Corporate culture

Contents

• What is corporate culture
• Elements of corporate culture
• Why corporate culture is needed
• Types of corporate cultures
• How to create the desired corporate culture

What is corporate culture

Corporate culture is a system of values and norms shared by the core team of a company. This is expressed in the behavior of employees and their attitude towards work, shaping the business's image in the eyes of both current and potential employees. Corporate culture demonstrates how the organization relates to clients, partners, and competitors, as well as how employees interact with each other and how work and leisure are perceived. For instance, one may wonder whether to expect overtime and calls on weekends.

At Yandex, corporate culture emphasizes openness, freedom, and care for employees. This is reflected in the organization of the workspace: the new office on Vorobyovy Gory features a gym and a swimming pool, and the Moscow office even has a ball pit for employees.

Elements of corporate culture

Corporate culture consists of two key components: ideological and practical. From an ideological perspective, it includes:

• the company's mission;
• shared values;
• attitudes towards people: colleagues, partners, and clients.

The mission and values may be formalized in writing or discussed informally. It is important that employees intuitively perceive these values. For example, there may be a culture of equal communication, regardless of position, which may be recorded in a brand book, internal documents, or simply observed at the level of tradition.

In addition to ideas, corporate culture includes various practices and rituals that express these ideas. These include:

• management style;
• tone of communication;
• motivation system;
• corporate events;
• internal traditions;
• myths and legends of the company;
• work formats and dress code.

Why corporate culture is needed

Corporate culture serves several key functions:

• Unites employees, creating a sense of unity through common goals and values.
• Increases motivation, as employees understand and share the company's mission.
• Improves communication, making it easier to find common ground and resolve conflicts.
• Strengthens reputation in the market, making the company more attractive to new employees and partners.
• Ensures stability, reducing employee turnover due to a comfortable atmosphere.
• Reduces costs, as employees are willing to work for less if the organization offers an attractive culture.

An effective employee-oriented corporate culture helps attract qualified personnel. It is important not only to offer competitive salaries but also to create an atmosphere that fosters employee retention.

Types of corporate cultures

There are several classifications that highlight different types of corporate cultures. Let's look at two of the most common.

Handy's Classification

Sociologist C. Handy identifies four main types:

• Power culture: dominance of one or a few individuals with a strict hierarchy.
• Role culture: everyone knows their role and performs strictly defined functions.
• Task culture: focus on achieving specific results with flexible role distribution.
• Person culture: emphasis on individual achievements and the uniqueness of each employee.

Cameron and Quinn's Classification

Researchers identify four types of corporate culture based on criteria of flexibility and focus:

• Hierarchical: stability and adherence to rules.
• Market: focus on results and competitiveness.
• Clan: emphasis on cooperation and family values.
• Adhocratic: readiness for experimentation and innovation.

How to create the desired corporate culture

There are two approaches to forming corporate culture: top-down and bottom-up. In the first case, management formulates the main ideas, while in the second, culture develops intuitively. In any case, key steps include:

• Defining the company's values;
• Documenting the mission;
• Developing rules and traditions;
• Training employees;
• Implementing internal PR;
• Supporting feedback.

Creating an effective corporate culture is a long-term process that requires constant attention and adaptation to changes within the company. Professionals in HR and internal PR can significantly assist in this process, helping to create a healthy and productive atmosphere within the team.