embodied in the nickname of Russian businessmen, who are called “white polar bears.” This is due to their bad manners, arrogance, arrogance and rude behavior.

When dealing with a Russian person, you need to be prepared for the following:

1. Don’t be afraid of his direct, proud look from a representative of a big country. In the field of commerce he loses. But, on the other hand, one should not underestimate him.

2. You need to be prepared for the fact that the Russian will behave rudely and attack. Therefore, during negotiations with him you need to have patience, patience and more patience.

Chen Feng's book also describes the features of the national culture of other peoples, as well as people from different provinces of China itself, the knowledge and competent use of which allows one to achieve great success in business.

In our research, we have proven that many aspects of modern Chinese business, primarily in the field of management, are based on the deep principles of national culture and psychology, primarily on the principles of specific Confucian morality. The famous philosophical school of moralists, created by Confucius in the 5th century BC, subsequently became the official ideology of the Chinese state for thousands of years.

One of the main doctrines of this school is the concept of “rectification of names” (zheng ming). As an example, we will show how it is used in application to the control process.

First of all, it is necessary to clarify what is meant by “name”. A name is a conceptual unit that connects the external and internal image of not only a person, but any object in general. An external image is one that can be observed with the help of the senses, and primarily with the help of vision. An internal image is a sensation that an object evokes in the mind of the observer. For example, a person can contemplate the beauty of a rose flower, but at the same time the painful sensations that its thorns once inflicted on him or a personal situation that brought him the pain of loss and disappointment can be recalled from memory. When combined, the external and internal images give a holistic image of the object. These images, superimposed in the mind of the subject of observation (in our case, the manager) on a specific process lasting over time associated with his object, lead to the emergence of an individual concept about the object.

The leader must be able to understand the essence of phenomena

(processes, problems), describe and formulate them correctly, that is, give

correct definitions, or "names". With such correct descriptions and

wording, he must control his emotional reactions, so

how he knows the causes and possible consequences. If a manager is able to do this, then he has the opportunity to correctly, that is, effectively, successfully, go through different stages of development of a process or problem. Thus, the management process consists of constantly returning to correcting “names” or concepts, correcting them.

But on the path to “correcting names,” it is important that the leader has the correct system of hierarchy of goals and values. Otherwise, he will be forced to return to correcting the same concepts, not realizing that their distortion depends on the correctness of goals and values ​​at a higher level of the hierarchy.

What should be the correct “names” that a leader uses? In fact, in the Chinese tradition they have long been set out in various classical treatises. For example, in Confucius's Chunqiu or Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. The ancient treatises presented all the necessary concepts in their “correct” context. The task of a leader who wants to manage in Chinese is to constantly return to these concepts, compare them with those that he has in his practice, and “correct the names.”

But the fact is that distortions have always happened and will always happen anyway.

take place. This is also a very important idea in the Chinese management process.

Distortions cannot but occur, since in this case the system will not

is dynamic, therefore, it has reached its ideal

states, i.e. itself became Tao, and this, according to the Chinese worldview

teachings, is impossible in principle. Or, on the contrary, the system is completely

destroyed and no longer exists. But here too a contradiction arises,

since the Chinese dialectical doctrine of Yin-Yang says that it is not

There are absolutely homogeneous matters, processes and phenomena. In every

phenomenon there is always the beginnings of its antipode, and this opposite sooner or later

will come to replace him late. Therefore, the task of a leader is to constantly

approach the ideal, always being in search and movement, which only

and lead to development. A leader is like a surfer who, in order to

How to understand whether a name-concept has been distorted or not? This becomes clear if the basic criteria by which the correctness of concepts are judged are distorted. Such criteria are the normal course of the main interactions and activities. If they lose their rhythm, they begin to feel feverish - we can confidently talk about “distortion of names.” Such interactions and areas include trust between the manager and subordinates, uniformity and smoothness of production processes, adequacy of financial resources, and the health of the manager and subordinates. Any failures indicate a distortion of concepts.

For example, if a subordinate begins to lose trust in his leader, but he does not yet understand this, since the distrust has not yet manifested itself in actions, then this situation can be corrected. The manager can rebuild the relationship, give some task or recognize the subordinate in such a way that trust is restored. This will be the “name correction”.

It may seem to a pro-Western person that this ancient principle of management is no longer relevant or in demand, but this is not so. As an example, we can cite an excerpt from a voluminous work recently published in China by Jiang Ruxiang, a well-known industrial strategist, Master of Economics, Doctor of Sociology from Peking University, who once created a strategy for the Motorola company. The title of the book is directly related to the topic we are considering: “The Truth of Management” (or “Good Management”). The book covers many interesting topics. For example, what is the strength of enterprise management, why Chinese enterprises often face the difficulty of "breakthrough", how to move from a "big" enterprise to a "strong" enterprise, how to become a world-class corporation, etc. The author makes interesting conclusions that the transition of a large enterprise to a new
level, for example, at the global level, cannot be brought to life by simply mechanically increasing production volumes, the number of personnel, the number of mechanisms and equipment. Such a transition should not be random, but must be carried out through careful strategic planning.

Perhaps someone has a question: why, in fact, cannot “accidentally” reach a new level, become even bigger, if it happens by itself? The answer to this question is given by Dr. Jiang Ruxiang in the style of the concept of “correcting names.” A large enterprise, he says, is not necessarily strong, but a small enterprise is necessarily “not strong.” That is, power has its limitations in the size of the controlled system, and the larger it is, the potentially stronger it can be. But in the absence of strength, an enterprise that becomes “big” will not necessarily gain strength. The Russian economy was well convinced of this during the period of radical market reforms, when the huge size of enterprises with hyperinflation and the absence of government orders turned out to be disastrous for them and their work collectives, and small enterprises were able to quickly rebuild and adapt to new economic realities. This once again confirms the Chinese point of view on management principles: everything should have the “right name.”

Of course, the process of running a business in China is not limited to “changing names.” This is just one of the characteristic and perhaps even the main principles.

