The thesis “A Suggestion for the Improvement of the Company Culture in the Centre of Insurance” deals with the analysis of the corporate culture in the Centre of Insurance, a company that provides financial services. The main target of the thesis is to ascertain the power and standard of the corporate culture, as well as employees’ satisfaction. It aims to identify the elements of the corporate culture according to Schein’s model, and based on a questionnaire enquiry suggest such measures that would improve the corporate atmosphere and thereby contribute to the increase in the productivity of labour.

Bakgrund och syfte: Tidigare studier visar att internationella M&A:s ofta misslyckas med att uppnå uppsatta mål. En anledning till misslyckande kan vara svårigheten att integrera företagskulturen i den nya verksamheten. Studiens syfte är att öka förståelsen för integration av företagskultur efter internationella M&A:s utifrån svenska företags perspektiv.   Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ metod med en abduktiv forskningsansats. Studien har en hermeneutisk och socialkonstruktivistisk utgångspunkt. Den empiriska datainsamlingen införskaffades genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med elva stycken personer vilka samtliga haft en roll i respektive företags M&A. Vår teoretiska referensram innefattar tidigare forskning och det empiriska underlaget bygger på intervjuerna. Analysen ställer empiri mot teori för att hitta likheter och skillnader och addera nya synvinklar.   Resultat & slutsats: Denna studie åskådliggör hur företag efter internationell M&A ser på, och arbetar med, integration av företagskultur. Med hjälp av den teoretiska referensramen skapade vi en uppfattning om vilka delar som behövdes för att framgångsrikt integrera företagskulturen, främst kommunikation. Det empiriska materialet adderade sedermera nyckelpersoner och ekonomisk rapportering.   Förslag till vidare forskning: Bristfälligheten i tidigare forskning vad gäller omställning i och med ökad ekonomisk rapportering ger upphov till framtida studier som kan studera hur ökad ekonomisk rapportering påverkar de uppsatta målen. Vidare föreslår vi att framtida forskning studerar om det skiljer sig mellan tjänsteföretag och producerande företag och benägenheten för dessa att byta ut nyckelpersoner efter en M&A.   Uppsatsens bidrag: Studiens teoretiska bidrag innefattar huvudsakligen ökad förståelse för problematiken kring nyckelpersoner, involverande kommunikation och ekonomisk rapportering. Det praktiska bidraget ger rådet till företag att överbemanna främst ekonomiavdelningen med kompetent personal efter en M&A för att underlätta integrationen. / Aim: Previous studies have shown that international M&A:s has high failure rates. One reason for failures has been shown to be the difficulty and lack of knowledge to integrate corporate culture.  The aim for this study is therefore to increase the understanding of corporate culture integration after international M&A:s through the perspective of Swedish businesses.   Method: This study has a qualitative research design with an abductive approach. The study has both a hermeneutic and social constructionist perspective, which it’s being influenced by. The empirical data collection was gained by semi-structured interviews with eleven respondents with previous experience of M&A:s. Our theoretical framework includes previous research and the empirical compilation is based on the interviews. The analysis is where the theoretical framework and empirical compilation is analyzed together to find similarities and differences but also new aspects on the subject.  Result and conclusions: This study illustrates how businesses look at international M&A:s and how they work with the integration of corporate culture in that context. With the theoretical framework we could estimate what was necessary to integrate corporate culture successfully, which was mainly communication. The empirical compilation later added key personnel and financial reporting to this.  Suggestions for future research: The deficiency of previous research regarding the impact of increased financial reporting after M&A:s cause us to enquire future research on how it affects businesses and the integration of corporate culture. We also suggest that future research on key personnel is needed and how their importance differs between the service sector and industrial sector.  Contributions of the thesis: From the theoretical viewpoint the study contributes in further understanding of key personnel, communication and financial reporting in the context of international M&A:s. From the practical viewpoint we advise businesses to first and foremost overstaff the financial department with qualified personnel after M&A:s to facilitate corporate culture integration.

