The role of traditional culture (Chinese studies) in the cultural construction of state-owned enterprises

Author: Fu, vice president of consulting company

Chen Jian, Senior Consultant of Meng Jie

The report of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China once again emphasized the role of a cultural power. The sixth part of the report, "solidly promoting the construction of a socialist cultural power", comprehensively expounds cultural construction as a separate part; It is put forward that "vigorously carry forward the national spirit and the spirit of the times, carry out patriotism, collectivism and socialist education in depth, enrich people's spiritual world and enhance people's spiritual strength", put the promotion of national spirit in a prominent position in cultural construction, and draw traditional cultural values such as professionalism, honesty and friendliness from socialist core values.

The construction of enterprise culture, especially the construction of state-owned enterprise culture, is an important part of the construction of a socialist cultural power. According to the spirit of the report of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the present situation of the cultural construction of state-owned enterprises, the author thinks that the role of national spirit and traditional culture should also be brought into full play in the cultural construction of state-owned enterprises. The cultural construction of state-owned enterprises should not only carry forward the spirit of the times, but also carry forward the national spirit and inherit and carry forward the excellent traditional cultural values.

First, corporate culture * * *

Culture is the sum total of values, ways of thinking and behavior habits formed by a group, including a nation or a country in a long history. The broad concept of culture also includes political, economic and social systems based on values. Different nationalities and countries have different values, ways of thinking, behavior habits and systems, which constitute cultural differences. However, because values are the core of culture, different values constitute different cultural essence. In addition, culture has a high degree of stability, and it will change spontaneously or because of communication with other cultures. However, if the core values have not changed fundamentally, we can think that they belong to the same culture.

The influence of culture is everywhere. The secondary organizations and individuals in the group will be subtly influenced by the group culture, and there is nowhere to escape. As an economic organization, an enterprise's values, organizational rules, interpersonal relationship and business model are deeply influenced by national culture, which constitutes the * * * nature of national enterprise culture. Therefore, corporate culture is mainly influenced by the inherent culture of a country or nation, that is, traditional culture; The personality of corporate culture mainly comes from the influence of entrepreneurs and the development process of enterprises.

Corporate culture, or organizational culture, is a concept of management category put forward by Americans after studying the management experience of Japanese enterprises in 1970s and 1980s. When Americans study the mystery of the success of Japanese enterprises, they find that the success of Japanese enterprises is caused by intangible things, such as employees' loyalty and sense of belonging, collective honor and shame culture. , not technology, resources and equipment. They finally attributed this intangible thing to corporate culture.

It can be seen that corporate culture is first presented to people through the culture of enterprise groups. First, it studies the cultural phenomenon and connotation of Japanese enterprises, not the culture of a specific enterprise. With the continuation and expansion of corporate culture research, it is applied to specific enterprises; Consciously carry out corporate culture construction and extract the cultural characteristics of a single enterprise, so as to enhance the cohesion and influence of the enterprise and promote its better development.

Therefore, corporate culture has both * * * and individuality. Enterprises in the same country and region, enterprises in the same industry, will show some * * * in the corporate culture. Enterprises with the same system will also show some characteristics in corporate culture, and state-owned enterprises and private enterprises have different characteristics in corporate culture; The characteristics of entrepreneurs and the development process of enterprises will make the corporate culture present a distinct personality. Of course, in the era of global economic integration, the process of economic exchange between countries is bound to be accompanied by cultural collision, exchange and integration, and foreign culture will also have a certain impact on the cultural formation of some enterprises with more foreign-related business.

But among all the factors that affect corporate culture, traditional culture undoubtedly has the greatest influence on corporate culture, which has a universal influence on all enterprises and has formed the cultural characteristics of all enterprises in a country. For state-owned enterprises, the system has a universal impact on corporate culture. Therefore, understanding and grasping the local traditional culture and state-owned enterprise system is a very basic research content of enterprise culture construction.

Second, the influence of local traditional culture on the formation of corporate culture 1, the basic values of traditional culture

China's traditional culture is dominated by Confucianism, supplemented by Buddhism. The core values of Confucianism are loyalty and filial piety. This is in line with the small-scale peasant production mode and the unified political system in China traditional society. The fundamental feature of small-scale peasant production mode is that family or clan is the most basic economic unit. Confucian "filial piety" not only requires children to respect and serve their parents, but also requires adult children to obey their parents' rights. Filial piety is the value basis of patriarchy. In addition to filial piety, Confucianism also has two values that regulate family relations: "chastity" and "mourning". "Festival" requires the wife to obey her husband, which is called "husband's right"; "Training" means asking the younger brother to obey the older brother, and the younger brother to obey the older brother. It can be seen that the value of Confucianism in regulating family relations is one-way, requiring children or wives to fulfill their obligations, and not emphasizing the responsibilities of parents, husbands and brothers. In this way, Confucianism constructs the internal order of the family, the most basic unit of society and the most basic economic unit of traditional society, through filial piety, filial piety, patriarchy and husband power.