In conclusion, we note that today there are studies devoted to cross-cultural interactions that consider the specifics of national cultures for successful business with foreign partners1. But, in our deep conviction, the study and competent use of the characteristics of their national cultures allows states and peoples to create a solid foundation for the successful development of the economy of their own countries. And one of the most striking examples of this is China. Because the basis of the “Chinese miracle” lies not only and not so much purely
economic mechanisms, but a significant role is played by such, at first glance, indirect factors as national culture, national psychology, customs and traditions.

Bibliography

1. Vinogrodsky, B. B., Sizov, V. S. Management in the Chinese tradition. - M.: Economist, 2007.

2. Gesteland, Richard R. Cross-cultural behavior in business. - Dnepropetrovsk: Balance-Club, 2003.

3. Malyavin, V.V. Managed China. Good old management. - M.: Europe, 2005.

4. Jiang Ruxiang. Zhen Zheng De Zhi Xing (“The Truth of Management”), - Beijing, 2005. (In Chinese).

5. Chen Feng. Shui Zhu Shan Ren (“Scorched Businessmen”), - Beijing, 2005. (In Chinese).

Before proceeding directly to the discussion, let's try to clarify for ourselves the very concept of business culture, which in this context is understood in many ways synonymous with the concept of corporate culture. In our understanding, corporate culture is a set of spiritual values ​​and the ways of doing business in business that they determine. If we are talking about national business culture, we are talking about values ​​cultivated in a particular national environment that set the order of doing business in business.

So, all our attempts to identify the best, most effective business culture did not stand up to criticism and invariably ended in failure, since business cultures based on different and sometimes opposing spiritual values ​​have achieved and continue to achieve significant economic effects. For example, we are all very well aware of American individualism, the emphasis on stars, even in the credits for feature films, Americans indicate “staring by”; in Russian this can be translated as the film “starred”. Combined with the spirit of unbending perseverance, entrepreneurial adventure, sometimes even on the verge of adventure, and the self-confidence that irritates the whole world, “we are the coolest,” the Americans have achieved very significant success, seizing world leadership in the economic and military spheres.

But does this mean that we should blindly copy the American approach to business? I remember the well-known Russian proverb “What is good for a Russian is death”, it can be interpreted and, conversely, “What is good for a Russian German is death”, which in a certain sense can also be said in relation to Americans. In matters of effective business culture, not everything is as simple as we might like. For example, the Japanese and Chinese also achieved significant economic success, relying on the spirit of collectivism, which is the opposite of American individualism. Who are we closer to in this dilemma, the Americans or the Japanese, is also a complex question that requires serious thought. Personally, in this regard, I remember Pasternak: “being famous is not beautiful, that’s not what lifts you to heights” - for an American such a formulation is in principle impossible. If we think historically, all the outstanding achievements of our country were based on the spirit of collectivism.

It is interesting to note that the Chinese and Japanese, although they are united by collectivism, also differ significantly in their basic value systems. The inherent mania of total quality with impeccable loyalty and devotion to their enterprise has long proven its worth, remember, for example, the American-Japanese wars in the automobile market. The Chinese do not have such a religious attitude towards quality. The word Chinese product has actually become synonymous with poor quality; the Chinese do not have ideals similar to the famous Japanese samurai devotion; on the contrary, it often happens that the Chinese abandon previously assumed obligations, even those recorded in writing, simply because “circumstances have changed.”

What then is the strength of the Chinese? The Chinese have not yet been eradicated, and even on the contrary, the thirst to be good, correct, rooted in Confucianism, and the love for superiors that seems absurd to us, reaching the point of absurdity, is cultivated. Let's remember one of the best Chinese films, "Hero". In fact, the main reward for the Chinese is physical proximity to the boss. Other distinctive features of Chinese business culture include flexibility, rapid adaptation to changing conditions, and uncompromising patriotism. Taiwanese separatism is a very personal matter for the Chinese. “So what if we don’t get enough money and don’t go on vacation to other countries? That’s why China is developing,” the Chinese says in all seriousness, and he’s not joking. Perhaps these statements by our Chinese colleagues seem funny and absurd to us, however, I urge you to take these issues as seriously as possible, since these are the basic things that make up the country’s advantage in the world market.

Thus, with exclusive and even opposing distinctive features, it becomes impossible to identify an ideal type of business culture that would a priori be worth following. The research work done has led me to the deep conviction that the strength and effectiveness of a particular business culture and, accordingly, the business communities that adhere to it, is based on the basic values ​​of the national culture, which is the mother of cheese, the earth, from which the hero-entrepreneur draws his strength.

In this regard, a number of questions arise, and one of them is central: what is Russian business culture, what are its national roots? Unfortunately, due to a number of historical factors that put the whole country on its hind legs several times, the connection between Russian culture and its national cultural roots, if not completely broken, was significantly deformed. Now it is very difficult for us to identify the distinctive features of Russian business culture; it now does not have a clearly defined face, in comparison with the same American, Japanese and Chinese business cultures. Although it cannot be said that these roots do not exist, they are simply undeservedly forgotten and unconscious.

Back in 1912, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs approved 7 principles for doing business in Russia, which looked like this:

1. Respect authority. Power is a necessary condition for effective business management. There must be order in everything. In this regard, show respect to the guardians of order in the legalized echelons of power.
2. Be honest and truthful. Honesty and truthfulness are the foundation of entrepreneurship, a prerequisite for healthy profits and harmonious business relationships. A Russian entrepreneur must be an impeccable bearer of the virtues of honesty and truthfulness.
3. Respect private property rights. Free enterprise is the basis of the well-being of the state. A Russian entrepreneur is obliged to work by the sweat of his brow for the benefit of his Fatherland. Such zeal can only be demonstrated by relying on private property.
4. Love and respect the person. Love and respect for a working person on the part of an entrepreneur generates reciprocal love and respect. In such conditions, a harmony of interests arises, which creates an atmosphere for the development of a wide variety of abilities in people, encouraging them to express themselves in all their splendor.
5. Be true to your word. A business person must be true to his word: “Once you lie once, who will believe you?” Success in business largely depends on the extent to which others trust you.
6. Live within your means. Don't get too carried away. Choose something you can handle. Always evaluate your capabilities. Act according to your means.
7. Be purposeful. Always have a clear goal in front of you. An entrepreneur needs such a goal like air. Don't get distracted by other goals. Serving “two masters” is unnatural. In an effort to achieve your cherished goal, do not cross the line of what is permitted. No goal can overshadow moral values.