by Lam Pai-mui. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-73). / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS --- p.v / LIST OF GRAPHS --- p.vi / CHAPTER / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter II. --- CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE --- p.7 / Chapter III. --- MANAGEMEOT IN CHINA --- p.14 / Historical Setting --- p.14 / Problems in the Past --- p.15 / Organizational Structure --- p.15 / Managerial Skills --- p.16 / Party and Management --- p.16 / Operations --- p.18 / Motivation and Labor Discipline --- p.18 / Economic and Management Reforms --- p.19 / Chapter IV. --- IMPACT OF CULTURE --- p.22 / Key Features --- p.22 / Respect for Age and Hierarchy --- p.22 / Group Orientation --- p.22 / Face' --- p.23 / Relationships --- p.23 / Cultural Consequences --- p.24 / Chapter V. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.36 / Questionnaires --- p.36 / Sampling --- p.38 / Distribution of Questionnaires --- p.39 / Chapter VI. --- FINDINGS --- p.41 / Company Profile --- p.41 / Demographic Profile --- p.41 / Organizational Climate --- p.48 / Comparison between Local and Foreign Firms --- p.59 / Chapter VII. --- SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION --- p.64 / APPENDIX I : ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE QUESTIONNAIRE --- p.67 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.71

Supply chain systems have become a vital component of successful networked business firms/organisations. Over the last three decades, there has been a dramatic growth globally in the formation of supply chain networks. Research, however, indicates that there has been an increase in reported supply chains failures, and the incompatibility issues between participated organisations. Yet, these incompatibility issues are not just technical, but encompass wider cultural, organisational, and economical factors. Whilst research has shown the effect of such factors on supply chain performance, the influence of achieving corporate culture compatibility to the success of supply chains remains poorly understood. This is because it is widely accepted that organisations that operate in the same region possess a similar culture. In contrast, this research will examine the existence of corporate culture diversity between organisations in the same region, rather than diversity of national culture across different regions. Specifically, the study described the development of corporate culture compatibility between supply chains’ organisations and its influences on supply chain performance. Therefore, the thesis focus is the complex interrelationships between corporate culture compatibility of member organisations and supply chain performance. This research identifies cultural norms and beliefs of supply chain members within key organisational factors, rather than national or multi-national organisations factors, as in Hofstede (1983). A multi-method research design (combining case study, simulation, and neuro-fuzzy methods) was used to provide a rounded perspective on the phenomena studied. The multiple case studies helped to explore how corporate culture compatibility influences supply chain performance and develop a conceptual model for this association. The simulation experiments were conducted to verify the obtained conceptual framework from the multiple case studies, and investigate the effects of changing the corporate culture compatibility level on supply chain performance. The simulation is designed based on a Multi-Agent System (MAS) approach, in which each organisation in a supply chain is represented as an intelligent agent. Finally, a neuro-fuzzy approach is presented to assess corporate culture on supply chains context using real data. The analysis of the quantitative neuro-fuzzy study confirmed and validated the theoretical findings and adds depth to our understanding of the influences of corporate culture compatibility on supply chain performance. The study confirmed that organisations within the same supply chain in the same region possess different corporate cultures that consequently need the achievement of corporate culture compatibility as it is indicated by the literature. Moreover, the study revealed two types of corporate culture in supply chains’ context: individual culture and common culture. Individual culture refers to the internal beliefs within the organisation’s boundary, while common culture refers to beliefs when trading with partners across the organisation’s boundary. However, the study shows that common culture has more influences on supply chain performance than individual culture. In addition, the study highlighted bi-directional association between individual culture and common culture that helps the supply chain’s organisations developing their corporate culture compatibility. The results from the current study also showed that supply chain performance was shown to arise dramatically in response to corporate culture compatibility level increases. Yet, this increase in performance is diminished at a higher level of corporate culture compatibility, because more corporate culture compatibility increases are not cost effective for the organisations. In addition, organisations at a higher level of compatibility have more preferences to preserve their individual culture because it represents their identity. Furthermore, the study complements the gap in the literature related to the assessment of corporate culture of individual organisations in supply chains for sustaining a higher supply chain performance. While current culture assessment models observe individual organisations’ culture, the proposed approach describes a single concentrated model that integrates both individual and common culture in measuring influences of culture compatibility on supply chain performance. The findings from this study provide scholars, consultants, managers, and supply chain systems vendors with valuable information. This research thesis contributes to supply chain configuration and partnership formation theory, along with corporate culture theory, and is the first of its kind to establish the use of intelligent methods to model corporate culture compatibility. It is also one of the first empirical studies to compare corporate culture compatibility of supply chains’ organisations from organisational perspectives, rather than national perspectives.

