Organization Cultures Have to Change

Organization Cultures Change with Environment
amani gera, Accountant, Egypt, Member
I think organization is part of the environment. If the environment changes, the organization culture will change too. The interaction with the environment is part of the organization's existence.

Organization Cultures Change with Strategy
Azhar Kazmi, Professor, Saudi Arabia, Member
The linkage between strategy and culture is quite well established. So with a strategy, cultures need to change. Otherwise there is a possibility of strategy-culture mismatch.

Organization Cultures Change with Technology
Ravi Dua, Business Consultant, India, Member
Organizations are people specific and technological advances are to support the structure. What is being happening lately is technology started to interfere with the base structure with every person becoming part of a process. The prime goal of existence of organisation is under threat.

Ensure Stability of Organizational Culture
Arunas Beksta, management consultant and trainer, Lithuania, Member
Hi, I would like to propose to think different. The major change in organizational culture which could provide your organisation the competitive advantage could be ensuring stability or the organization's culture. I do not mean freezing the organization, but discussing with employees and finding aspects of organization which should not change and thus providing at least some sense of stability in the changing world.

Organization Cultures Have to Change
Azhar Kazmi, Professor, Saudi Arabia, Member
@Ravi Dua: I think of technology differently, technology shouldn't be interfering with the organization structure. Rather it should be one of the focus areas driving change. It's common to see companies altering structures to accommodate it changes as we have seen in so many cases. And that is the way it should be.

Why Organizational Culture May Never Change in Specific Non-profit Organization
Wanjiru Gichuhi, Kenya, Member
Experience has shown me that organizational culture can change successfully in organizations where the goals are output-oriented. The outputs are the motivating factor. In some organizations, especially those which are not profit making, and an employee's worth is determined by how well she/he is able to please the masters of the day, any attempt to bring about cultural change is successfully fought and the status quo wins the day.

Changing Culture is Now Easier
Benbouazza, Morocco, Member
I think that nowadays the problem of changing organizational culture is not as fearful as it was during the decades. The whole world is changing in front of our eyes without provoking any disastrous consequences. The speed of change has transformed the human being of the 21st century who becomes a homo changing.

Organization Culture Should Change Only if Strategic
TAH A. James, Teacher, South Africa, Member
To continue to maintain and sustain their existence in a dynamic world/environment, organisational culture must change accordingly. Otherwise it can lose its place and identity (what Azhar Kazmi calls strategy-culture mismatch) and could finally crash out.
However not all organizations and not every aspect of the organisation has to change dependent on the objectives of the organisation. Those organizations whose main objective(s) are aimed at satisfying the society or their external environment are bound to change, but other organizations might have to change very little.

Change Organization Culture with Broader Aim
Nishantha Dantanarayana, CEO, Sri Lanka, Member
In the past organization cultures were nurtured and developed with the sole aim of maximizing profits to the organization. If we are thinking of changing it, that has to be done with a broader aim that addresses social profitability instead narrow organizational or investor profitability. The only way that such a change can be effected is by changing our mindset from narrow, self centered one to broader, social centered one.

Organizational Culture
sherif ezzat, Manager, Saudi Arabia, Member
Culture is very powerful. One example is the culture change effort at British Airways, which transformed an unprofitable airline with a poor reputation into a paragon of politeness and profit.
The underlying causes of many companies' problems are not in the structure, CEO, or staff; they are in the social structure and culture. Because people working in different cultures act and perform differently, changing the culture can allow everyone to perform more effectively and constructively. This applies to colleges and schools as much as it applies to business.

Culture Change is Needed
Rmadan Ben Essa, United Kingdom, Member
Culture of organisation have to change, because the world changes too, and the organisation is part of the world environment,

First Convince the Managers
Monther, HR Consultant, Qatar, Member
We have to first convience the managers to change the culture to be complying with the external culture of the company.

Why Change the Culture
Hazel Tiffany
Very few organisations wake up one day and realise that they need to change their culture. What I think is happening in business and the public sector today is that a combination of pressures and drivers are forcing organisations to rethink their culture - or at least they are starting to understand that their current priorities and values are not working any more - or will not help them to sustain their position. When they start to really get behind that realisation is when they start to appreciate the loss of identify and culture. It takes a mindset change to fully recognise and reflect rather than simply repeat age old practices that dont get them anywhere.

