Introduction

Using lean manufacturing, as applied to the educational process, is of great interest. It is necessary to focus on the main parties interested in the activities of the university: teachers and students as consumers of educational servicesб and employers as consumers of graduates’ skills to effectively optimize educational process of higher education institutions.

Thus, what is lean manufacturing? Lean manufacturing (lean production) is a relatively new management philosophy based on optimizing business process, considering the needs and expectations of customers, as well as the motivation of employees. It has already successfully proven its effectiveness. Nowadays the concept of ‘lean manufacturing’ (lean) is widely used in enterprises in technological processes of production. Synonymous expressions ‘lean technology’, ‘lean manufacturing’, ‘lean production’ are commonly used [Vaganova O.V., 2018].  Therefore, using the term ‘lean manufacturing’ in this article does not contradict the general philosophy of lean technology. The concept of ‘lean manufacturing’ has found its application not only in the activities of industrial enterprises, but also in offices and services. This fundamentally new approach to the organization of employees' activities contributes to a more rational use of their professional skills and competencies.

Lean manufacturing is a whole system that links subsystems into a single approach. At certain stages of development in any system, whether it is innovative, economic or social, the number of new elements increases, their specialization and mutual dependence grow, i.e. there is a process of complicating the system itself and its structure [Vaganova O.V., Titov A.B., 2016]. Considering lean manufacturing as a system, it can be used to solve many internal problems of the university, related to such aspects as:

- Improving the level of corporate culture through the establishing a communication interaction among structural divisions;

- Enhancing the quality of educational services;

- Improving business processes in structural divisions of the university through organizational, methodological and informational support;

- Systematization of the principles, methods and tools of lean manufacturing in educational activities based on continuous training of the university staff.

Discussion

Essential in the system of lean manufacturing is an element of corporate culture which represents the identification of itself as part of the overall, i.e. cultural identity that students and teachers acquire in an educational organization. Behind it stands the recognition of the university mission, pedagogical potential of the university, basic principles of the development strategy and organizational norms and rules of behavior realized on a practical level.

Neither foreign nor Russian studies have still defined clearly the phenomenon of corporate culture. Nowadays, there are more than fifty definitions for this term in the scientific literature. Corporate culture is a system of established traditions and values ​​that determine the behavior of any organization, firm, corporation, etc. Modern-day leaders should be aware of tremendous importance of creating the right corporate culture within their organization. After all, due to the corporate culture, employees would progress and develop, and the organization itself would develop together with them.

Corporate culture can be viewed as a social interaction, then it would characterize social organization, which depends significantly on the values ​​recognized by social groups representing various organizations, including universities. This circumstance makes the study of the corporate culture of universities relevant, since it makes it possible to reach adequate semantic, value-relevant generalizations of empirical materials, to construct theoretical models that allow to obtain qualitative assessments of the processes occurring at the institute of higher education.

The corporate culture of the higher education institution is considered as a powerful strategic instrument that guides all staff, teachers and students towards common goals, mobilizing their initiatives and ensuring productive interaction.

Studying the corporate culture of the university, on the one hand, acts as a kind of sociocultural institute that performs the function of transmitting scientific knowledge and training highly qualified personnel, and, on the other hand, as a kind of cultural phenomenon that has its own traditions, history and idea. In addition, universities are the focal point of the higher education system, as well as the center of the industry of knowledge, information and services; the main producer and first consumer of the latest cultural, social, educational, scientific and business information technologies. Therefore, corporate culture is very important for the university. Its presence, or rather, a clearly developed concept of corporate culture, increases the efficiency of the university, contributes to the realization of its goals and improves its public perception.

As applied to educational organizations, the term ‘corporate culture’ includes issues of the spiritual and material life of the whole community. This has an effect in the dominant moral norms and values that are enshrined in the code of conduct and rooted in the traditions established by educational standards, their own symbolism as a means of translating value-semantic orientations, a set of beliefs and achieved sustainable results.

An educational organization with an effective corporate culture is distinguished by the following:

- coherence, interaction (teamwork);

- job satisfaction and pride in its results;

- dedication and willingness to meet its high standards;

- high demand on the quality of work;

- willingness to change caused by the demand of progress and competition, despite the difficulties and bureaucratic obstacles [Vader M., 2015].

Self-government is one of the instruments of managing a corporate culture at the university. Student self-government is not only a way to attract young people to higher education institutions to solve the problems of higher education, but also a method that contributes to the growth of social activity. Due to self-government, the citizenship is being formed, initiative and responsibility for the work entrusted is increased. Belgorod State National Research University (‘BelSU’) has a structure of student self-government, which is shown in Figure 1.

This structure allows to optimize communication interaction among employees, teachers and students through:

- autonomy of development within the context of the university;

- sensitivity and response to changes in the internal environment;

- improvement and adaptation to the developmental requirements of each;

- team effort;

- active and equal participation of students in the activities of the entire academic staff;

- communication within the team [Vader M., 2015].

Figure 1. The structure of the student self-government

A significant role in the formation and development of the university’s corporate lifestyle is played by an active policy in a wide variety of university activities regarding the students’ participation in the life of the university community. For example, there is a general policy to involve students in paid work as librarians, watchmen, clerks, builders, etc. in American universities, which provides students with an additional source for learning and living. Student’s work outside the university (in enterprises and institutions) is also permitted. Many higher educational institutions strive to ensure that the work of students in enterprises, alternating with studies at higher educational institutions, is paid.

Previously, students were not involved in the management of academic affairs of universities, their activity was limited to the sphere of social security and extracurricular activities. However, in the past two decades, students have been involved in the system of self-government by universities. They are included in academic and administrative councils of the universities.

