Considerations Changing Organization Cultures

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"Because it entails introducing something new and substantially different from what prevails in existing cultures, cultural innovation is (...) more difficult than cultural maintenance. When innovation occurs, some things replace or displace others... People often resist such changes. They have good reasons to. The successful management of the processes of culture change or culture creation often entails convincing people that likely gains outweigh the losses".

In their excellent book "The Cultures of Work Organizations", Harrison Trice and Janice Beyer provide a number of ideas that you should remember and consider when you are changing the culture of an organization:

Eight considerations to keep in mind when changing organization cultures

1. Capitalize on Propitious Moments. For example poor financial performance. Make sure people actually perceive the need for change.

2. Combine Caution with Optimism. Create an optimistic outlook regarding what the change effort will bring.

3. Understand Resistance to Culture Change. Both at the individual level [fear of the unknown, self-interest, selective attention and retention, habit, dependence, need for security] and at the organizational or group level [threats to power and influence, lack of trust, different perceptions and goals, social disruption, resource limitations, fixed investments, interorganizational agreements].

4. Change Many Elements, But Maintain Some Continuity. For example identify the principles that will remain constant.

5. Recognize the Importance of Implementation. Initial acceptance and enthusiasm are insufficient to carry change forward:

   • adoption
   • implementation
   • institutionalization.

6. Select, Modify, and Create Appropriate Cultural Forms. Employing symbols, rituals, languages, stories, myths, metaphors, rites, ceremonies.

7. Modify Socialization Tactics. The primary way that people learn the corporate culture is through the socialization process at the beginning of their employment. Because of that, if these socialization processes are changed, an organization's culture will begin to change.

8. Find and Cultivate Innovative Leadership. Members are unlikely to give up whatever secure stability they derive from existing cultures and follow a leader in new directions unless that leader exudes self-confidence, has strong convictions, a dominant personality, and can preach the new vision with drama and eloquence.

Book: Harrison Trice and Janice Beyer - The Cultures of Work Organizations

Forum Forum discussions about Changing Organization Cultures. Why you Should Change an Organizational Culture Slowly You consistently hear lots of people talking about the need to change the culture of organizations. Technology-oriented people in particular stress the need to do so quickly, radically and even totall... 44   46 comments The Leader's Role in Culture Change The leadership in most cases craft and engineer the culture change. They need to demonstrate the aspects of the new culture. They begin to own and dispense the new ways. A new culture must be learnt a... 26   8 comments Is Culture Change not Manipulating Employees? Is this way of planned dealing with (changing) organization cultures not in fact a way to manipulate the work, minds and values of employees? If yes, is this manipulation allowed, as changing the cul... 26   16 comments Organization Cultures Have to Change Changing organizational cultures is indeed hard but there is no other way out as organizations exist to serve the interest of the society besides the mission of the respective organization. Technolog... 12   23 comments What is Organisational Culture? None of the post's here initially define what organisational culture is. To include it: "Communication and behaviour that reflects the virtues, values and beliefs of a group being considered". Then ... 11   5 comments 🔥 Shaping Organization Culture through Stories We can also look at culture as the daily set of stories that people tell in a complex adaptive system. This means if you want to change the culture, change the system constraints that influence the st... 7   2 comments Change in 3rd World Countries Vs. Developed World Although change is a must in an international context, the importance varies in some parts of our world, specially in the 3rd world countries. Here, the speed of change is slow and sometimes there is ... 7   2 comments Unoffical Leaders and Cultural Change Managers must identify and ensure unoffical leaders have ownership in the cultural change process of the company. Unofficial leaders are those who have perceptions of authority or have natural leaders... 1   Organizational Development and Organizational Culture How are organizational development and organizational culture interrelated, of what value is the knowledge of this interrelationship to managers?... 0   2 comments Start a new topic about Changing Organization Cultures Sign up for free

