Organizational Culture and Change: A Crucial Skill for Leaders Trying To Achieve Strategic Outcomes

Abstract

Organizational culture is the collective behavior of humans who are part of an organization and the meanings that the people attach to their actions. Culture includes the organization values, visions, norms, working language, systems, symbols, beliefs and habits. It is also the pattern of such collective behaviors and assumptions that are taught to new organizational members as a way of perceiving, and even thinking and feeling. Organizational culture affects the way people and groups interact with each other, with clients, and with stakeholders. The concept of culture is particularly important when attempting to manage organization-wide change. Practitioners are coming to realize that, despite the best-laid plans, organizational change must include not only changing structures and processes, but also changing the corporate culture as well. Culture is in essence an organization’s operating environment the implicit patterns of behavior, activities, and attitudes shaped by a shared set of values and beliefs that characterize the way people work together. In order for any strategic change to be implemented successfully, the organization’s culture needs to be aligned. Unfortunately, if it isn’t, the challenge is significant; changing culture is not an easy task. Most people won’t change their behaviors until they observe the role models in their organization acting differently, and when they see this new behavior positively recognized and rewarded a clear promotion, a plum assignment, a change in authority or responsibility, or simply praise from the top of the organization. Organisational culture is a problem when the way in which the organisation usually operates puts obstacles in the way towards achievement. If the organisational culture is blocking success, the change of culture has to be considered.