Organization Culture and How It Can Be Changed - Example

Organisational Culture Name Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Emergence of Culture 4 Organizational culture 5 Elements of an organizational culture 6 Typologies of organisational culture 7 Types of organizational culture 8 Other types of organisational culture 9 Organizational cultural change 10 Factors that may bring about culture change 11 Requirements before culture change 13 Ways of assessing organisational culture 14 Planning for the desired organizational change 15 Conclusion 17 References 18 Introduction The culture of a particular place refers to the mode of behavior, ideologies, systems, believes norms and values of people, in that particular place (Cameron & Quinn, 2005, p. 78). It is achieved from the social learning that is impacted on the people in that place. Normally, culture is passed on from generation to generation and thus some values remain constant. However in some Instances cultural erosion occurs and people change the old culture and acquire new values and this is then termed as cultural change (Ashkanasy, Wilderom, & Peterson, 2000, p. 234). Every organization or institution has some set rules which are applied in every activity and set standards attitudes and values. This together with the norms are known as organizational or institution culture. This paper will address the issue of organization culture and how it can be changed. It will address the way the organization culture can be measured and assessed and finally how management influences cultural change in any given organization. Emergence of Culture Culture emerged in Europe in the nineteenth century and it then referred to a process of growth. Later it was used to mean human refinement through the learning process and by that time it mainly meant education refinement (Ashkanasy, Wilderom & Peterson, 2000, p. 213). As time went by culture meant national aspirations achievement or the attainment of the main ideas that a nation desired. It referred to idealism. In the twentieth century it became so prominently used in the field of anthropology. Culture study has hence attracted a lot of scholars to look into the concept and come up with new innovations and inventions every day. Some of the main scholars who have been in this field include Stuart Hall and Richard Hoggart. Organizational culture This refers to the way people within an organization act either as individuals or as groups. It refers to people’s experiences, attitudes, values, norms and psychology within the organization. The term incorporates the goals of the organization, the ideas to be harbored in the organization and the standards to be observed within the organization. Organizational culture also refers to the expected code of behavior within the organization and the etiquette that is expected (Alvesson, 2002, p. 233). The values described therewith determine what is ethical and what is unethical within the organization. It defines how employees are expected to behave towards each other and also towards their leaders and vice versa. It also defines how power flows and the rights and authority held in each position. Elements of an organizational culture These were formulated by G.Johnson. These are the elements that influence organizational culture. 1. Paradigm. This refers to what the organization mainly does. its mission as well as the values it has 2. Organizational structure. The structure refers to the hierarchies within the organization as well as the reporting lines and the work flows. 3. Control systems. These keep tracing what is happening in the organization. 4. Symbols. These include logos and designs. It further extends to signs such as the executive washrooms and where they are located as well as the parking spaces. 5. Stories and myths. These are used to convey messages that say what is valued within an organization. They help the workers within the organization to know what values are expected from them. Typologies of organisational culture These typologies were put forward by Hofstede as he considered the regional as well as the national forces that influence organizational culture. The first typology was power distance. This indicated that some people in the society expect there to be positions of power in the organization. These people think there is a difference in the levels of power. However in this typology there is another category of people who think that people within an organization should have equal power. He also looked at the typology of masculinity versus femininity (Cameron, & Quinn, 2005, p. 56). This is the traditional perspective where men are associated with competitiveness, power, assertiveness and strength while. Men are also associated with leadership values and wealth accumulation. Women on the other hand are associated with shyness and tenderness of heart. They are viewed as followers and not as leaders. The third typology that he identified is uncertainty avoidance (Alvesson, 2002, p. 194). This denotes the level to which uncertainty is accepted or feared in the society. Some avoid uncertainty and risk while others are risk averse. The fourth typology is collectivism versus individualism this refers to the level to which people stand for themselves and their rights versus the way they act as members of groups. Research shows that these two are not related or rather they do not at all affect the way an individual behaves. This means that an individual could be very efficient in collectivism or pay so much attention towards achieving the group goals and at the same time this person could also be very attentive to their personal affairs and towards achieving their personal goals which is individualism. Finally he looked at the typology of long versus short orientation which refers to the time horizons of past present and future and how much importance is attached to them. Societies that are long term oriented perseverance are highly valued (Schein, 2004, p. 65). In short term oriented societies, tradition is highly valued as well as reciprocation of favors. Types of organizational culture Some organizational cultures are power culture where power is only concentrated among a few people. Power usually flows from the