Qiao Chunyang: On Culture And Management

(1) management is the birthing of culture.

Drucker, a famous American management scientist, thinks that

American management scientist Daniel Ryan also said: "management is the birth of culture."

On the one hand, people's management thoughts and management theories are formed on the basis of various cultural ethics. The improvement of management knowledge system and management system is also based on the changes of culture. On the other hand, in terms of management practice, the allocation and utilization of resources also change with cultural changes.

So culture deeply affects and even determines the management theory and management mode to some extent.

As Daniel Ryan said, "management thought is not developed in a vacuum without culture.

Managers often find that their work is always influenced by the current culture. "

Drucker pointed out that management is based on culture.

Management is not a science beyond value. It is a social function, rooted in a culture, value tradition, habits and beliefs, rooted in the government system and political system.

Management develops along with the development of culture. It is also a kind of material manifested in the development of culture and an organic part of human culture.

The improvement of management level not only promotes the development of productivity, but also enriches the content of culture.

A very important reason why management has become a cultural phenomenon is that people, who play a major role in management, are the subjects and objects of management.

All kinds of behaviors of human beings are influenced by the cultural background of specific time and space. They all reflect certain cultural background.

Therefore, when people act as management subjects in management activities, their ideological behavior reflects the characteristics of culture. When people are managed as objects of management, their reactions and behaviors also reflect certain cultural and educational backgrounds.

(two) cultural management

People create culture in production and life, and culture changes and shapes people through their own influence.

People follow the spirit of culture and regulate their behavior.

In this process, the cultural system has become the value orientation of people and become the code of conduct for people.

However, the normative function of culture can not be coercion, but is imperceptibly generated by cultural elements such as values, beliefs, ethics and customs.

Culture plays an important role in the management and development of enterprises.

As a subculture, enterprise culture is also bound to standardize the behavior of employees.

It can use the common value standard to cultivate enterprise consciousness, unify employees' thought, improve interpersonal relationship, enhance enterprise cohesion, stimulate creativity of employees, and improve corporate reputation and brand image.

After studying the phenomenon of many enterprises and management, American scholar Philip Harris thinks that culture has the following 11 management functions:

(1) culture gives people a sense of identity, whether in a country or in a company.

In particular, culture plays a more important role in human behavior and values.

Through culture, employee loyalty and organizational efficiency can be improved.

(2) knowledge of culture enables people to understand each other better.

When managers understand the general and special nature of culture, they can better promote cross-cultural communication, coordinate relations and improve productivity.

The provisions and systems of management can also be formulated in accordance with local characteristics and standards.

(3) cultural awareness and skills are very useful for developing and influencing organizational culture.

For example, in a multinational company, the culture of a company can affect the performance of local staff and customers.

Moreover, entities such as subsidiaries, branches, departments and so on have their own subcultures, which can promote or impede the realization of organizational goals and mutual communication.

(4) the concept and characteristics of culture are very useful for analyzing work culture.

For example, an analysis of the working environment of the disappearing industrialized society and post industrial society.

Therefore, a manager who understands the influence of culture can evaluate policies, procedures and processes according to their relevance.

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(5) cultural insight and tools are very helpful for comparative study of management.

It can make our cultural barriers in leadership and management practice less.

Managers who operate in a heterogeneous environment can be more effective in negotiating and dealing with organizational relationships with their local counterparts.

(6) cultural universality is very important for those engaged in international trade.

It can not only help traders and professionals engaged in trade overcome cultural barriers, but also create cultural synergy.

(7) the acuity of culture enables us to recognize and discover the diversity of market demand so as to change our business strategy in domestic and foreign markets, especially in minority areas.

(8) in both domestic and international operations, the perception of culture can be used to correct previous experience.

This is very necessary for managers and professionals who are facing cultural change.

(9) cultural perception and skill development should be carried out in all foreign related systems.

The acculturation of foreign environment can improve the experience of overseas operations, increase production efficiency, reduce cultural conflict and shock, and smoothly enter the subculture circle's organization and family.

(10) the acceptance of culture can improve the degree of participation of one person in international organizations and conferences.

It is necessary for a person to attend an international conference as a member of a trade delegation or to work in a foreign company.

(11) being proficient in culture enables people to cope with setbacks in the pition period of experience and improve one's adaptability to pformation management.

In the early 1980s, Alan Kennedy, an expert of McKinsey consulting company in the United States and Professor Terence Deal, an education and Research Institute of Harvard University, had accumulated rich information in the long-term business management, and deeply felt the importance of culture in the management of enterprises in theoretical research and practice. They put forward the concept of "cultural management" in the co-author's "western corporate culture".

They said: "the purpose of this book is to provide business leaders with basic knowledge of cultural management." "we hope to instil a new rule of life in our enterprises through this way: culture is power!" Schine, a famous American scholar, said in "company culture and leadership": "the most important talent of a leader is the ability to influence culture.

If it is necessary to distinguish between leadership theory and culture, we must recognize that in the theory of leadership, the function of cultural management occupies a central position.

He believes that cultural management is the creation and influence of cultural management, which is at the center of leadership.

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The so-called "cultural management" is a modern enterprise management mode that takes the soft elements of enterprise management as the central link of enterprise management.

Starting from the characteristics of human psychology and behavior, it cultivates the common values of enterprise organizations and the common feelings of employees, and forms the culture of the organization itself. From the perspective of the existence and development of the organization, it studies and absorbs various management methods to form a unified management style, and stimulates the enthusiasm and initiative of employees through the promotion of corporate culture cultivation and management culture mode.