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Best Practices The best, top-rated topics about Changing Organization Cultures. Here you will find the most valuable ideas and practical suggestions. 🥇 How can we MEASURE Mindset Change? To successfully change an organisation, one major step is often to change the mindset of the people. I am curious to your insights / knowledge: 1. How can we measure the improvements made on changing... 68   81 comments 🥈 How to Change Bad Norms or Behaviors of your Team? I read an interesting article about changing bad norms or behavior. Suppose you're appointed as a new manager of a team that isn’t working hard enough or that is otherwise behaving in an objectionable... 29   28 comments 🥉 Changing Organization Cultures: What is the Critical Element to Start? When you study the political culture of a country for instance, USSR from Tsarist Russia it took a revolution to change a culture. The only thing that revolutionaries forget is the innate culture of p... 29   27 comments Engage People in Vision, Strategy and Culture Change Some very interesting observations and insights here. I agree totally that the people within the organization have to be engaged in its vision and strategy - and to find their place in it - and how th... 8   7 comments Culture Change and Coalitions The drive for control of scarce resources forces a political frame in the process of a culture change among groups with diverse interests. The dominant coalitions (old guards, stewards, partisans) pla... 8   8 comments Organizational Culture and Intellectual Capital System According to Stewart (1997), intellectual capital (IC) consists of information, intellectual property, intellectual material, knowledge and experience that can be utilized to create wealth. Schein (1... 7   20 comments Changing Culture Through Working on TRUST It is my conviction that in practice changing a culture in a wanted direction starts and ends with the creation of trust-based relations between people and within teams. Trust results in better commun... 7   7 comments

Expert Tips Advanced insights about Changing Organization Cultures. Here you will find professional advices by experts. Consultancy Tips Teaching Tips Practical Implementation Tips Concerns Against Change and their Remedies Change Management, Organizational Change According to Ken Blanchard in the article “Mastering the Art of Change” (Training Journal, January 2010), it is importan... Leadership Strategies for Change Initiate, implement, develop and sustain change In response to the high rate of change failure, Ken Blanchard and his team have developed the Blanchard Leading Through ... Establishing an Organizational Culture of Perpetual Crisis Corporate Culture Best Practice An interesting article in the issue of Fortune (Sept. 5, 2005, no. 15) explains how Jong-Yong Yun, CEO of Samsung, is re... Strategies to Change Employee Habits, Hearts and Heads Changing Organization Cultures According to J.E. Kee and K.E. Newcomer ("Why Do Change Efforts Fail? What Can Leaders Do About It?", The Public Manager... Other Organization Culture Frameworks Comparing Organization Culture Constructs One reason so many constructs have been proposed is that organizational culture is so vast and inclusive in scope. Came... Pitfalls and Best Practices in Culture Change Changing Organizational Cultures, What to DO and what NOT According to Jon Katzenbach and Ashley Harshak ("Stop Blaming Your Culture", strategy+business, Spring 2011, Issue 62), ... Key Success Factors when you're Designing your Change Management Program Best Practices, Change Management, Organizational Change In their article "Making Change Happen, and Making It Stick" (published in the online edition of strategy+business, Dece... 3 Stages of Cultural Change Creating Cultural Change with Strategic Intent In his 1994 paper "Leadership and Strategic Intent" Charles E. Smith identified three main stages in the process of cult... Building an Organizational Coaching Capacity Developing an Organizational Coaching Capacity, Learning Organization, Developing Coaching as an Organizational Capacity COACHING ON AN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL In their book "Trillion Dollar Coach: Lessons for Managers", Google's Schmidt, Rosenber... How Transforming an Organization Culture is Like Treating an Addiction Organizational Culture Change, Transformation of Company Culture Ferrazi (2014) argues that changing organization cultures and treating drugs addiction have a lot in common. Indeed this... What Change Agents Should I Use? Change Management, Organizational Change, Turnaround Management When choosing between internal or external change agents, organizations should consider following advantages and disadva... Why is Changing an Organization Culture So Hard? The ASA Model (Schneider) Organization Culture, Culture Change, Corporate Culture, Change Management, Recruitment Why is changing an organization culture so difficult? Because, once it is established, a culture has the tendency to str... Key Behaviors of Innovative Organizations Innovation Management, Culture Change, Organizational Change, Innovative Culture, Organizational Culture Many large-scale attempts to make organizations more innovative are experiencing organizational inertia, barriers and/or... How Should CEOs Manage and Communicate the Main Messages? Strategic Communication, Leader Skills, Communication Skills, Leader Perspective Inspiring the organisation to create a better future is arguably the ultimate mission of any leader or CEO. That's why a... 7 Mechanisms to Change Corporate Cultures Change Management, Organizational Change, Culture Change Management can choose from this menu of actions to change a problematic corporate culture: 1. Making a compelling case... A Closer Look at How Change and Innovation Decisions are Made Decision-making on Organizational Change, Innovation Decision-making, Contingent, Participative Decision-making Kim, T (2015) elaborates on decision making on "non-routines" or innovations. According to him, non-routines can be seen... The 7C Framework for Successful Personal and Professional Change Personal Change, Professional Change, Personal Transition, Professional Transition, Embracing Change In the article 'Managing Yourself: How to Embrace Complex Change", Brimm (2015) provides a framework of seven C’s that c... PROs and CONs of a Strong Corporate Culture Corporate Culture Change, Change Management, Organizational Change Implementing a significant change is generally easier when the corporate culture is not strong. By strong Corporate Cult...