Old? - perhaps, but in these positions one can discern a lot of Russian, if one may say so, the Russian spirit, the Russian face. Which of these are close to us today, and which are far away? Who are we? What are we like? “These are the central questions that we need to answer or die as a great nation, and a great country.” This is all very serious. If you think that I am trying to impose a ready-made solution on you, you are mistaken, I am only encouraging you to undertake a serious and responsible search and move in this direction.

The next important topic is national business culture in the light of globalization. Once in one of the books, I discovered a very interesting statement that was well etched in my memory: “any depoliticization is carried out for someone else’s political purposes.” This phrase can just as easily be applied to the concept of globalization as denationalization: “Any denationalization is carried out in the interests of a particular country or union of countries that currently occupy a dominant position.” This phenomenon has been well known since the times of the Roman Empire, and many things are repeated.

Of course, denationalization, or the loss of national identification, is only one aspect of globalization, but I dare say it is critically important for a country that is struggling to survive in an increasingly competitive world market. Another aspect is information openness, sometimes they even say information explosion. There is so much information that people and entire companies lose the ability to navigate it. It is interesting to note that already in the world, and in our country, there are a number of companies that collect on the Internet, analyze, classify, translate the information found into different languages ​​and sell it to customers. There are entire industries that do this, everything is like in a factory: shifts of workers, a production manager. In this sense, with serious consistent work, it becomes relatively affordable to replicate the best examples of necessary products and even entire technologies.

This is certainly a positive aspect of globalization, which, if handled correctly, facilitates and accelerates business development. However, this development, again, has a chance to take place on a large scale only if it is nourished by the living soil of national culture. I will try to explain my idea with an example:

It is well known that the founders of quality management were the Americans (Deming, Juran, Feichenbaum), but quality management became a cultural phenomenon in Japan and reached such a development that the Americans began to learn from the Japanese. Why did this happen? - first of all, because the soil of Japanese national culture turned out to be most favorable for the very idea of ​​total quality and constant perfection, because the idea of ​​business, craft, labor as a spiritual path has been inherent in the Japanese since ancient times.

Summing up my short speech, I would like to encourage all colleagues who found this topic interesting to cooperate in the field of education, rooted in the Russian cultural and historical tradition. We see our task in a clear clarification of our spiritual roots, reflecting the specifics of doing business in business, as well as the development and implementation of training programs based on traditional Russian values.

Speaking about the specifics of business culture in Russia, it is important to note the contradictory duality of the value system, which is associated with the fact that Russia is a Eurasian country occupying a border position between Eastern and Western civilizations.

A well-known specialist in the field of intercultural interaction, Richard Lewis, calls Russian business culture “schizophrenic,” that is, combining incompatible properties. In the Russian value system one can find qualities characteristic of the East (collectivism, dependence on family, inequality in relationships, diligence, etc.) and qualities characteristic of the West (enterprise, independence, individualism).

Modern Russian business culture is heterogeneous. The qualities characteristic of entrepreneurs and top managers of large companies are directly opposite to those characteristic of their staff. For example, their attitudes towards risk, responsibility and showing initiative. Companies created before and after 1991 contrast sharply. The first is characterized by a typical Soviet culture: no matter how the composition of top managers changes, the staff remains the same, passing on their methods and approaches to the next generations. The leaders of modern Russian organizations are guided by a certain universal Western model, mainly drawn from American textbooks. The desire to instill an Americanized type of culture in one’s company faces internal resistance from employees, and this is no coincidence - studies show that American and Russian business culture do not coincide in any respect.

The business culture closest to us is French. We also get along well with Germans, Scandinavians and Indians. Despite the fundamental differences, Russians can successfully cooperate with Americans, since their culture is very simple, easy to navigate, you just need to learn a few basic rules. It is very difficult for Russians to find a common language with Arabs, Chinese and, especially, Japanese.

It is believed that Russians easily adapt to the characteristics of a business partner. Such adaptability and sensitivity are characteristic of all cultures that combine “incompatible” properties. Besides us, this trait is characteristic, for example, of Indians, who during negotiations always try to adapt to their partner.

It is difficult for a culture to become aware of itself until it encounters something completely unlike itself. You can evaluate the properties of Russian business culture by looking at yourself through the eyes of foreigners. The first thing they usually pay attention to is the specific attitude of Russians towards legal norms, the lack of an attitude to strictly follow the law. The guide for German businessmen traveling to Russia says: “Be careful: as soon as you establish informal relations with the Russians, they will persuade you to break the law.” In a country ranked 154th in the world in terms of corruption, they would be happy to follow the law “if it were well written, if the burden on business was not so exorbitant.” Compared to the Germans and Americans, representatives of a universalist culture, Russians represent a particularistic culture. In the first case, the law is understood as something immutable, valid for everyone without exception, regardless of personal circumstances; in the second, the relativity of the law is asserted, which is influenced by many random circumstances.

The next point noted by the majority of respondents is the special strength of informal relationships in Russian business communication. Business in Russia is personal, all based on connections, and this is not surprising: “if you cannot rely on the law, you just have to trust yourself and those around you.” It is no coincidence that any discussion of Russian companies ends with a listing of proper names (who is connected with whom, who controls what), because this is the only way to understand what is happening.

The third feature of Russian business culture is the special relationship between business and government, the tendency towards their merging. It depends on the authorities whether the company will receive permission to open an outlet in a given location or not. This factor concerns not so much government intervention in the economy as local relationships with local authorities and inspection bodies. The ability to “negotiate” with them becomes important.