However, small-scale peasant economic units are very self-sufficient, mostly in the form of villages, with little contact with the outside world, and the links between various parts are very weak, so they cannot be directly connected into a whole to form a political unity, providing order and defense. With the help of imperial power or monarchical power, these scattered villages can be indirectly linked. Then, the Confucian "loyalty" provided the value basis for the imperial power. "Loyalty" is based on "filial piety" and "chastity", which projects the obedience of children to patriarchy and wives to husbands to the obedience of subjects to imperial power.

In addition, traditional society also has the value of righteousness. "Righteousness" originated from Confucian "praise" and prevailed in rivers and lakes. It is a kind of value that connects those who have got rid of patriarchal clan system and imperial power. Put "righteousness" and "honor" in the same breath, and make people who are not related by blood become "brothers with different surnames". In a word, in Confucian culture, the values of filial piety, chastity and filial piety, and loyalty and righteousness, which regulate family relations, are all based on or equivalent to blood relations.

Traditional culture derives many other values from such basic values as loyalty, filial piety and righteousness. For example, traditional culture advocates order and harmony between people and harmony between man and nature; Respect for the elderly and teachers; Modest and polite, forgive others, keep promises and promises; Diligence, self-denial, and so on.

So in modern times, in order to unite all forces to resist the interference of western forces in China, through the May 4th New Culture Movement, China eliminated Confucian values such as filial piety and chastity, and destroyed patriarchy and husband power. Since then, the value of "filial piety" no longer includes the power to obey parents; The value of "loyalty" is transformed into loyalty and patriotism to the country, and accordingly, imperial power or monarchical power is transformed into state power. At the same time, in the past, parents' power over their children and husbands' power over their wives were transferred to the state. For example, the power to arrange children's marriage was once transferred to the state. In other words, traditional China people are dominated by "monarchical power" and "patriarchal power", and their wives are also dominated by "husband power", while modern China people are only dominated by "monarchical power". However, due to the more advanced technology and organizational means in modern society, the jurisdiction of modern monarchical power is more effective than the sum of monarchical power, patriarchal power and husband power in the past.

In fact, although Confucianism was severely hit in modern times, it mainly focused on "filial piety" and "chastity". Other values have not suffered any impact, but have continued or even been strengthened, still dominating people's behavior. These values have been playing a great role, and they are still the basic principles to unite strength and deal with interpersonal relationships.

2. How does traditional culture affect the formation of corporate culture?

Traditional culture has been passed down from generation to generation, and it is everywhere, which has different degrees of influence on everyone living in it. This will also affect the formation of corporate culture. Generally speaking, traditional culture has a universal, long-term, deep-seated and subtle influence on corporate culture.

First, the influence of traditional culture on the formation of corporate culture is universal.

Traditional culture has a profound influence on everyone who lives in it. Everyone has been influenced by traditional culture all the time at home, at school and in society. Enterprises are made up of people. The basic values and behaviors of traditional culture will be cast into the corporate culture through the participation of employees, so the influence of traditional culture on employees will inevitably be reflected in the corporate culture. All enterprises will be branded with traditional culture. This influence is universal and constitutes the cultural characteristics of enterprises in China.

Second, the influence of traditional culture on corporate culture is long-term.

The influence of traditional culture on corporate culture is not short-lived, but long-term. Before the birth of the enterprise, this influence has been reflected in the founders of the enterprise, who will bring the influence of traditional culture to the enterprise. Then in the process of enterprise development, it will continue to be influenced by traditional culture. In the internal operation of the enterprise and the communication with the outside, it is still inevitably influenced by traditional culture.

Third, the influence of traditional culture on corporate culture is deep.

The influence of traditional culture on corporate culture lies in the deep layer of corporate culture. Comparing the cultures of two China enterprises, their similarities are always more than those of Chinese and foreign enterprises; Similarly, the cultural differences between China enterprises are always smaller than those between China enterprises and Japanese enterprises or American enterprises. This shows that the influence of local traditional culture must be located in the deepest part of corporate culture and is the most basic content of corporate culture.