middle and bureaucracy is also less in concentration. Some organizations on the other hand have role culture where authority is delegated very clearly (Frost, P. 1991, p. 74). Bureaucracy is highly observed in this system and people’s power is derived from the positions which they hold within the organization. Expert power however in this kind of system does not have room. Task culture is where expert power is given a lot of preeminence. It is formed when the organization intends to do some tasks that require expertise. Some organizations take on person culture and all people view themselves as superior within the structure of an organization. This would be possible for partnership businesses where each partner brings in some specific touch. Other types of organisational culture These include Leadership enriched culture where people have very high levels of cooperation and the goals of the organization flow with the goals of the individuals. People in such a setting will do any thing so as to achieve their goals as well as the organizational goals (Frost, 1991, p. 90). This means that they will go out of their way just to ensure they achieve the corporate goal. The organization in this case is like a family and workers work as family. Multi directional culture is where by each department acts like a clique and one can only be loyal to their group. Organizational cultural change As earlier noted culture change is denoted every time a new cultural behavior is adopted in an organization. It occurs each time there is an introduction of new values and believes within the organization. This is normally done by management incase they are not satisfied with the way things are run within the organization. This whoever is not a one man’s decision. It is a decision that is made in the corporate sense as it affects generations and generations. Culture change in an organization is inevitable. It involves cultural innovations that are implemented and culture maintenance. It is normal for people in the first steps of change implementation to resist change and the management has a very core role to influence the people (Martin, 2002, p. 231). Management’s main role is to organize, to staff to countercheck and to rule or lead in the organization. In the implementation of cultural change the managing staff is expected to play these roles in the different levels of cultural change implementation. This is usually a heavy task and especially on the shoulders of management. This is especially because the culture of an organization is the comfort zone of its workers and more often than not the employees do not want to change. Factors that may bring about culture change These are factors that may awaken the organizational managers to change their culture. This will cause them to awaken them to the reality of a need of a culture change. At times it may come as a matter of urgency or it may come as a procedural change that is thought of and planned over a long time (Witte & Muijen, 2000, p. 45). Such factors include bankruptcy. When an organization is bankrupt then there is an urgent need that when it clears its records and is out of the bankruptcy, then it has to start afresh with a totally different culture that will fill the loopholes that the old culture left. This will prevent the occurrence of similar mistakes. Another such factor would be loss of sales or a great loss of money or even customers. This will awaken the management to the need to alter or rectify their present culture so as to capture the market again. Another very important factor that would result in culture change is changing the nature of business (Driskill & Brenton, 2005, p. 125). This would be maybe from an entrepreneurial culture to a partnership culture. This happens because the elements observed in both are different. In entrepreneurial culture people are focused on empowerment and every decision rests on the management. Personal commitment is also highly valued and the basics are given much attention. In partnership culture or company setting then the culture varies. This would call for a change in organizational culture. Requirements before culture change It is very important that the management should fully understand the old culture. It must understand the strengths and the flows of the old culture and as a matter of fact many have termed this as the key element before organizational culture change can take place. This allows one to know whether they benefit from their culture. The accessing can be through close observation of the way things run in the organization with an outsider’s eye. In this step one should be impartial and act as through he is dealing with a group he has never seen (Martin, 2002, p. 34). One should also watch for the emotions of the employees such as joy, sadness anger, as these arte true expressions of how they really feel inside. Emotions are also taken as clear indications of values Then interact with employees and watch intently for what is missing. For example in the interaction with employees no one mentions customers then that is an indication that in the current culture of the organization, emphasis is not laid on customers. The second requirement is a clear outlining of the vision of the organization and what it wants to achieve. This must be very clearly defined so as to understand the seriousness needed and the resources the implementation will take. Finally is the individual’s decision to change from their comfort zone and take on the new culture as a way of fulfilling the new organizational goals (Witte & Muijen, 2000, p. 78). Ways of assessing organisational culture 1. Culture walk. This involves taking a culture walk in and outside the organization and some physical signs around the building. In this walk one should observe people’s reactions as well as the way they relate to one another (Keyton, 2005, p. 90). Another aspect that is observed in the culture walk is the space given to each employee, how space is allocated, how common areas are utilized the communication of the employees. In such a walk the interactions of employees are observed and the emotions involved in such interactions. The communication like emails and letters and phone messages so as to understand what the culture promotes (Frost, 1991, p. 87). 