Another property of Russian business culture is the good adaptation of Russian businessmen to changes in the external environment, a quick reaction to what is happening at the management level. Foreigners often talk about Russian ingenuity, unconventional thinking, the ability to survive in any conditions and find a way out of any situation. However, this positive quality also has bad consequences: due to their adaptability, Russians rarely think about long-term strategies, counting on short-term benefits and “quick money.” The conditions in which Russian businessmen are forced to work accustom them to the inevitability of risk. Often they start a project without developing a large-scale plan, only having a rough idea of ​​how much effort, time and money they will have to spend on it. “Let’s start, and then we’ll see, we’ll break through somehow,” they say.

Russians work impulsively and irritate many foreign partners with their habit of rushing to work, that is, their ability to pull themselves together at the last moment, mobilize all their strength and do a huge amount of work, and then again go into a relaxed, apathetic state.

The internal structure of companies also shocks many foreigners. They are confused by the chaotic organization of business processes and the work of workers (it is not clear who is responsible for what), the same level of salaries for specialists with different qualifications, poor staff motivation to the final result. Russian companies are characterized by the presence of a high power distance with pronounced collectivism among employees. Employees are highly dependent on their superiors, wait for instructions, do not show initiative, and never argue with their boss. At the same time, the team inside is very united. The result of this is not only mutual assistance and mutual responsibility, but also a strong “equalization” attitude, a love of counting other people’s money, and a reluctance to stand out from the crowd with special achievements.

If a business partner...

… from USA

Americans have a reputation for being the most ruthless businessmen in the world. During negotiations, they behave very toughly, drive the enemy into a corner, and always come well prepared. At the same time, compromises are made quite easily. Their main task is to conclude a contract as quickly as possible, since “time is money.” Ardent individualists: even if they perform in a group, everyone will be a soloist in it. Workaholics: do not accept a 40-hour work week; they work as much as necessary to achieve the goal as quickly as possible. Compliance with contracts is strictly monitored. They do not recognize personal relationships in business and are categorically opposed to friendship at work. The American company works like a mechanism: thoughtfully and rationally. Employees must constantly keep themselves in good shape, undergo additional education courses, write reports on the work done. Americans rarely stay in one company for a long time; contracts are usually concluded for a year; dismissal is not considered shameful.

… from China

The Chinese take a long time to build relationships before deciding to sign a contract. They usually look for partners through intermediaries, based on recommendations. During negotiations they behave very pretentiously, they like to inflate their own price. They love everything American and want to be treated the same as Western partners, so it is best to organize meetings with representatives of Chinese companies in modern business centers or expensive hotels. Very cunning and patient, they often drag out negotiations to make you nervous and accept their terms. Be careful when signing a contract drawn up by the Chinese - it may contain conditions that you did not agree on. During negotiations, the Chinese will address the oldest person in your group, even if there is a younger person in your group who holds a higher position. Forbidden topics that cannot be discussed with Chinese business partners: relations with Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong, human rights, family planning (in China there is a ban on a second child). Most likely, before your arrival in China, your partners will ask for information about your personal data in order to draw up a horoscope.

P.S. If everything is more or less clear with Western business culture, then Chinese culture raises many questions. For those who intend to do business with Chinese colleagues, our next article is “Business in China”.

Corporate culture, as an organization's resource, is priceless. It can be an effective HR management tool and an indispensable marketing tool. A developed culture shapes the company's image and is also an integral part of the brand building process. This is extremely important in modern market realities, where to achieve success any business must be customer-oriented, recognizable, open, that is, have the main characteristics of a brand.

You need to understand that corporate culture is formed in 2 ways: spontaneously and purposefully. In the first case, it arises spontaneously, based on the communication models that the employees themselves choose.

Relying on spontaneous corporate culture is dangerous. It is impossible to control and difficult to correct. Therefore, it is so important to pay due attention to the internal culture of the organization, form it and, if necessary, adjust it.

The concept of corporate culture: main elements, functions

Corporate culture is a model of behavior within an organization, formed during the functioning of the company and shared by all team members. This is a certain system of values, norms, rules, traditions and principles by which employees live. It is based on the company’s philosophy, which predetermines the value system, the general vision of development, the model of relationships and everything that the concept of “corporate culture” includes.

So, the elements of corporate culture:

• vision of the company's development - the direction in which the organization is moving, its strategic goals;
• values ​​- what is most important for the company;
• traditions (history) - habits and rituals that have developed over time;
• standards of conduct - an organization's ethical code, which sets out the rules of behavior in certain situations (for example, McDonald's created an entire 800-page thick manual, which spells out literally every possible situation and options for employees' actions approved by management in relation to each other and to the company's customers );
• corporate style - the appearance of the company’s offices, interior, corporate symbols, employee dress code;
• relationships - rules, methods of communication between departments and individual team members;
• faith and unity of the team to achieve certain goals;
• policy of dialogue with clients, partners, competitors;
• people - employees who share the corporate values ​​of the company.

The internal culture of an organization performs a number of important functions that, as a rule, determine the effectiveness of the company.

Functions of corporate culture

1. Image. A strong internal culture helps create a positive external image of the company and, as a result, attract new customers and valuable employees.
2. Motivational. Inspires employees to achieve their goals and perform their work tasks efficiently.
3. Engaging. Active participation of each individual team member in the life of the company.
4. Identifying. Promotes employee self-identification, develops a sense of self-worth and belonging to a team.
5. Adaptive. Helps new team players quickly integrate into the team.
6. Management. Forms norms and rules for managing teams and departments.
7. System-forming. Makes the work of departments systematic, orderly, and effective.

Another important function is marketing. Based on the goals, mission and philosophy of the company, a market positioning strategy is developed. Moreover, corporate values ​​naturally shape the style of communication with clients and target audiences.

For example, the whole world is talking about the corporate culture and customer service policy of Zappos. Rumors, legends, real stories flooded the Internet space. Thanks to this, the company receives even more attention from the target audience.

There are basic levels of corporate culture - external, internal and hidden. The external level includes how your company is seen by consumers, competitors, and the public. Internal - values ​​expressed in the actions of employees.

