Theoretical Model of Employee Social Identification in Organization Managing Crisis Situations

Abstract

Entering a new organization employees face unknown environment with new emotions, requirements, possible consequences, influencing organizational processes such as adaptation, socialization and identification of a new member (Zukauskaite, 2005). It is noticed that the employee identification in an organization is a complex process. To identify yourself in an organization means to be actively involved into the processes which include specific activity areas and behaviour, determined by the interaction of the organizational environment and employee adaptive behaviour. Employee social identification in an organization actualizes one of the socium expression aspects in the labour environment. When employee social identification is unsatisfactory and inadequate, the possibility for crisis situation grows up and it needs to be controlled operatively to avoid the crisis. These actions enable to moderate crisis development in an organization and to control its consequences. The discussed problems have become the aspect of the research analysis. The scientists analyse the coordination positions of the organization and employee interests in the transformable business environment (Davidaviciene, 2008), as well as the changes of business and management in the informative century (Sakalas, Ciutiene, Neverauskas, 2006), survey the influence of employee interests in the contemporary career formation (Savaneviciene, Stukaite, Silingiene, 2008), they also notice that it is very important to develop individual strategic competencies in an organization (Melnikas, 2005), point out the main principles of managers‘ training and apply practical experiments (Kumpikaite, 2007), survey the economic costs of personnel training in Lithuanian organizations (Saee, 2005), emphasize the efficient leadership in the global economics. The authors claim that the main attention should be paid to the individual, improving his professional skills, developing his competencies, that help him successfully identify in an organization and enables to integrate in the labour activities in the nearest future. This is the essential principle of crisis situation management and decision making. The principle requires to evaluate the processes of employee socialization, individualization and adaptation as well as to form the expression of employee identification in an organization.Recent scientific literature deals mainly with the problems of crisis in a company in the economic aspects. Altman (1968;1971;1983), Alesina (1997), Ansoff (1987), Darling (1998), Fink (1986), Kash (1998), Cumikov (1998), Roselieb (1999), Hauschildt (2000), Bartl (2000), Sarafanova (2001), Petuhov (2007) and other scientists deals with the analysis of crisis in a company. Lithuanian authors Januleviciute (2003), Bieleviciene (2003), Dambrava (2003), Sakalas, Savaneviciene (2003), Valackiene (2005), Virbickaite (2006); Garskaite, Garskiene (2005), Berzinskiene (2006; 2007), Virbickaite (2006; 2007), Stoskus (2007), Stundziene (2006), Boguslauskas (2006), Neverauskas (2008), Staskeviciute (2008), Valackiene (2009) and others write about the structure of crisis situation, pointing out the reasons of the economic expression, describe the methodology of crisis diagnosis and possible decisions. The social aspect of this phenomenon is less presented. If the crisis is analyzed as the social phenomenon, then crisis reasons are hardly estimated and defined. It is not easy to explain the employee identification in an organization as well as to form conceptual expressions to estimate identification positions in crisis situations. The same situation is with crisis situation management (socio-economic aspect). Analyzing the mentioned phenomena – the employee social identification and crisis management - the methodological difficulties appear: the design of research instrument, analysis presentation. Every manager should know the weakest areas in personnel management and have the prepared identification strategy, which will relieve the adaptation of a new member in an organization, its aims and value process and influence on the performance efficiency and satisfaction of the work seeking to control a crisis situation. Difficult business environment stimulates to look for new ways to assess the changing situation as well as to implement and manage new means for business continuity.The structure of the paper: in the first part of the paper the strategic dimensions of employee identification in an organization have theoretically been based; in the second part the results of the combinative research have been presented applying two research methods: questionnaire, which helps to define dimension expression of employee identification in an organization (questionnaire was given to the employees of Panevezys clinics) and structural interview, which helps to present the trends of crisis situation management in organizations (the interviewed organizations: Panevezys clinics, UAB “Odenta“, UAB “Dentavita and co“, and UAB “Panevezys odontologai“ executives); the third part of the paper presents the theoretical model of social identification managing crisis situations in an organization.The theoretical model of social identification of managing crisis situation in an organization was justified, which requires designing the programs of crisis situation prevention in every dimension of employee identification in an organization considering the priority of the employees. In this model crisis situation management is described as the closed cycle involving these stages: the design of crisis situation management programs; the identification of crisis nature; the operative means in crisis situation and its liquidation in rehabilitating organizational performance.