Cultural Reflection in Management. Lukasz Sulkowski

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Egalitarian culture Inequalities between positions Striving for the consolidation of inequalities between different positions in an enterprise. Striving for the levelling of differences between different positions. Wage differential Accepting large differences between the wages for different positions. Striving for the limitation of differences in wages. Management style Autocratic Participatory Level of centralisation of decisions Centralisation of decisions Decentralisation of decisions The source of organisational hierarchy Natural and objective; a belief that employees occupying lower positions in an organisation usually have fewer skills than employees on higher levels. Social, conventional; hierarchy is related to different roles, determined for pragmatic purposes. Stability of the power hierarchy Hierarchy should be stable. Hierarchy should be flexible and undergo changes. Relationships between employees Subordinates are dependent on their superiors. Superiors and subordinates are interdependent. Privileged position of employees on higher levels Employees at higher levels of the organisation should have privileges. Everyone in the organisation should have equal rights. Concept for exercising power The dominant concepts emphasise the significance of the superiors and the process of managing employees. The dominant concepts emphasise the significance of employees and their involvement and participation in the managerial process.

      The dimension of hierarchy vs. equality is primal with regard to the dimension defined as authoritarianism vs. democracy (participation). Authoritarianism means striving for a one-person, unquestioned decision-making process in an organisation, while democracy means striving for a group (fully participatory) decision-making process. The dimension of hierarchy vs. equality is also primal in relation to the dimension of power centralisation¹⁰⁴.

7 Individualist culture – collectivist culture

      The dimension of individualism vs. collectivism was popularised in the cultural research into organisations conducted by G. Hofstede, and is also used as an axis for the analysis of organisational cultures. This typology is most often used to indicate the relationships between a type of culture and a type of manager’s personality¹⁰⁵, but it is also linked with the level of entrepreneurship¹⁰⁶, ←57 | 58→involvement¹⁰⁷, the level of confidence and social capital¹⁰⁸, as well as many other variables.

      Individualism means putting the value of an individual before the interests of a social group. This is related to a striving for the freedom of individuals and a ←58 | 59→belief that individual interests are the most important. According to this belief, organisations should focus on the motives and competences of individuals, rather than teams. Fulfilling individual interests can lead to success at the level of the whole organisation, as it favours rivalries and competitive attitudes, as well as nonconformist behaviour. An organisation is perceived as a group of individuals who have conflicting interests. The community approach (or in other words, collectivism) is the belief that the interest of a social group is more important than individual interests, and in an organisation this is manifested by an orientation towards group goals, even against individuals, while the preferred attitudes are conformism and collaboration.

       Tab. 11: Individualist vs. collectivist cultures. Source: Own work.

Features	Individualist culture	Collectivist culture
Priority of interests in an organisation	Individuals’ interests are more important than the organisation’s interests.	An organisation’s interests are more important than individual interests.
An organisation’s essence	An organisation is a group of individuals who have different interests.	An organisation is a group of collaborating people.
Work relationships	Rivalry between employees is necessary.	Cooperation between people is necessary for the organisation.
Perspective on the significance of individuals	An organisation is based on eminent individuals.	An organisation is based on teams.
Coincidence of the interests of an organisation and of its employees	Interests of the organisation and individuals are divergent.	The interests of the organisation and individuals coincide.
Approach to the freedom of individuals	An organisation functions thanks to the freedom of individuals.	An organisation functions thanks to group solidarity.
Degree of conformity	People in an organisation should have their own opinions and express them (non-conformism).	In an organisation, one should adjust to the opinion of the community (conformism).
Approach to conflict	Conflicts can contribute to the organisation’s development.	In an organisation, one has to strive for harmony and avoid conflicts.
Approach to familism	Ideal interpersonal relationships in an organisation are different from the relationships in a family, as they are based on a contract guaranteeing mutual benefits.	Ideal interpersonal relationships in an organisation should remind of a family.
Significance of private life in an organisation	Professional and private lives of employees should be strictly separated in an organisation.	Professional and private lives of employees merge in an organisation.

      The dichotomous typologies of organisational cultures described here are only the examples which most often appear in literature. In reality, there are many more typologies, based on more dichotomies than just these. Other examples include a culture of risk vs. avoiding uncertainty¹⁰⁹, flexible vs. inflexible cultures, changes vs. status

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