Hidden - fundamental beliefs consciously shared by all members of the team.

Typology of corporate cultures

In management, there are many different approaches to typology. Since the concept of “corporate culture” in the business environment began to be studied back in the 20th century, today some classical models have already lost their relevance. Internet business development trends have created new types of organizational cultures. We'll talk about them next.

So, the types of corporate cultures in modern business.

1. “Role model.” Here relationships are built on rules and distribution of responsibilities. Each employee plays his role as a small cog in a large mechanism. A distinctive feature is the presence of a clear hierarchy, strict job descriptions, rules, norms, dress code, and formal communications.

The workflow is thought out to the smallest detail, so disruptions in the process are reduced to a minimum. This model is often used in large companies with various departments and a large staff.

The main values ​​are reliability, practicality, rationality, building a stable organization. Due to these features, such a company cannot quickly respond to external changes, so the role model is most effective in a stable market.

2. "Dream Team" A team-based corporate culture with no job descriptions, specific responsibilities, or dress codes. The hierarchy of power is horizontal - there are no subordinates, there are only equal players on the same team. Communication is most often informal and friendly.

Work issues are resolved jointly - a group of interested employees gathers to perform one or another task. As a rule, the “bearer of power” is the one who has accepted responsibility for its decision. At the same time, distribution of areas of responsibility is allowed.

Values: team spirit, responsibility, freedom of thought, creativity. Ideology - only by working together can we achieve something more.

This type of culture is typical for progressive companies and startups.

3. "Family". This type of culture is characterized by the presence of a warm, friendly atmosphere within the team. The company is like a big family, and department heads act as mentors who you can always turn to for advice. Features - devotion to traditions, cohesion, community, customer focus.

The company's main value is its people (employees and consumers). Caring for the team is manifested in comfortable working conditions, social protection, assistance in crisis situations, incentives, congratulations, etc. Therefore, the motivation factor in such a model has a direct impact on work efficiency.

A stable position in the market is ensured by loyal customers and dedicated employees.

4. "Market model". This type of corporate culture is chosen by profit-oriented organizations. The team consists of ambitious, purposeful people who actively fight with each other for a place in the sun (for a promotion, a profitable project, a bonus). A person is valuable to a company as long as he can “make” money for it.

There is a clear hierarchy here, but, unlike the “Role Model”, the company is able to quickly adapt to external changes due to strong leaders who are not afraid to take risks.

Values ​​- reputation, leadership, profit, achieving goals, desire to win, competitiveness.

Signs of the “Market Model” are characteristic of the so-called business sharks. This is a rather cynical culture, which in many cases exists on the verge of an oppressive management style.

5. “Focus on results.” Quite flexible corporate policy, the distinctive feature of which is the desire to develop. The main goals are to achieve results, implement the project, and strengthen our position in the market.

There is a hierarchy of power and subordination. Team leaders are determined by their level of expertise and professional skills, so the hierarchy often changes. In addition, ordinary employees are not limited to job descriptions. On the contrary, they are often brought in to solve strategic problems, opening up opportunities for them to develop for the benefit of the company.

Values: results, professionalism, corporate spirit, pursuit of goals, freedom in decision-making.

These are the main types of corporate culture. But besides them, there are mixed types, that is, those that combine features from several models at once. This happens to companies that:

• developing rapidly (from small to large businesses);
• were absorbed by other organizations;
• changed the main type of market activity;
• experience frequent changes in leadership.

Formation of corporate culture using the example of Zappos

Integrity, unity and a strong team spirit are truly important to achieve success. This was proven by one of the world's best brands, Zappos, an online shoe store, an example of whose corporate policy has already been included in many textbooks of Western business schools.

The main principle of the company is to bring happiness to customers and employees. And this is logical, because a satisfied client will return again and again, and an employee will work with full dedication. This principle can also be seen in the company's marketing policy.

So, the components of Zappos corporate culture:

1. Openness and accessibility. Anyone can visit the company's office, all you have to do is sign up for a tour.
2. The right people mean the right results. Zappos believes that only those who truly share its values ​​can help the company achieve its goals and become better.
3. A happy employee means a happy customer. The brand's management does everything to ensure that employees have a comfortable, fun and joyful day at the office. They are even allowed to design their workplace as they please - the company bears the costs. If the employee is happy, then he will be happy to make the client happy. A satisfied customer is the success of the company. The freedom of action. It doesn’t matter how you do your job, the main thing is to make the client happy.
4. Zappos does not monitor employees. They are trusted.
5. The right to make some decisions remains with the employee. For example, in the service department, an operator may, on his own initiative, give a small gift or discount to a customer. It's his decision.
6. Learning and growth. Each employee first undergoes four months of training, followed by an internship in a call center to better understand customers. Zappos helps you improve your professional skills.
7. Communication and relationships. Although Zappos employs thousands of people, it makes every effort to ensure that employees get to know each other and communicate effectively.
8. The customer is always right. Everything that is done at Zappos is done for the sake of customer happiness. The powerful call center, which can even help you call a taxi or give directions, is already legendary.

In general, the company is considered the most customer-oriented. And the level of its corporate policy is a standard to follow. Zappos' internal culture and marketing strategies exist in close symbiosis. The company is trying its best to retain existing customers, because loyal customers bring the company more than 75% of orders.

Write in the comments what corporate culture model is used in your business? What values ​​unite your employees?

Business culture
Date of: 26/10/2006
Subject: Economy

Derivative of success

The organizational culture of Russian business is a very multifaceted and interesting organism to study. Being the integrating core of declared goals, streamlined business processes, and the approved structure of the company, organizational culture largely determines the company’s activities, just as the atmosphere, being invisible to the eye, creates the very possibility of organic life.

The connection between organizational culture and the success of a company is recognized by most managers and has been of interest to sociologists and psychologists for more than 50 years.