Fourth, the influence of traditional culture on corporate culture is subtle.

Traditional culture is everywhere, far away, like water, nourishing everything. Influence and shape people in a subtle, unconscious and silent way. The same is true of corporate culture.

Third, the system of state-owned enterprise culture and its evolution

State-owned enterprises are an important part of China's economy. They play a strategic and fundamental role in the national economy and undertake and perform important social functions. The culture of state-owned enterprises will also be influenced by traditional culture, and at the same time it will be countered by the system. Changes in the system will also bring changes in the culture of state-owned enterprises.

Since the reform and opening up, China's state-owned enterprises have undergone many institutional reforms, from the "unit system" under the planned economy to the establishment of a modern enterprise system, that is, the company system, which has gone through the reform stages of expanding operational autonomy, institutional innovation and structural adjustment. The following focuses on the analysis of the influence of "unit system" under the planned economy and "company system" under the socialist market economy on the culture of state-owned enterprises.

1, the "unit system" under the planned economy

Under the planned economy, state-owned enterprises are not only an economic organization, but also a social organization, bearing multiple functions of economy, politics and society. In addition to organizing the production of employees, state-owned enterprises are also responsible for exercising some administrative jurisdiction over employees. At that time, state-owned enterprises and institutions were generally called "units", so let's call this system "unit system".

The closest organizational form to "unit" should be "tribe". First of all, the unit, like the tribe, is a fairly closed organization. On the one hand, there is little communication with the outside world, on the other hand, members lack mobility. Members are members of the same organization all their lives, and most of their children stay in the same enterprise through succession. Third, the work and life fields of members are highly overlapping, adjacent and inseparable. Members' houses are provided by the organization. The general housing location is adjacent to the work location. For those state-owned enterprises located in remote areas, the collapse is more prominent.

Secondly, units, like tribes, have great jurisdiction over their members and bear many responsibilities. Units, like tribes, should organize production and participate in members' unproductive activities, which has great power over members' behavior. For example, in the past, employees had to ask for the opinions of the unit when they got married. Many large state-owned enterprises even run a teaching system from kindergarten to high school, including hospitals, public security bureaus, fire brigades and even crematoriums. The pension of employees after retirement also depends on the unit.

Third, in the unit and tribe, although the family is no longer the basic economic unit, it is still included in the organization, and all family members produce and live in the same organization.

Fourth, units, like tribes, have production and distribution, and distribution tends to be equal. The gap is not very big.

Of course, there are also great differences between units and tribes. This is mainly manifested in three aspects. First, primitive tribes or nomadic tribes are mobile and do not settle down. The unit has a fixed place, and its work place and residence are fixed; Second, the tribe as an organization has a high degree of autonomy. However, the units under the planned economy have almost no autonomy, and the production and operation led by them are decided by their superiors. Third, the unit system also undertakes the political function, and is responsible for the political and ideological education of employees, so that employees are politically consistent with the state.

Under the unit system, employees' study, work and life are closely related to enterprises, and the deep involvement of enterprises is needed for birth, illness and death. Therefore, there is no doubt that employees of state-owned enterprises have a strong sense of belonging and dependence on enterprises. This is the most remarkable feature of state-owned enterprise culture under the planned economy. In addition, the "unit system" has also had an impact on the culture of state-owned enterprises, such as conservative slackness, pursuit of equality and collectivism. Pay more attention to the role of spirit and ignore the incentive effect of material on employees.

2. The "company system" in the socialist market economy

Compared with the "unit system" under the planned economy, the state-owned enterprises have mainly become an economic organization after being transformed into a "company system" in the socialist market economy. Enterprises no longer participate in and interfere with the lives of employees and no longer have social management functions. Through the separation of the principal and the auxiliary, the diversion of laid-off workers, and the reduction of staff and efficiency, social security and medical insurance will be transformed into social pooling, and all social functions undertaken in the past will be handed over to ZF. But the political function of state-owned enterprises still exists, but it has been greatly weakened. At present, the organizational structure of state-owned enterprises adopts modern company systems such as board of directors, board of supervisors and shareholders' meeting on the one hand, and retains party organizations on the other. This has given new content to the culture of state-owned enterprises, but the influence of the past has not completely disappeared.

State-owned enterprises are facing competition in the market economy environment. Even if state-owned enterprises have different degrees of monopoly, they will face some competitive pressures. These competitions are multifaceted, including not only the competition in the market, but also the competition for talents. This broke the closure of state-owned enterprises in the past, became open and increased the mobility of employees. These changes have prompted employees of state-owned enterprises to become open and enterprising, more willing to participate in competition and meet challenges, pay more attention to the role of individuals, and accept the distribution gap more. In employee motivation, we pay more attention to the role of material and ignore the role of spirit.

