Читать книгу Cultural Reflection in Management - Lukasz Sulkowski - Страница 22

The influence of organisational culture on innovation is one of the most significant subjects of cultural research. Most researchers believe that culture, reflected in mentality, is of key significance to shaping the level of innovation, enterprise, flexibility and creativity. Thus, all these notions form the basis for the classification of cultures. Innovative cultures are also known in the subject literature as entrepreneurial, flexible or creative cultures. The main problems ←54 | 55→of research into such types of culture are enhancing innovation⁹⁶, relationships between innovative culture and competitiveness⁹⁷, relationships between the degree of sector innovation and culture⁹⁸, links between innovative culture and organisational learning⁹⁹, and many others. Entrepreneurial organisational cultures have been researched by S. McGuire, who proposed the addition of creativity and readiness to undertaking challenges in the cultural model. Important characteristics of entrepreneurial cultures are an orientation towards people, empowerment, and the creation of values through innovation and changes¹⁰⁰.

An organisational culture is oriented towards changes and the readiness to act in a situation where there is not enough information, as well as a tendency to take risks. Organisations with high tolerance for uncertainty do not strive to maintain the status quo, but are ready to accept internal changes and to make transformations. Usually, they adapt to changes in the environment more easily and are flexible. They attach greater significance to the openness of organisation, and not its stability.

Conservative culture usually involves striving for a reduction of uncertainty, functioning in a context of low risk, supporting the maintenance of the status quo and emphasising the organisation’s stabilising role. The role of tradition is also stressed at the enterprise level. The variants of action and scenarios developed are of a determinist character; they assume avoiding risks, maximum limitation of the information deficit and one-option planning. In most cases, changes are treated as threats (Tab. 9).

Tab. 9: Innovative vs. conservative cultures. Source: Own work.

Features	Innovative culture	Conservative culture
Orientation towards changes	Orientation towards changes in the organisation.	Orientation towards maintaining status quo in the organisation.
Entrepreneurship	High entrepreneurship.	Low entrepreneurship and innovation.
Approach to tradition	Distance, tradition is treated as a burden.	Respect, tradition is treated as a model.
Respect for authorities	Undermining the value of the authorities, counting on ‘fresh blood’.	High respect for the experienced employees of the organisation.
Approach to information	Accepting activities in the face of an information deficit.	Striving for action only when there is all information available.

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The danger of conservatism is one of the key cultural threats in modern organisations that function in environments undergoing constant change. The most important elements in this case include maintaining and transferring the same values, cultivating tradition and striving for action without any change to the status quo. Although a conservative orientation supports the enterprise’s stability, too much conservatism can be dangerous to each business entity. Conservative enterprises isolate themselves from information, resist changes and can be effective only if their sector is very stable, which is found less and less often.