Corporate culture is a strong stimulator of self-awareness and responsibility of the employees which perform the tasks assigned to them [Gallagher R., 2016]. 

Each organization has its own process of developing and creating a corporate culture and possesses its own characteristics. It should be borne in mind that educational institutions are a unique environment. Corporate culture here is closely connected with social culture. And it should meet not only the needs of professionals and the institution itself, but also the needs of society.

The corporate culture of a modern university is directed not only and not so much at increasing the efficiency of the organization’s activities, as at creating a system of conditions for the formation and development of students’ human capital. The researchers emphasize that students are the main broadcasters of the university’s corporate culture, its values ​​and traditions in society, support the formation of a positive perception of a university not only during their studies, but also after they graduate from the university, demonstrating the learned norms and rules of conduct and attitude to their colleagues and social partners in the professional field.

The corporate culture of the university can be considered in three aspects:

- corporate culture of the university (faculty) as an independent organization;

- corporate culture of students and faculty as a social group;

- University’s corporate culture as part of corporate culture of organizations and enterprises where graduates would work, as a foundation for training future members of a professional corporation [Kozlov V.V., 2009].

The corporate culture determines not only the behavior of students, both in a group and individually, but also the direction of intrinsic motivation and self-development inside an educational institution; and also forms an idea of ​​corporate values ​​and norms of the university. Future specialists are involved in educational and extracurricular activities, following the ethical standards and rules of conduct enshrined in the regulations. If the traditions of an educational institution are observed, such as participation in events, organization of interest clubs, etc., students are oriented towards the recognition of values ​​characteristic of the respective activity.

The corporate culture of the student society with a view to educational and prognostic goals is the inner core of the university, which sets the direction for the joint achievement of the objectives and goals by all subjects of the educational process.

The effectiveness of the organization depends on the compliance strategy of external and internal environment. The development strategy of educational institutions in the conditions of market relations relates to the identification of potential advantages, the discovery of advantages and perceived risks both in the external environment and within the educational institution. Integration, the manifestation of group and individual initiative, as well as the inevitability of conflicts in horizontal and vertical communication are necessary to achieve the highest results. [Levinson W., 2007].

All three aspects which we consider a corporate culture are mutual related and mutual dependent. After all, it is implemented by all subjects of the educational process and directly affects the organizations in which graduates work or will be working. Depending on the degree of acceptance of traditions and values ​​of the corporate culture of the university, participants in the educational process disseminate positive and / or negative information about the institution. This aspect is important to consider in the context of the process of developing the personality of students as carriers of an innovative culture.

In the modern world, the main goal of the educational process at a higher education institution is to prepare a competent, knowledgeable and creative professional who understands the issues of his/ her upcoming professional activity and is competitive as a specialist. Consequently, the technology and content of education must be adequate to this goal. In the implementation of this task, corporate culture acts as an educational function, an integrated set of values, guidelines for identification. As a rule, the values ​​of the organization are declared and fixed in the targets, in the documents defining the basic principles of the organization, in the development plans of the organization, etc.

After graduation, students expect that their education costs (temporary, material, etc.) will pay off due to effective employment. Effective employment of a graduate is expressed in his/ her career and professional growth, the amount of wages, rapid adaptation at the enterprise. In order to find a good job for graduates, the university needs to maintain a close relationship with the consumers of graduates’ skills – employers, since this is the category of consumers that dictates what the educational service should be, so that a university graduates can fulfil themselves in the professional sphere and be in demand in the labour market.

Cooperation of universities and employers can be viewed as an example of the application of the principles of lean manufacturing, since this results in optimization of the educational processes and the training of future specialists, considering the needs of the next ‘production stage’ – employers. The participation of employers in the life of the university can be manifested in determining the relevance and prospects of areas of training, the indirect formation of curricula (depending on the required amount of knowledge that a future specialist should have). Consequently, the range of tasks of an educational institution in the process of building effective interaction in each of the selected groups is defined. These tasks include the following strategic areas: promoting the image and developing the reputation of the university; promotion of specific educational programs; building effective communication relationships with employers. The principles of lean manufacturing are most appropriate for solving tasks listed above.

The process of socialization is one of the forms contributing to the development of corporate culture at the university. No matter how effective the recruitment processes and criteria for admission to a higher education institution are, new subjects of the educational process cannot immediately become familiar with the corporate culture and comply with it. To do this, you should know all the rules and regulations that exist in the university, and moreover, recognize them. The speed of perception of values ​​directly depends on the degree of effectiveness of the communication process of an educational institution. When self-learning code of conduct, this process is delayed. Therefore, the introduction to the corporate culture should be assigned to a specific group, for example, students group monitors.

Conclusion

The process of corporate communication in educational institutions, as a rule, is characterized by a lack of inclusive willingness of subjects to form a single communicative space due to the lack of personal initiative. Planned cultural events, as part of the communicative process, contribute to strengthening the atmosphere of friendly understanding and support; therefore, in each educational institution there are special holidays, competitions, conferences, sports competitions, etc.

The corporate culture based on the principles of educational efficiency is focused on the social order and is a system of purposeful motivation for the development of professional activity. Successful formation of corporate identity in an educational institution is possible in the conditions of the functioning of the students' self-government structure, which contributes to the involving students in the process of teaching values ​​and norms of corporate culture. Due to the high level of corporate culture, university graduates would be able to quickly adapt to their professional activities, positively influence on personal socialization, create an effective team around themselves to improve efficiency and productivity and harmonize social and labour relations in a team.