Organisational Culture in my eyes is probably
one of the most important but least understood parts of an organisation. As change is required I refer back to some of
my previous posts, in that change is a journey, and not a fast one at that.
Yes, the Japanese
were one of the first people to recognise the importance of organisational
culture which forms the “founding philosophy” of the Toyota Production System:
“There is no royal road to
success in life. It takes the right process to achieve a great result”.
What they mean
by that is that it requires total participation (“one team, working together”
approach). The engagement
in any organisational change requires staff to truly understand the value of
continuous improvement willingness to participate. Rules and regulations will never motivate
them.
Proper training, discipline and respect for
their knowledge and skill is required.
Furthermore, innovation and change comes from small continuous
improvements that have been suggested from staff members. Improvement after improvement is what creates
results and culture. In order for staff
to offer their suggestions in a productive way, they need to feel respected and
second, have a proper process in place in order to provide their suggestions in
a fruitful manner.
Edgar Schein’s summary:
“The pattern of
basic assumptions that a given group has invented, discovered, ordeveloped in
learning to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internalintegration, and
that have worked well enough to be considered valid, andtherefore, to be
taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think andfeel in relation
to these problems”
for me highlights the above in a more complex
and philosophical way.
The “iceberg” scenario certainly agrees with that. (Cultural artefacts are like the tip of the iceberg . . . we can observe them. However, there is much below the surface. True cultural awareness involves understanding what’s below the waterline.)
When we talk about sub cultures, we start to
get into more complicated situations that need to be monitored and controlled.
An “Enhancing Subculture” can be great, but
even then I feel that it is easy for it to get out of hand, therefore close
monitoring is required. Over enthusiasm
can become failure just too quickly.
The “Complementary Subculture” for me is a
necessity. It can look at the situation
objectively and give great input. Again
we need to monitor that we do not go off on tangents.
For me “Counterculture” goes hand in hand with
the complementary subculture, rather than being objective though, it can
challenge the culture, and often create improvements. As with any of the above, it needs to be
monitored.
I also agree that many managers see culture as
a “surface level concept” and then are unpleasantly surprised when cultural
change efforts fail. The founder, CEO or
owner of a business must be seen as leading cultural change. If he/she doesn’t lead from the front, his
managers, supervisors and staff are unlikely to pursue the outcomes required.
Culture can be a most powerful influence,
which is why leaders must enhance their organisation’s culture through
maintenance, sustenance and change.
My personal recommendations:
The
role of culture cannot be underestimated
We
must understand that culture is not easy to change
We
must have a vision and follow it
We must be
patient
We must focus on
each of the elements like: values, tradition, procedures, symbols, rituals and
ceremonies
Essentially we want to create a workplace
where employees want to be. We need to
create the right environment, understand what makes people happy or unhappy,
empower our staff and much more.
Resources:
Corriero, A. (2012), “Workshop 1 - Inspiring
and Structuring a Lean Culture within Your Organisation”, Chase Performance:
Melbourne, Australia
Flanagan, N., Finger, J. (2003), “The
Management Bible”, Plum Press: Queensland, Australia
“Primer on organisation culture” (2003),
UVA-OB-0675, Darden Business Publishing, University of Virginia