Information Sources Various sources of information regarding Changing Organization Cultures. Here you will find powerpoints, videos, news, etc. to use in your own lectures and workshops. Management Across Cultures: Managing in a Global Context Cross-Cultural Management, Cultural Dimensions, Cultural Intelligence, Multicultural Teams, Global Leadership, Global HR This presentation consist of six sections that together form an extensive description of management across cultures. The... Your Organization Needs to Change its Strategy Implementation Method Strategy Execution, Strategic Change, Change Management, Strategy Implementation Dr. John Kotter explains most clearly how the rate of change of events, technology, globalization, products and markets ... How to Manage Creativity in Organizations Innovation Management, Managing Creativity, Managing Creative People, Fostering Creativity in Organizations, Creativity This presentation elaborates on the management of creativity in organizations, and includes the following sections: 1. ... Organizational Culture and Critical Theory Organizational Culture A detailed presentation, explaining Organizational Culture and Critical Culture. A description of Organizational Cultu... Culture, Cultural Competence, Cultural Intelligence and the CQ Cultural Intelligence This presentation is a good introduction to culture and contains three large sections: Culture, Cultural Competenence an... What is Corporate Culture? 4 CEOs Share their Views Corporate Culture, Organization Culture, Organizational Culture, Starter for Training / Workshop Arkadi Kuhlman (ING), Tony Hsieh (Zappos), Bernie Marcus (Home Depot), Shelly Lazarus (Ogilvy & Maher) share their views... How to Build a Global Organizational Capability? MNCs, Multinationals, Multinational Companies, Globalization, International Leadership Development, Cultural Intelligenc A. How to build a global leadership group in which people can cope with the complexity of working globally? 1. Re... Dealing with Strong Resisters Dealing with Resistance to Change, Change Management, Training, Workshop Dr. John Kotter gives remarkable advice on dealing with "No, No, People" (strong resisters in change initiatives). Acco... Introduction to Organizational Culture Initial Understanding of Organizational Culture and Why it Matters to an Organization Daniel Denison explains what an organizational culture is and why this own unique identity matters to an organization. H... The Importance of Adapting to Change Change Management, Need to Change, Change Management Dave Weber reveals that Charles Darwin never said that the strongest of the species survives. What he actually said was... Changing Org Culture Change Management, Leadership Presentation by Amanda Singleton about how CC can be changed and what is the role of leadership. Slide titles include: ...

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Compare with the Eight Considerations towards Changing Organizational Cultures:  Levels of Culture  |  Culture Types  |  Cultural Intelligence  |  Organizational Memory  |  DICE Framework  |  Change Management Iceberg  |  Servant-Leadership  |  Appreciative Inquiry  |  Positive Deviance  |  Change Phases  |  Six Change Approaches  |  Force Field Analysis  |  Core Group Theory  |  Planned Behavior  |  Organizational Learning  |  Leadership Continuum  |  Change Model Beckhard  |  Contingency Theory  |  Groupthink  |  Spiral of Silence  |  Forget Borrow Learn  |  RACI  |  Positive Deviance

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