The bearers of organizational culture are people. However, in mature companies, organizational culture is separated from people and becomes an attribute of the company, modifying the behavior of employees in accordance with the attitudes and values ​​that form its basis. We can distinguish the following forms of organizational culture of enterprises in modern Russia:

Development of organizational culture in enterprises with a long history, rooted in the strictness of the planned economy of the Soviet era;

The budding from a transnational octopus of another business unit of Russian localization, the organizational culture of which is an imported planting from the outside, not always natural for Russian soil, but at the same time often a very effective option for self-organization of a company;

Development of organizational culture in enterprises created and operating since the early 1990s. As the processes of globalization and internationalization of economic life intensify, the issues of the influence of national cultures of different countries on the diverse aspects of companies’ activities acquire special significance. This article analyzes cross-cultural interaction within the organizational culture of a multinational company.

Look to the root (Kozma Prutkov)

All three forms of organizational culture of enterprises in Russia are united by a common context - this is the national culture of Russian employees, which, like water, seeps into the fabric of the organizational culture of the organization and serves as its fundamental basis. This fundamental principle is transformed under the influence of external stimuli (customer specifics, competition, etc.) and internal factors (claims of the owners or leaders of the company, internal etiquette of behavior, etc.). From the point of view of the institutional approach, culture is considered as a set of social communities and systems that can be structured along various planes. Rice. 1 explains this concept using the multi-stage Shois model, which distinguishes the following planes of culture:

– national culture (within one country),

– industry culture (within one industry),

– organizational culture (within one enterprise).

Rice. 1. Institutional classification of cultural planes

According to the definition of the Dutch scientist G. Hofstede, “national culture programs the mentality of society,” and “organizational culture programs the thoughts of the organization’s employees.” Competitive success of Japanese organizations in the 1970s. led to the recognition of the importance of national culture in the analysis of organizational culture. Organizational culture can be managed by changing the company's existing practices. It is difficult for an employer to change the values ​​of hired employees: company employees, when they come to work, cannot leave their identity at home.

Shamans of Russian business

The first and second versions of the organizational culture of Russian business exist largely against each other. This constant comparison of original Russian and no less original foreign companies would itself be designed to bring only good things into the life of Russian companies: advanced practices in personnel management and motivation, production planning, sales organization, etc. However, in practice, one can observe not at all creative, but rather destructive consequences of copying the external components of the organizational culture of foreign companies. One of the common steps towards prosperity is inviting foreign “Varangians” to develop a panacea for all Russian ills. And then the festival of talkative intellectuals begins. What they don’t have in store: you will be offered the most advanced benchmarking technologies, the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), the Kaizen continuous improvement system, 6 Sigma, the good old Boston Group matrix (there are options available - GE/Mackensey matrices for the aesthetically inclined), as well as the latest wonders of the process approach, network planning, MRP, lean production...

However, if you say “halva” many times, your mouth will not become sweeter. The effectiveness of the mechanisms is possible with the adaptation of a certain philosophy at the employee level within Russian enterprises. As the Japanese proverb says: “A bad owner grows weeds, a good one grows rice, a smart one cultivates the soil, a far-sighted one trains a worker.” One of the options for such “education” is close cooperation between specialists - direct carriers and recipients of advanced technologies, who, as a rule, are representatives of different national cultures.

Change before you have to (Jack Welch)

Despite the potential negative consequences, it is necessary to recognize the promise of studying and weighing the positive components of the organizational cultures of Russian and foreign companies. Since a synergistic effect 1 can potentially arise based on international cooperation and differences in the national cultures of employees, the company's development strategy, its management and organizational culture should be linked.

1 Synergy, synergistic effect (from the Greek synergos - acting together) - an increase in the efficiency of activity as a result of connection, integration, merging of individual parts into a single system due to the so-called system effect.

To do this, the national cultures of the cooperation partners need to be described according to a group of criteria, which will help determine specific criteria by which national cultures are in conflict with each other or are similar. For example, Studlein developed four key assessments to examine the compatibility of partners' national and business cultures:

Similarity of cultures: the cultures of the partners have minor differences; with mutual adaptation of the partners, synergy may arise;

Cultural compatibility: the partners’ cultures are compatible, and despite the greater cultural distance (compared to the first option), in the process of cooperation it is possible to acquire cultural competencies and a synergistic effect is achievable;

Complementarity of cultures: to achieve synergy in this case, the mutual ability and ability of cooperation partners to learn to overcome intercultural differences is necessary;

Incompatibility of cultures: the cultures of the partners are not similar and do not complement each other. Especially in cases of complementarity and compatibility of cultures, there is the potential for a synergistic effect to arise (as, for example, according to research, in the case of Russian-German cooperation). The success of intercultural interaction depends on the level of awareness and knowledge about the partners’ culture, willingness to learn and tolerance in intercultural communications. Only on this basis can the process of intercultural learning be initiated for the targeted creation of a competitive advantage for the enterprise.

The unpredictability of the development of the organizational culture of multinational enterprises is due to the interaction within its framework of different national cultures of employees. How do different national cultures directly interact within one company? Is it possible to talk about a “symbiosis” of 2 cultures within a multinational enterprise? The answers to these questions are ambiguous.

2 From Greek. symbiosis - cohabitation.

This article makes an attempt to analyze these aspects “from the inside” using a dynamic model of the organizational culture of multinational enterprises, which describes the dynamics of interaction between the national cultures of employees within one enterprise (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Model of organizational culture of multinational enterprises – dynamics of interaction between national cultures of employees

In Fig. 2 highlights the stages of development of this interaction, namely:

1) At the initial stage of work, employees who are carriers of different national cultures meet for the first time within the same organizational culture;

2) National cultures of employees begin to interact with each other. Contact begins with a process of recognition, during which discrepancies are established between the observed reality and the worldview of the partners;

3) Interaction manifests itself in the form of “friction” between different national cultures (this “friction” can arise for each of the parameters of national culture discussed below). The trigger for learning intercultural differences is, as a rule, crises that arise as a result of deviations of expectations from the actions of partners in intercultural cooperation;

4) As a result of “friction” and mutual adaptation, such characteristics of the partners’ national cultures as “strength” or “weakness” appear. In this case, the “strength” or “weakness” of a national culture is understood as the relative ability of the values ​​of a certain culture to assert themselves over the corresponding values ​​of another culture. The values ​​of a “weaker” culture are more easily transformed under the influence of the values ​​of a “stronger” culture. For example, what attitude to time will be “stronger” within the organizational culture of an enterprise with a Russian-German team: monochrome, characteristic of the Germans, or polychrome, characteristic of the Russians;

5) Different national cultures can potentially interact successfully, overcoming the difficulties that arise, as a result of which the effect of “symbiosis” of cultures will arise and it will become possible to develop some “fusion of cultures” - a new organizational culture, “enriched” with the best features of the national cultures of employees (the mechanism and options for this developments are analyzed below);

6) The final phase of the formation of the organizational culture of a multinational enterprise can be a synergistic effect achieved through the integration and fusion of various national cultures of the enterprise’s employees into a single organizational culture.

