Organizational Culture Change Management

Chapter 10, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition 10-*

Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

Chapter 10

Organizational Culture and Change

Chapter 10, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition 10-*Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada

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Chapter Outline
What Is Organizational Culture?Creating and Sustaining CultureMatching People With Organizational CulturesThe Liabilities of Organizational CultureApproaches to Managing ChangeResistance to Change

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Organizational Culture

What is the purpose of organizational culture?

How do you create and maintain organizational culture?

What kind of organizational culture might suit you?

Can organizational culture have a downside?

How do organizations manage change?

Why do people and organizations resist change?


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Henry Mintzberg on Culture
Culture is the soul of the organization the beliefs and values, and how they are manifested. I think of the structure as the skeleton, and as the flesh and blood. And culture is the soul that holds the thing together and gives it life force.

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The pattern of shared values, beliefs, and assumptions considered to be the appropriate way to think and act within an organization.Culture is shared.Culture helps members solve problems.Culture is taught to newcomers.Culture strongly influences behaviour.

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Exhibit 10-1 Layers of Culture


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Levels of Culture
ArtifactsAspects of an organizations culture that you see, hear, and feelBeliefsThe understandings of how objects and ideas relate to each otherValuesThe stable, long-lasting beliefs about what is importantAssumptionsThe taken-for-granted notions of how something should be in an organization

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Characteristics of
Innovation and risk-takingThe degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks.Attention to detailThe degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail.Outcome orientationThe degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on technique and process.People orientationThe degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization.

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Characteristics of Organizational Culture
Team orientationThe degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals.AggressivenessThe degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing.StabilityThe degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth.

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Exhibit 10-2 Contrasting Organizational Cultures

Organization A

Organization B

Managers must fully document

all decisions.

Creative decisions, change, and risks

are not encouraged.

Extensive rules and regulations exist

for all employees.

Productivity is valued over employee

morale.

Employees are encouraged to stay

within their own department.

Individual effort is encouraged.

Management encourages and

rewards risk-taking and change.

Employees are encouraged to

run with

ideas, and failures are

treated as

learning experiences.

Employees have few rules and

regulations to follow.

Productivity is balanced with treating

its people right.

Team members are encouraged to interact

with people at all levels and functions.

Many rewards are team based.


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Cultures Functions
Boundary-definingConveys a sense of identity for organization membersFacilitates commitment to something larger than ones individual self-interestSocial glue that helps hold an organization togetherProvides appropriate standards for what employees should say or do

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Cultures Functions
Serves as a sense-making and control mechanismGuides and shapes the attitudes and behaviour of employees

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Do Organizations Have Uniform Cultures?
Organizational culture represents a common perception held by the organization members.Core values or dominant (primary) values are accepted throughout the organization.Dominant cultureExpresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organizations members.Subcultures Tend to develop in large organizations to reflect common problems, situations, or experiences.

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Exhibit 10-3 How Organizational Culture Forms

Selection

criteria

Socialization

Organization's

culture

Philosophy

of

organization's

founders

Top

management

Selection

criteria

Socialization

Organization's

culture

Philosophy

of

organization's

founders

Top

management


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Creating and Sustaining Culture: Keeping a Culture Alive
SelectionIdentify and hire individuals who will fit in with the culture.Top ManagementSenior executives establish and communicate the norms of the organization.SocializationOrganizations need to teach the culture to new employees.

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A Socialization Model

Prearrival

Encounter

Metamorphosis

Socialization Process

Outcomes

Commitment

Productivity

Turnover


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Exhibit 10-5
Four-Culture Typology

Source: Adapted from R. Goffee and G. Jones, The Character of a Corporation: How Your Companys Culture Can Make or Break Your Business (New York: HarperBusiness, 1998), p. 21.

Fragmented

Networked

Low

High

Solidarity

Mercenary

Low

High

Communal

Sociability


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Finding Your Culture
Networked culture: you possess good social skills and empathy; you like to forge close, work-related friendships; you thrive in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere.Mercenary culture: you are goal-oriented, thrive on competition, like clearly structured work tasks.Fragmented culture: you are independent, have a low need to be part of a group atmosphere, are analytical rather than intuitive.Communal culture: you have a strong need to identify with something bigger than yourself and enjoy working in teams.

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The Liabilities of Culture
Culture can have dysfunctional aspects in some instances.Culture as a Barrier to ChangeWhen organization is undergoing change, culture may impede change.Culture as a Barrier to DiversityStrong cultures put considerable pressure on employees to conform.Culture as a Barrier to Mergers and AcquisitionsMerging the cultures of two organizations can be difficult, if not impossible.

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Strategies For Merging Cultures
AssimilationSeparationIntegration

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Change Agents
People who act as catalysts and assume the responsibility for managing change activities.

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Outside agents
Can offer an objective perspective.Usually have an inadequate understanding of the organizations history, culture, operating procedures, and personnel.Dont have to live with the repercussions after the change is implemented.

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Internal agents
Have to live with the consequences of their actions.May be more thoughtful. May be more cautious.

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Approaches To Managing Change
Lewins Three-Step ModelKotters Eight-Step Plan for Implementing ChangeAction ResearchAppreciative Inquiry

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Exhibit 10-6 Lewins Three-Step Change Model

Refreezing

Moving

Unfreezing


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Lewins Three-Step Model For Implementing Change
UnfreezingChange efforts to overcome the pressures of both individual resistance and group conformity.MovingEfforts to get employees involved in the change process.RefreezingStabilizing a change intervention by balancing driving and restraining forces.