2. Culture interviews. This involves arranging the employees in small groups and getting feedback on what they think about the culture. In this stage one can use the opportunity to observe the interactions between the people as well as the emotions involved (Alvesson, 2002, p. 134). In this step it is considered as a strategic measure to ask questions indirectly. This includes such things as asking them what they would tell a friend concerning their company. It tends to be easier for people to answer indirect questions than it would be to answer direct questions. One also asks such questions as who they term as heroes in the organization. In this stage one touches all aspect s of the organization so as to understand what people think about the organization. 3. Culture surveys. These can be bought with already designed questions or one can design one for themselves (Frost, 1991, p. 34). The information collected in the second stage is also important as it helps one to formulate the question and to know which areas need more emphasis. Planning for the desired organizational change This involves the organization deciding where it wants to be next. This is only effective after the organization has intently considered its current position. It also involves the organization coming up with a clear mission that defines its purpose of existence. They also need to come up with a clear vision and the values that have to be incorporated in the new culture (Martin, 2002, p. 76). There are several steps that are involved in the process of culture change .These steps include such things as: 1. Formulation of a clear and strategic culture. This outlines clearly the firm’s new strategy. This strategy is always an improvement of the old culture which was not productive or which lacked in some aspects. The vision clearly states why the change in culture is implemented and why it is important for it to be implemented. It also clearly defines the direction of the culture change and normally it is always a positive direction. 2. Display the commitment of the top management. This is because the change is always implemented from above (Witte & Muijen 2000, p. 67). Therefore at the onset it ought to be clear that the top management is in favor of the change and that is an indication of the direction the change will take. A high commitment means that the implementation will be taken seriously this is so because the top management influences the reception of information by the staff. 3. Checking the success of the team at the top. In the implementation stage it is very important to check how the top management which is the highest level acts in addition to receiving the information about change positively. This is quiet important (Driskill & Brenton, 2005, p. 89). Therefore it is very important that it acts in favor of the change that has been implemented. In this stage the top management is also expected to that it is not that the present culture is totally outdated but it is only that it needs some adjustments. 4. Modification of the entire organization so as to receive the change. This is also a very important step to align the organization to receive the new changes. The old system might totally be unreceptive of the changes and this may render the whole organizational culture change ineffective. 5. Selection of workers. This involves hiring of new workers who are compliant with the new system while the old workers who are defiant are laid down so as to allow the implementation of the changes. This makes only the people who are fit for the new culture to take it up (Driskill & Brenton, 2005, p. 179). 6. Ethical and legal sensitivity are then created among the workers. This avoids conflicts that would arise if the workers are meant to adapt to the new culture. This is especially so if the culture change involves changes in the employee integrity and job security. Or even equitable treatment. Conclusion Organizational culture spells out a lot of things about an organization. The culture denotes what the organization is. It forms the identity of that particular organization. The identification of that organization to a large extent is determined by its culture and whenever the name of the organization is mentioned the people identify the organization with its culture. Some times events arise that make the organization to change its culture. This could include such events like bankruptcy or drastic loss of sales customers or money. It could also be due to any other aspect such as just a need to fit into the system when the organization’s old culture becomes outdated. The management of an organization is the main players who determine the direction that the implementation and adoption of the culture change takes. Their commitment to the changes determines the reception of the changes by the workers. As earlier noted it is also very essential for the management to assess the old culture and understand its strengths and flaws before adopting the new culture. However it is of utmost importance that any organization that wishes to undertake organizational change to understand that this is a very complex process. They therefore need to do adequate preparation before implementation. References Ashkanasy, N., Wilderom, C. & Peterson, M. 2000. Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate. New York: SAGE Publishers. Alvesson, M. 2002. Understanding organizational culture. New York: SAGE Publishers. Cameron, K. & Quinn, R. 2005. Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: based on the competing values framework. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Driskill, G. & Brenton, A. 2005. Organizational culture in action: a cultural analysis workbook. New York: SAGE. Martin, J. 2002. Organizational culture: mapping the terrain, 5th Ed. New York: SAGE Publishers. Witte, K. & Muijen, J. 2000. Organisational culture. New York: Psychology Press. Keyton, J. 2005. Communication & organizational culture: a key to understanding work experiences. New York: SAGE. Schein, E. 2004. Organizational culture and leaderships, 3rd Ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Frost, P. 1991. Reframing organizational culture. New York: SAGE Publishers. Read More