However, compared with private enterprises, employees of state-owned enterprises still have a stronger sense of belonging to the enterprise. State-owned enterprises provide better welfare and security for employees, especially those large state-owned enterprises with good welfare benefits. Therefore, the existing employees of state-owned enterprises still have a certain sense of belonging and strong dependence on the enterprise, and there are still some tendencies to pursue equalization of distribution.

Fourth, give full play to the role of traditional culture in the cultural construction of state-owned enterprises.

Culture is everywhere and plays a role all the time. However, the role of culture can be divided into conscious and unconscious. Obviously, corporate culture plays a greater role consciously than unconsciously through corporate culture construction. One of the most important aspects of consciously exerting the role of corporate culture is to give full play to the role of traditional culture in corporate culture construction. The same is true of state-owned enterprises. This is mainly reflected in two aspects:

1, refining and promoting traditional cultural values

We should be good at extracting traditional cultural values from corporate culture, and combine the characteristics of other aspects of the enterprise to extract the conceptual system of corporate culture, and explain and publicize it. Some excellent state-owned enterprises have provided good examples in this regard. They dig deep into the value of traditional culture and regard corporate culture construction as the driving force of enterprise innovation, change, transformation and management, which is very worth learning.

For example, the "water mirror" cultural system refined by Beijing Water Supply Group Co., Ltd. perfectly integrates the connotation of traditional culture and industry culture. Its enterprise spirit of "softness, kindness and harmony" comes from Tao Te Ching, which contains the traditional cultural value orientation of "kindness is like water", "the world is not weaker than water" and "water conservancy is indisputable".

The "Beijing Grain" culture refined by Beijing Grain Group Co., Ltd. puts forward the corporate mission of "bearing the burden for the people, prospering grain and enriching the country" and the corporate values of "grain is bigger than the sky, and trust is more important than things". It also contains traditional cultural values such as "food is the most important thing for the people" and "people-oriented".

Beijing Tongrentang (Group) Co., Ltd., which has a long history, has refined a cultural system with strong traditional cultural colors. They put forward the establishment of "benevolence-oriented, benevolence-oriented culture" and "justice-oriented, justice-based integrity culture". Many concrete measures have been taken for cultural construction, such as inheriting the tradition of "mentoring" to cultivate talents, establishing master studios, and cooperating with Confucius Institute to spread Chinese medicine culture in cultural exchanges.

2. Use traditional classic sentences to express and explain corporate culture.

We should be good at explaining the concept of corporate culture with traditional classic sentences. The author believes that there are three advantages in using traditional classic sentences to express and explain the concept of corporate culture: first, the connotation is far-reaching and well documented; Second, it is highly concise, elegant and concise; Third, catchy, easy to remember and describe. In this respect, there are also many excellent works. For example, the "Heshun" culture of Shandong Expressway Co., Ltd., the word "Heshun" is taken from Wang Xizhi's Preface to Lanting in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, which describes the corporate culture of Shandong Expressway Co., Ltd. very aptly, and its communication language "Heshun, the road is long and its Xiu Yuan is Xi" also borrows classic terms and its connotation.

Explaining corporate culture with traditional sentences requires corporate culture workers to be familiar with China's traditional books, such as I Ching, Analects of Confucius, Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi. Only in this way can we understand the value of traditional culture, get inspiration from it and extract classic expressions from it;

Secondly, we should be familiar with our traditional literature and aesthetic orientation. The traditional aesthetic orientation of our country is to advocate freehand brushwork rather than realism, whether it is poetry or painting. The author believes that the refinement of corporate culture concepts such as corporate core values and entrepreneurial spirit has something in common with the creation of classical poetry. When refining the concept of corporate culture, we can learn from some standards of poetry appreciation. For example, the "realm theory" put forward by Wang Guowei can be used to evaluate whether there is a "realm" in the corporate culture concept and its level; There is a saying of "divide and divide" in poetry creation, which can also be used to judge whether the corporate culture concept is appropriate, true and easy to understand; In addition, the saying that poetry creation is "taboo" also applies to the refinement of corporate culture concepts; In addition, the poet believes that the value of chanting poems is "nothing is nothing", that is to say, poems can neither be divorced from what they sing nor stay at the level of things completely, and they must be extended and improved to get out of the realm. This is also very suitable for refining the concept of corporate culture.