Factors, which influence the organizational culture:

- corporate vision, mission and goal;

- strategy;

- work maintenance;

- education and experience of personnel;

- personality of employer;

- economic conditions;

- nation and culture of staff members;

- business environment.

Corporate culture allows to differ one organization from another and helps save and strengthen organizational values.

However, corporate culture is put to the changes in course of time. A company has seven key-points to change corporate culture. The employer together with employees should:

- understand the “old” corporate culture;

- listen to people, who know some ideas relating to the new corporate culture;

- “keep the nose to the wind”, “probe the ground” and search the better traits of corporate culture;

- not wait for miracle;

- foresee for 5-10 years;

- be patient (and the win comes)!

The effective corporate culture intends the strong management level and high morale – the marks of corporate ethics.

Text 3. Business ethics

Ethics is the system of moral principles, rules of conduct, and morality of choices that individuals make..

Business ethics is the application of morale standards to business situations. Business ethics has become a matter of public concern.

All business people face ethical issues daily, and they stem from a variety of sources. Although some types of issues arise infrequently, others occur regularly. Let’s take a closer look at several ethical issues.

1. Fairness and Honesty. Fairness and honesty in business are two important ethical concerns. Besides obeying all laws and regulations, business people should refrain from deceiving, misrepresenting or intimidating others.

2. Organizational Relationships. A business person may be temped to place his or her personal welfare above the welfare of the organization. Relationships with customers and coworkers often create ethical problems – since confidential information should be secret and all obligations should be honoured. Unethical behaviour in these areas includes not meeting one’s obligations in a mutual agreement, and pressing others to behave unethically.

3. Conflict of interest. Conflict of interest results when a business person takes advantage of a situation for his /her own personal interest rather than for the employer’s or organization’s interest. Such conflict may occur when payments and gifts make their way into business deals. A wise rule to remember is that anything given to a person that might unfairly influence that person’s business decision is a bribe, and all bribes are unethical.

4. Communication. Business communications, especially advertising, can present ethical questions. False and misleading advertising is illegal and unethical, and it can infuriate customers.

5. Relationships. Business ethics involves relationships between a firm and its investors, customers, employees, creditors and competitors. Each group has specific concerns, and each exerts some type of pressure on management.

Investors want management to make financial decisions that will boost sales, profits and returns on their investments.

Customers expect a firm’s products to be safe, reliable and reasonably priced.

Employees want to be treated fairly in hiring, promotion and compensation.

Competitors expect the firm’s marketing activities to portray its products truthfully.

All these expectations are relatively easy for management to respond in ethical manner when the business is good and profit is high. However, under the pressure of circumstances ethical behaviour may be compromised.

What affects a person’s inclination to make either ethical or unethical decisions is not entirely clear. Three general sets of factors influence the ethics of decision making.

First, an individual’s values, attitudes, experiences, and knowledge influence decision making.

Second, the absence of an employer’s official code of ethics may indirectly encourage unethical decisions.

Third, the behaviours and values of others, such as coworkers, supervisors and company officials, affect the ethics of a person.

If you are a manager you should stick to the following rules in our everyday activities.

- Don’t order, ask and be polite.

- Remember that people work with you, not for you. They like to be related as associates, not slaves.

- Keep your promises, both important and less important promises.

- Criticize, if you must, only in private – and do it objectively. Never criticize anyone in public or in anger.

- You should say “Good morning” when you came in and “Please” and “Thank you” at every opportunity.