The Impact of Globalisation on Changes in Business Operations and Organisational Culture

Croatian companies have recently been forced to find and apply new technical and technological solutions as a result of large-scale changes and market globalisation. Furthermore, they have to adapt their organisation to the newly-developed conditions. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to consider the use of the latest theoretical findings in the field of organisation and management to reach the level of competitiveness on a global scale. Development, improvement and standardisation of business processes and changes in organisational culture are important preconditions for reforming the companies to meet the needs of globalisation. The goal of this paper is to show the growing impact of globalisation on the development of the business environment in Croatia, i.e. the need to restructure Croatian companies according to the newly-developed situation. There are companies that have to radically change their ways and methods of leadership and thinking, inherited from the socialist socio-economic system. Recurrent crises in the business practice and bankruptcies of economic entities prove this fact. One of the key preconditions to compete successfully in the newly developed global products, work and capital markets is the improvement of business performance by introducing contemporary methods in organisational planning. On the other hand, privatised companies that are under pressure from their foreign owners have to introduce the rules of behaviour and procedures standardised abroad. To sum up, the changes that have to be made require a radical shift in organisational culture within companies. These aspects are often forgotten by consultants and managers, thus leading to failure. The main objectives of this paper are to underline the importance of two preconditions that have to be met in order to succeed, i.e. survive in the market: to define and standardise business processes and to develop organisational culture in companies