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Exhibit 10-7
Unfreezing the Status Quo

Time

Driving

forces

Restraining

forces

Desired

state

Status

quo


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Unfreezing
Arouse dissatisfaction with the current state.Activate and strengthen top management support.Use participation in decision making.Build in rewards.

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Moving
Establish goals.Institute smaller, acceptable changes that reinforce and support change.Develop management structures for change.Maintain open, two-way communication.

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Refreezing
Build success experiences.Reward desired behaviour.Develop structures to institutionalize the change.Make change work.

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Exhibit 10-8 Kotters Eight-Step Plan for Implementing Change

Establish a sense of urgency.

Form a coalition.

Create a new vision.

Communicate the vision.

Empower others to act.

Develop short-term wins.

Consolidate improvements.

Reinforce changes.

Source: Based on J. P. Kotter, Leading Change (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1996).


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Action Research
A change process based on the systematic collection of data and then selection of a change action based on what the analyzed data indicate.

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The Process of Action Research
Diagnosis AnalysisFeedbackActionEvaluation

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Appreciative Inquiry
An approach to change that seeks to identify the unique qualities and special strengths of an organization, which can then be built on to improve performance.

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Steps of Appreciative Inquiry
Four DsDiscoveryDreamingDesignDestiny

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Exhibit 10-9 Sources of Individual Resistance to Change

Security

Economic

factors

Individual

Resistance

Fear of

the unknown

Selective

information

processing

Habit


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Cynicism About Change
Feeling uninformed about what was happening.Lack of communication and respect from ones supervisor.Lack of communication and respect from ones union representative.Lack of opportunity for meaningful participation in decision making.

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Exhibit 10-11 Sources of Organizational Resistance to Change

Organizational

Resistance

Threat to established

resource allocations

Structural

inertia

Threat to established

power relationships

Limited focus

of change

Threat to

expertise

Group

inertia


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Overcoming Resistance to Change
Education and communicationThis tactic assumes that the source of resistance lies in misinformation or poor communication.Best used: Lack of information, or inaccurate informationParticipation and involvementPrior to making a change, those opposed can be brought into the decision process.Best used: Where initiators lack information, and others have power to resistFacilitation and supportThe provision of various efforts to facilitate adjustment.Best used: Where people resist because of adjustment problems

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Overcoming Resistance to Change
Negotiation and agreementExchange something of value for a lessening of resistance.Best used: Where one group will lose, and has considerable power to resistManipulation and cooperationTwisting and distorting facts to make them appear more attractive.Best used: Where other tactics wont work or are too expensiveExplicit and implicit coercionThe application of direct threats or force upon resisters.Best used: Speed is essential, and initiators have power

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Summary and Implications

What is the purpose of organizational culture?
Organizational culture provides stability and gives employees a clear understanding of the way things are done around here.
2.How do you create and maintain culture?
An organizations culture is derived from the philosophy of its founders. It is communicated by managers and employees are socialized into it.

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What kind of organizational culture might suit you?
Organizational cultures can be analyzed in terms of members friendliness (sociability) and task orientation (solidarity).
4.Can organizational culture have a downside?
A strong culture can have a negative effect, including pressure-cooker cultures, barriers to change, difficulty in creating an inclusive environment, and hindering mergers and acquisitions.
5.How do organizations manage change?
Kurt Lewin argued that successful change should follow three steps: unfreezing, moving, and refreezing. John Kotter built on Lewins work to offer an eight-step model. Two other theories include action research and appreciative inquiry.

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6.Why do people and organizations resist change?
Individuals resist change because of basic human characteristics such as perceptions, personalities, and needs. Organizations resist change because they are conservative and because change is difficult.

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OB at Work


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For Review

1.How can an outsider assess an organizations culture?

2.What defines an organizations subcultures?

3.Can an employee survive in an organization if he or she rejects its core values? Explain.

4.What benefits can socialization provide for the organization? For the new employee?

5.Describe four cultural types and the characteristics of employees who fit best with each.


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For Review

6.How can culture be a liability to an organization?

7.How does Lewins three-step model of change deal with resistance to change?

8.How does Kotters eight-step plan for implementing change deal with resistance to change?

9.What are the factors that lead individuals to resist change?

10.What are the factors that lead organizations to resist change?


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For Critical Thinking

1.How are an individuals personality and an organizations culture similar? How are they different?

2.Is socialization brainwashing? Explain.

3.Can you identify a set of characteristics that describes your colleges or universitys culture? Compare them with several of your peers lists. How closely do they agree?

4.Resistance to change is an irrational response. Do you agree or disagree? Explain.


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Point-CounterPoint
Why Culture Doesnt Change
Culture develops over many years, and becomes part of how the organization thinks and feels.

Selection and promotion policies guarantee survival of culture.

Top management chooses managers who are likely to maintain culture.
When Culture Can Change
There is a dramatic crisis.

There is a turnover in leadership.

The organization is young and small.

There is a weak culture.


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Breakout Group Exercises
Form small groups to discuss the following:
1.Identify artifacts of culture in your current or previous workplace. From these artifacts, would you conclude that the organization has a strong or weak culture?

2.Have you or someone you know worked somewhere where the culture was strong? What was your reaction to that strong culture? Did you like that environment, or would you prefer to work where there is a weaker culture? Why?

3.Reflect on either the culture of one of your classes or the culture of the organization where you work, and identify characteristics of that culture that could be changed. How might these changes be made?


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Documents

Organizational Culture Change Management