Corporate Culture Re-defined
Much has been written about changing organizational culture. It’s an exciting topic because of the enormous potential benefits derived from changing an organization’s culture. While exciting because of its enormous potential, attempting to change organizational culture can lead to enormous frustration.
Organizational culture is rooted in the shared tacit assumptions of the organization.
Edgar Schein believes organizational culture provides members of the organization “stability, consistency, and meaning.”
In my book, “Strategic Organizational Change,” I offered six reasons for organizational culture’s stubborn resistance to change:
The main reason changing organizational culture is so difficult is that it resides in the dark, unexamined recesses of the corporate mind.
We know that most organizational culture change efforts fail.
Organizational culture change is necessary to support almost all organizational change efforts (strategic, structural, or process). Organizational change efforts will fail if organizational culture remains fundamentally the same. The effectiveness of organizational change efforts requires embedding improvement strategies in the organizational culture.
Without culture change, there is little hope of enduring improvement in organizational performance.”
Organizational Culture Change: Is It Really Worth the Effort?
It seeks to provide organizations with the insights, skills and mechanisms to develop and embed great corporate culture.
Our purpose is rather to alert organisations to the full potential of corporate culture as a key analytical tool and a framework for better practice.
Just as Leadership is about understanding and developing leaders, so Cultureship is about understanding and developing corporate cultures.
Cultureship is the practice of researching an organisation’s culture and seeking its development via Community, Contribution ; Recognition (CCR). There are also pockets of excellence frequently to be found within organisations which otherwise suffer generally from appalling corporate cultures.
One of the first things we do when we engage with organisations is to look at the preconceptions – the paradigms – through which their people view corporate culture.
We consider how these flows of corporate culture shape everyday relationships: we gain a sense of the pace, rhythm and shape of an organisation.; We go on to build an understanding of how corporate culture carries through into the broader successes and failures of an organisation.
“What kind of corporate culture do you have in this organisation?”
Corporate Culture as a Fad
One of the most commonly overlooked factors in considering corporate culture is that there are frequently quite radically different cultures and cultural viewpoints in play, both in different sections of any organisation and within different grades of seniority. To overlook this messy reality is to begin any corporate culture initiative on very shaky foundations indeed.
It is important to remember there is no such thing as a “corporate culture vacuum”.
Whether everyday existence is lived out as just muddling along the corporate highway whilst dodging the deepest potholes, or actually doing quite well in patches despite unresolved structural and people issues, one of the biggest misconceptions around corporate culture is that there are “weak” cultures and “strong” cultures.
Managers hear “positive culture” pleas from the Board, employees hear of new “cultural synergy” training exercises and other buzzword-laden initiatives.; All the while, the actual corporate culture/s continue all around the organisation.
Corporate Culture as Survival
What kind of a culture would you call that?”
Corporate Culture as Conflict
The second main dimension of conflict we frequently encounter arises within individual organisations from their specific internal processes and cultures.
Corporate Culture as Weakness
Superior Corporate Culture is not a luxury indulgence and it is certainly not a sign of weakness.
Corporate Culture as the Vision Statement alone
Corporate culture, when it works well and recreates itself in ongoing organisational and human excellence, is a relatively simple and elemental force.
Hearts might be in the right place – but great corporate culture also requires calm and questioning heads.
Corporate Culture as Process
Where are the people?
Corporate Culture as Compartmentalised Individuals
And this also leads us into the ongoing tension regarding active corporate culture intervention.
However, with strong pressure for higher productivity, leaner and more focused working practices, continual innovation and the demands of performance management, corporate culture is almost inevitably the focus of attention at some time in most organisations.
This is why The Cultureship Practice seeks a thorough understanding of each and every organisation before seeking any active cultural work.
“There’s a great culture.
Corporate Culture as Community, Contribution ; Recognition
About Author:Malcolm Evans is a founding partner of The Cultureship Practice, the pracademic corporate culture research and implementation initiative.
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