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Personnel managers in different firms, industries and countries do not hold the same preferences for job applicant attributes. This research was aimed at understanding the cause of some of these differences. Survey questionnaires were sent to personnel managers in Norway (N = 195) and Quebec (N = 172). The personnel managers were asked to rate: (1) aspects related to their firms' organizational characteristics (business environment, strategy, and structure), and (2) the importance of different personality traits for applicants to managerial and professional positions. Consistent with earlier research (Rynes & Gerhart, 1990) the results indicate that preferences for different applicant attributes represent shared perceptions due to common organizational membership. These preferences are to some degree related to company strategy, organizational structure and national culture. In general, it was found that personnel managers currently seek candidates who can adapt to change and generate new ideas. The results are discussed in light of theories from industrial/organizational and cross-cultural psychology, and suggestions for further research are offered.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 170-178).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 170-178). Also available in print.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Organisational culture has become a popular topic since more and more companies have joined the competition of world economy in the information era. It has also become an important method to support a company’s strategy. Products such as “hardware” no longer provide the main focus when companies strive to gain their markets. It has become accepted that culture, which plays a role as part of the company’s “software”, functions equally well as, and sometimes even more efficiently than products. The aim of this research study was to apply the theory to practice by answering the question: In the real organisation’s operation, which cultural attributes embody the value layer of organisational culture? This research study focuses primarily on Schein’s model of organisational culture. This model is applied to the case studies of Naspers’ culture and of Tencent’s culture. The result of the application of Schein’s model to these two companies leads to a comparison of their organisational culture. In the end, my own analysis is discussed based on the comparison. From this part, innovation, risk taking, attention to detail, outcome orientation, people orientation, team orientation, customer orientation, aggressiveness, stability and easy-goingness are shown to be the cultural attributes that embody values in a real organisation’s operation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Organisasiekultuur het ‘n populêre onderwerp geword sedert al meer maatskappye deel geword het van die mededinging van die wêreldekonomie in die inligtingstydvak. Dit het ook ‘n belangrike metode geword om ‘n maatskappy se strategie te ondersteun. Produkte soos “hardeware” verskaf nie meer die hooffokus wanneer maatskappye daarna streef om hulle markte te bekom nie. Dit word nou aanvaar dat kultuur, wat ‘n rol speel as deel van die maatskappy se “sagteware”, ewe goed as produkte funksioneer, en soms selfs meer doeltreffend. Die mikpunt van hierdie navorsingstudie was om teorie op die praktyk toe te pas deur die volgende vraag te beantwoord: Watter kulturele attribute beliggaam die waardelaag van organisasiekultuur in die werking van die ware organisasie? Hierdie navorsingstudie fokus primêr op Schein se model van organisasiekultuur. Hierdie model word toegepas op gevallestudies van die kultuur van Naspers en Tencent. Die resultaat van die toepassing van Schein se model op hierdie twee maatskappye lei tot ‘n vergelyking van hulle organisasiekultuur. Ten slotte word my eie analise bespreek, gebaseer op die vergelyking. In hierdie deel word aangetoon dat innovasie, die neem van risiko’s, aandag aan detail, resultaat-georiënteerdheid, mens-georiënteerdheid, span-oriëntasie, kliënt-oriëntasie, aggressiwiteit, stabiliteit en onbesorgdheid die kulturele attribute is wat die waardes in ‘n ware organisasie se werking beliggaam.

This work deals with the corporate culture, its description, significance and corporate culture analysis in the hotel chain Hong Ngoc Hotel Group, especially the Hong Ngoc Dynastie hotel. The work is divided into three parts. Content of the theoretical part are basic knowledge about corporate culture, the author analyses the term of corporate culture, its basic features and types of corporate culture. The practical part is focused on the hotel chain Hong Ngoc Hotel Group, where the Hong Ngoc Dynastie hotel is introduced. The author concerned with the analysis and description of the corporate culture of two hotels -- Hong Ngoc Dynastie and XY located in Prague. The last part of the study is dedicated to comparing this two corporate culture and improvement proposals for Hong Ngoc Dynastie hotel to approach its goals to become one of respected hotels at international level.