Improve Relationships
Claudio Reyes Villarroel, Student (University), Chile, Member
Something that is hardly ever discussed is that each branch or sector of any company is a team that must act with great synergy. This situation rarely occurs, causing discontent of the employees and a collapse of his desires into the work. This, I believe, is part of the culture of most companies around the world.
I think one of the ways to change organizational culture toward an efficient route is by involving employees in organizational decision-making. This is under appreciated but has been shown that the more employees feel committed to a matter for the company, the more efficient the work and performance of these.

Getting to Change Highway
Fentress Truxon, Management Consultant, United States, Member
I read something a while back that struck a change note in my thinking as a diversity foot soldier and proven workplace diversity champion.
A leader should make sure the change is change and not just meaningless actions. Tectonic changes should be the first course of action, reserving the use of an earthquake to get the organization to "change highway."
The leader must also value and know how to use different leadership styles to find out what motivates your people. You might even have to change your preferred style.
I teach leaders to value diversity and encourage divergent thinking / perspectives. Usually somewhere between all of it lies the best result. This is also where your innovation and creativity comes from.
Whatever the leader decides make sure you "measure, manage, and improve".

Everyone Can & Must Participate in the Change
David Miller, United States, Member
Companies need organization and processes to embrace every employee at every level.
First define "vision," where you want to go. Next is "mission", how to attain the vision. Next is "core purpose", why does the company even exist. Last, but not least, are our "core values", how we operate with our external and internal resources. After defining these areas, develop "Key Imperatives (KIs)", or the requirements necessary to achieve the vision. Which are measured with "Key Performance Indicators" (KPIs) to measure the success in completing the KIs which, when complete, fulfill the corporate vision.
Lastly, but perhaps most important, is an Agreement with each Employee to perform the necessary tasks assigned to them to complete the KI's, making a substantial portion of their annual performance evaluation tied directly to their satisfaction of their assigned tasks.
Managed efficiently, this is a nearly bulletproof process. Given just lip service, it will surely fail.

Change is Inevitable
Rajesh Sharma, Professor, Nepal, Member
Change is certain like death. Therefore in order to survive organization culture should change, otherwise it will create red tapism.

Be Proactive, not reactive
B. Sulman, Manager, Netherlands, Member
It's advisable to be proactive in the changes of your company and not reactive...

Psychoanalytical Tool for the Enterprise
Guillermo Linares, Consultant, Mexico, Member
The perception of the situation is everything, if you can handle the way in wich they sense the situation, and put it in a comprehensive way, they will act in favor of the change as one.

Global Culture
Carlos Jimenez, Manager, Mexico, Member
Change is positive, change without action does not make sense. Mindset-action is a key for global culture.

Organisational Culture Need to Change
Rudolph L. Boy
Companies of today face tough times to capture markets for their products because of cultural change deficiency. Consumers are fast changing their consumption habits. And with increased consumer education, many end users have changed.
Because of this, firms which are stuck to their old culture will not survive the market competition. An organisational culture like societal culture should be dynamic and change with time.
However many multinational firms started in the 19th century. Organisational culture need not be based on myths which many educated consumers today do not pay attention to.

The Reality of Organizational Culture Change
Asrat Dereb, Teacher, Ethiopia, Member
Is it really possible to change organizational culture within a short period of time? If yes please tell me some of the mechanisms which will be important for any organization.

Quick Culture Change is Possible
David Wilson, Manager, Canada, Premium Member
Yes, cultural change can occur in a relatively short period of time, if it is reinforced and maintained. You need a clear vision, guiding coalition, grassroots support, and an executive champion (Kotter, 1996).
I prefer change which flows from the bottom up, but you may need to start it from the top down. However, you need to actively engage employees so that they understand why the change is needed, and that requires leaders to listen.
Have you looked at The Toyota Way (Liker, 2004) or The Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement (Liker & Franz, 2011).
Of course, change in culture will not happen overnight, but you maybe able to lay the foundation. You can consider the use of new processes, advisory committees, varied communications (including suggestion boxes), etc.
You need to consider pilot projects, win-win changes, and a culture where you learn from mistakes. Have you ever looked at the Deming model (plan, do, check, act) or other models?
You also need to ensure that HR does not create any roadblocks.