Abstract:
The article explores organisational culture of a public agency in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The study looks
at the nature of work; it attempts to explain behaviour and the attitudes of employees towards norms and values
in the public agency. Since ethnography is a significant tool to uncover values and underlying assumptions
in culture, ethnographic anonymous interviews were conducted. For data analysis, method of Grounded
theory was applied. This allowed gaining comprehensive data from informants.Uncovered characteristics of
the culture within the agency and personnel attitudes deserve management attention. Within the staff, three
subcultures with dissimilar values and attitudes are identified. They share the same concerns such as overtime
work and reorganisation policy, however, with dissimilar attitudes to ongoing situation. These two features of
current organizational culture caused unhealthy atmosphere in the organization. The study presents essential
information on dynamics within the state organization. The research provides the information basis for employers,
HR managers to understand the importance of working with organizational culture during organizational
change.