Movement is life

The dynamic model uses a dialectical approach to explain the processes that take place in the organizational culture of multinational enterprises under the influence of the national cultures of employees. The reason for this is that within the same organizational culture there are contradictions due to the fact that they are carriers of different cultures. “Contradiction” in this case is interpreted as “difference”, “inequality” of the characteristics of cultures, which, nevertheless, can be compared using certain systems of parameters (see critical parameters of cultures in the next section).

The next logical step in understanding this model is the statement, borrowed from Hegel’s dialectic, that “contradictions lie at the root of all movement and vitality; only that which has internal contradictions moves, has persistence and activity.” Here, the logic of self-development through contradictions is used to explain the processes taking place in the organizational culture of a multinational enterprise under the influence of the national cultures of employees.

It is also of interest to turn to the laws of materialist dialectics - the law of unity and struggle of opposites (or the law of interpenetration of opposites), which “reveals contradictions as an internal source, impulse, driving force of all self-movement.” In the process of interaction of different national cultures within the framework of one organizational culture, the development of a new organizational culture is possible.

The final result in the general case (without reference to specific cultures) cannot be determined, but we can talk about the following main options for the interaction of different national cultures within one enterprise:

(1) national cultures may be so different that any attempt at interaction will fail;

(2) in the process of developing the organizational culture of a multinational enterprise, the national culture of one group of employees will dominate;

(3) national cultures will be able to successfully interact, overcoming the difficulties that arise, as a result of which the effect of “symbiosis” of cultures will arise and it will become possible to develop a certain “fusion of cultures” - a new organizational culture, “enriched” with the features of the national cultures of employees (this option is demonstrated in Fig. 2 ).

We will measure the boa constrictor in parrots

For the purposes of the study, the following list of critical parameters was developed with the help of which the influence of national cultures of employees on the organizational culture of multinational enterprises is assessed:

1. Parameters of hierarchy and discipline in the team:

1.1. degree of delegation of authority;

1.2. power distance;

1.3. the degree of independence of decisions made by employees of the enterprise;

1.4. employee loyalty to the company / level of opportunistic relations within the team.

2. Moral and psychological climate in the team:

2.1. degree of individualism/collectivism;

2.2. vertical degree of trust;

2.3. degree of trust horizontally;

2.4. degree of femininity/masculinity.

3. Perception of time and attitude towards the future:

3.1. long-term orientation;

3.2. desire to avoid uncertainty.

3.3. monochrome/polychrome attitude to time 3;

3 For example, in Germany the perception of time is linear and mostly monochrome. This means that at a given moment only one thing is being done, the sequence of actions is carried out step by step, according to a previously drawn up plan (linear sequence). Germans do not like to do several things at the same time. They prefer to focus on one task and complete it within the planned time frame.

3.4. risk appetite / desire for stability;

3.5. perception of innovation.

Based on these groups of parameters, graphs are constructed (Fig. 3 and 4) demonstrating the position of a particular organizational culture relative to the criteria of hierarchy and discipline in the team, the moral and psychological climate in the team, perception of time and attitude to the future. These groups of parameters define the coordinate axes of three-dimensional space, in which the position of the organizational cultures of various enterprises is empirically determined.

Rice. 3. The concept of a methodology for studying the organizational culture of multinational enterprises (using the example of Russian-German enterprises)

Graph in Fig. 3. is constructed in the following coordinate system:

Axis X – “Parameters of hierarchy and discipline in the team”;

Y axis – “Parameters of the moral and psychological climate in the team”;

Z axis – “Parameters characterizing the perception of time and attitude towards the future.”

Determining the position of the organizational culture of a particular enterprise on the X, Y, Z axes occurs through the summation of a number of weighted indicators of a given organizational culture. So, along the X axis we have:

X = a 1 *i 1 + b 1 *j 1 + c 1 *k 1 + d 1 *l 1, ​​where

A 1 – assessment of the degree of delegation of authority;

B 1 – power distance assessment;

C 1 – assessment of the degree of independence of decisions made by employees of the enterprise;

D 1 – assessment of employee loyalty to the company / level of opportunistic relations within the team.

Indicators a 1 , b 1 , c 1 , d 1 are determined empirically through a survey. The survey questions are based on the critical parameters presented above. The responses of respondents received during the survey are analyzed, as a result of which they are assigned certain numerical values ​​- indicators a 1, b 1, c 1, d 1. In G. Hofstede's cultural studies, the assignment of numerical expressions to cultural parameters occurs in a similar way.

Coefficients i 1, j 1, k 1, l 1 are weights, the value of which is determined by assessing the importance (for research purposes) of the corresponding indicators (a 1, b 1, c 1, d 1). There is a relationship between the scales: i 1 + j 1 + k 1 + l 1 = 1.

This logic for studying the parameters of organizational culture along the other two axes of the coordinate system – Y and Z – is similar.

Based on the results of the analysis of the survey results, a point is constructed for each enterprise in the described coordinate system (X, Y, Z). We obtain a certain location of points in three-dimensional space. It has been empirically established that points corresponding to the organizational cultures of similar multinational, as well as purely mononational enterprises, tend to be grouped into “clouds” - areas of accumulation (Fig. 3).

