Technique 1.137 Strength of Culture
Introduction
An organisation's culture is described as the
"...people's behaviour and the mindsets that drive them ..."
Donald Barnhart, 2023
"...organisational culture can stop a good change management strategy implementation..."
Donald Barnhart, 2023
For example, an organisational culture that is averse to conflict and accountability certainly limits the ability to achieve strategic change.
Some warning signs of an organisational culture that will restrict strategic change:
"...- inattention to results
- avoidance of accountability
- a lack of commitment
- fear of conflict
- more a lack of trust?..."
Donald Barnhart, 2023
Elements of culture (8)
| "...Cultural dimension | Definition |
| 1. Performance orientation | The degree to which group members are encouraged and rewarded for performance improvement and excellence |
| 2. Assertiveness | The degree to which individuals are assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in their relationships with others |
| 3. Future orientation | The extent to which individuals engaged in future-oriented behaviours, such as delaying gratification, planning, and investing in the future |
| 4. Humane orientation | The degree to which individuals are rewarded for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring, and kind to others |
| 5. Collectivism | The degree to which individuals and organisations distribute group resources and express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness |
| 6. Gender egalitarianism | The degree to which individuals minimise gender inequality |
| 7. Power distance | The degree to which power is distributed within the organisation |
| 8. Uncertainty avoidance | Extent to which individuals or organisations rely on social norms, rules, and procedures to alleviate the unpredictability of future events..." Donald Barnhart, 2023 |
An organisation can be evaluated on the above cultural dimensions, ie high, medium and low; each dimension has its pluses and minuses, eg
- a high performance orientation can make an organisation excel; however, it can lead to more difficult culture-causing problems like arrogance, neglecting people issues, etc.
- a high assertive organisation can help people challenge the status quo; however, low assertiveness creates a good environment for creativity.
Some questions to help understand that the impact of each cultural dimension
| Cultural dimension |
Key cultural questions |
| 1. Performance orientation | - Will the focus on results lead to incomplete change? - Will the emphasis on results overwhelm the people issues like time spent helping people to get ready for the change? |
| 2. Assertiveness | - Will assertive confrontation openly oppose strategic change? - Will fear of conflict and confrontation minimise the ability to iterate and strive for the best results? |
| 3. Future orientation | - Does the desire for immediate results hinder long-term initiatives? - Does your long-term focus remove the urgency for the need to have an impact now? |
| 4. Humane orientation | - Does being kind and caring in your organisation bring about a lack of accountability? - Does the blunt communication in your organisation hinder the ability to address the emotional side of change |
| 5. Collectivism | - Are there key individuals, within the organisation, who can lead the success of the program? - Do group norms contradict major tenets of the strategic change? |
| 6. Gender egalitarianism | - Does leadership prefer the status quo, ie keep things the same? - Do key programme leaders reflect the organisation as a whole? |
| 7. Power distance | - Will trust in leadership affect the organisation's ability to implement change? - Will rule by committee undermine the ability to implement changes quickly? |
| 8. Uncertainty avoidance | - Is there a strong desire to do things as you always have? - Does the comfort with ambiguity lead to never-ending initiatives? |
(source: Donald Barnhart, 2023)
NB
"...if you choose to work to influence your culture, remember that culture change takes time and comes from the top..."
Donald Barnhart, 2023