Cultural management has brought into full play the role of culture in covering people's physiology and psychology, as well as the status quo and history of human beings.

After studying the practice of cultural management in Chinese and foreign enterprises, some 7 criteria are put forward:

(1) human centered management.

We should respect employees, care for employees, and do everything possible to mobilize the enthusiasm and creativity of employees.

Technology is important, but it depends on people to control. Efficiency is important, but it depends on people to create.

As for the coming knowledge economy era, people begin to realize that innovation is the soul of knowledge economy and the key to gaining competitive advantage, and the main body of innovation is human beings. Therefore, "talent is the basis of knowledge economy" is becoming a consensus. Talent competition will become the focus of competition in the future. The implementation of people-centered management will become more urgent and important.

Externally, we should take consumers as the center, care for consumers, and always consider consumers' values, setting up the values of "consumers are God".

Consumers are the prerequisite for the survival of enterprises, and the demand of silver consumers and the satisfaction of consumers should be the goal that enterprises always pursue.

(2) strive to foster shared values.

Only the concerted efforts of staff groups will win the business.

The emergence of concerted group behavior depends on the cultivation of shared values.

Therefore, the successful cultivation of common values of enterprises is a basic sign of cultural management.

(3) the enterprise system is in harmony with the common values.

Decision consciousness exists, different systems reinforce different values.

The egalitarian distribution system strengthens the values of "mediocrity" and "idler". The distribution system of wage reward strengthens the values of "enterprising" and "labor".

While acknowledging the decisive role of the enterprise system in the common values, we also acknowledge that the common values are counterproductive to the enterprise system.

The two are the dialectical relations of mutual influence and interaction, but the most important thing is that the enterprise system should be in harmony with the common values.

(4) management focus is shifted from behavior level to concept level.

People are thoughtful and affable. People's interest in work, enthusiasm for work and devotion to work play a very important role in the work.

Looking at the history of human social development, we can see that science and technology become an increasingly important factor in productive forces, and mental labor is becoming more and more important in labor composition.

New knowledge and new technology should be created by human mental labor. Mental labor can not be seen or touched. The strict control of human behavior by scientific management can not be applied to enterprises with mental labor.

Therefore, the key point of management from the behavior level to the concept level is undoubtedly one of the significant signs to measure whether the enterprise has entered the stage of cultural management.

The shift of management emphasis requires that managers should pay attention to meeting the needs of employees' self-esteem and self actualization, encourage their dedication and spirit of innovation, and focus on fostering common values.

In short, corporate culture should be placed in the important position of enterprise management.

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(5) implementing the leadership of talent cultivation.

David Bradford and Alan Cohen, an American scholar, studied the leap from scientific management to cultural management from the leadership style in his co authored "pursuit of excellence management".

They divide the way of leadership into three categories: Master type, command type and talent cultivation type.

The first two types are collectively referred to as the hero type, characterized by high concentration of power and responsibility, any important decision making by one person, no respect for the creativity of the lower level, and only the completion of the task and the hardship, warmth and growth of the lower class.

The leadership of talented personnel is divided into different levels: management at a higher level, responsibility shared by superiors and subordinates, joint control, respect for the creativity and wisdom of the lower level, concern for the completion of the tasks, concern for the initiative of the lower level and the cultivation of the ideological ability; all work relies on a tacit understanding team to cultivate team spirit as the focus of attention of the leaders.

Obviously, cultural management needs talented leaders.

(6) establishing a learning organization.

The concept of learning organization is proposed by Peter Senge and others of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1990 in the book "the fifth discipline - the art and practice of learning organization".

The book points out that learning is a lifelong process. "A company can not achieve eternal excellence. It must constantly learn and strive for excellence."

The five skills of a learning organization are called "Five Disciplines". They are Personal Mastery, Improving Mental Models, Building Shared vision, group learning (Team Learning) and system thinking (Sysems Sysems).

Its core is "fifth disciplines".

After its publication in China, the Chinese version of the book quickly became a bestseller of business management and was valued by the Chinese business community and academia.

Cultural management emphasizes people centred, pays attention to giving play to the initiative, initiative and creativity of employees, constantly improves the overall quality of the staff, and keeps the vitality of enterprises with continuous innovation.

To achieve this goal, we must establish a learning organization and form a learning oriented enterprise culture.

As predicted by Deepak Sethi, assistant director of manager education and former York University Professor, AT&T, "future organizations will need such a culture - learning is sustainable."

A large number of facts show that innovation is the key to maintain the superiority of enterprises at present and in the future.

To improve the innovative ability of enterprises, we must first improve the overall quality of the staff, and the establishment of learning organization is undoubtedly the inevitable choice for enterprises to challenge the future.

(7) the combination of soft management and hard management.

The so-called hard management refers to the implementation of rules and regulations, direct external supervision and administrative orders and other rigid management, including the use of computer management information system, human-computer temporary control system and other modern means of material.

Soft management refers to flexible management such as carrying out ideological work, fostering common values, building good corporate ethos, and forming harmonious interpersonal relationships.

Scientific management relies mainly on hard management, while cultural management requires rigid, flexible, soft and hard combination.

In the language of Chinese enterprises, it is necessary to combine management and ideological work with two pieces of leather.

The construction of enterprise culture is the best way to combine soft and hard management.

Group values, rules and regulations are part of corporate culture.

System and discipline are mandatory and hard, but they rely on them.