It is legitimate to talk about the existence of a certain general criterion that would allow us to draw a conclusion about whether interaction between representatives of two different cultures is possible within a multinational enterprise or not. Let's call this criterion “cross section of proximity.” In the case under consideration, this is the distance between points C and B, i.e. the distance between the centers of two “clouds” corresponding to the organizational cultures of purely Russian and purely German enterprises. The criterion is greater than zero. If the corresponding coordinates along the X, Y, Z axes are less than this criterion, then representatives of different national cultures can potentially interact with each other as part of a joint venture. Establishing the specific meaning of this criterion is another interesting direction for research. Let's define three “proximity sections” for each axis: X, Y, Z. Let’s express this through formulas for point C, with coordinates (x 1 ; y 1 ; z 1), and point B, with coordinates (x 3 ; y 3 ; z 3):

If the conditions of this system are met, then representatives of two different national cultures can potentially interact with each other.

If all the coordinates of points A, B, C of a given coordinate system are normalized so that they are equal and comparable, then this system can be written in the following form:

As follows from the presented model and the conducted empirical studies, the organizational culture of multinational enterprises is a complex and contradictory interaction of employee cultures. The coordinates of point A are not simply the arithmetic mean of the corresponding coordinates of points B and C. Through the analysis of deviations of certain parameters of the organizational culture of enterprises with Russian-German teams from similar parameters of purely Russian and purely German enterprises, conclusions can be drawn about the influence of the national cultures of Russians and Germans on their organizational culture multinational enterprises.

Rice. 4. The concept of a methodology for studying the organizational culture of multinational enterprises: analysis of the “zone of unity” and “zone of conflict”

We can talk about the existence of a certain “zone of unity” (Fig. 4), within which cooperation between representatives of different cultures in the form of a multinational enterprise is potentially possible. The cultural parameters within the boundaries of the “zone of unity” are quite close to each other and do not have the nature of a critical discrepancy. All points on the graph that lie outside the “zone of unity” are in the “zone of conflict.” In the latter, cooperation between representatives of different cultures in the form of a multinational enterprise is difficult due to strong national differences.

To accelerate the development of a uniform organizational culture of a multinational enterprise, it is necessary to conduct various training activities for employees in the following areas:

Development of communication abilities: studying the national and business language of partners, as well as their non-verbal sign language;

Perception of cultural differences and similarities: careful use of cultural standards, openness to others' ways of behavior and thoughts;

Analysis through the prism of attitudes due to one's own culture: a critical examination of one's own culture.

Energetic giants

The considered aspects of interaction between employees - representatives of different national cultures - are one of the directions for increasing the efficiency of multinational enterprises operating in the global market of technologies, equipment and services for nuclear power plants. There are not many main players in this highly consolidated market: these are the European AREVA group, the American companies General Electric and Westinghouse, the Japanese Mitsubishi, etc. Let us turn to the practice of managing the multinational team of the AREVA group. At the end of 2005, AREVA employed almost 60 thousand people in 49 countries. Managers and engineers represent 34% of the company's workforce, technical and administrative personnel 40%, and workers 26%.

AREVA employs representatives of different nations and cultures, with different government systems and industrial standards (the distribution of AREVA employees by region of the world is presented in Fig. 5). The company's key imperative is to strengthen the group's organizational culture by disseminating core values ​​and practices through employee development, taking into account the diversity of local national cultures in each country where the AREVA group operates. AREVA recognizes that to ensure competitiveness it is necessary to develop a consistent organizational culture. This is achievable through intercultural training in key areas and systematic communications between employees from different countries.

Rice. 5. Distribution of AREVA employees by regions of the world, people. And %

To strengthen AREVA's position as an international company, the following activities are being implemented to exchange experience, develop cross-cultural communications and professional skills of employees:

AREVA University has been operating since 2002, helping to develop the company's shared values, strategic vision and management model. In 2005, 2,650 managers took part in AREVA University trainings and programs;

Once a year, AREVA “Management Days” are organized, bringing together about 200 managers and 100 future managers of the company;

The AREVA Team project develops cross-country communications between various divisions of the company;

On-site seminars several times a year bring together up to 120 managers from various divisions of the company to exchange experience;

In 2005, the number of training hours per employee was 24.5 hours;

An integral part of AREVA's strategy to strengthen the shared values ​​of an international multinational company and the personal career growth of employees is the development of professional mobility. To increase employees' awareness of their development opportunities in the company, AREVA implements a program to disseminate information about rotations and related employee prospects (for example, through the “talent site”). The number of employees participating in the mobility program is growing: in 2003, 618 employees participated in the AREVA rotation program, and in 2005 this number increased to more than 1,500 employee transfers. The latter also indicates that the company is implementing large projects outside France: the construction of a Finnish unit with an EPR reactor, the construction of a MOX fuel plant in the USA, etc.

Constant work to develop a unified organizational culture of the multinational AREVA team is an important element of the company’s global competitiveness.

Give me a fulcrum and I will change the world (Archimedes)

As globalization picks up speed, shifts are taking place in all spheres of human activity: economics, politics, culture, etc. New challenges are entering our lives. How can we act competitively in the new environment? What threats should we avoid, and what benefits does the coming era hide?

A characteristic feature of modern business is the complex interaction of national and international. Globalization leads to the formation of a certain cross-national business culture, the principles and rules of which are shared by almost the majority of businessmen in the world. On the other hand, national and cultural differentiation is growing: peoples and ethnic communities strive to preserve their cultural values ​​and protect them from the eroding influence of mass culture.

All these characteristics of the modern world economy have put on the agenda the question of the influence of national cultures of different countries on international business activity; external influence - at the level of interaction with customers, suppliers, etc., and internal - between employees of a multinational enterprise. The study of the phenomenon of culture, the analysis of the opportunities and limitations that cultural constants carry, are still rare phenomena in Russian business practice. But the world practice that is moving ahead testifies to the prospects of managing the organizational culture of a multinational enterprise, taking into account the characteristics of the national cultures of its employees.

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