Strategy and Culture - Essay Example

Strategy and Culture Strategy and Culture It is very essential that strategists take their organization’s culture into consideration while creating strategies as the acceptance of a particular strategy is dependent on the level of support a strategy may be able to gain through the culture of the organization (Threlfall, 2003, p.5). Changes can be adopted in a much effective and efficient manner if the organization’s strategy is able to gain support through various components of culture including beliefs and values.

A particular strategy may end up becoming counterproductive if the culture of the organization does not support the strategy. If the strategy does not fit the culture the organization and its people might experience confusion and uncertainty. If a strategy does not require major changes in the culture of the organization, it may be easy to adopt and it may not even consume ample amount of time. When two organizations join hands together it is very important that the organization pays emphasis to the link between the organization’s culture as well as strategy.

For example: The merger of Compaq and HP was quite astonishing as the culture of both the organizations was quite different from each other (Fried, 2002, p.1). HP was focusing on a huge portfolio of products, they spent heavily on inventing new technology, the management style practiced in HP was such that the management was heavily involved in the organization and the decision making process of HP was quite professional in nature. On the other hand Compaq spent less on inventions, they had a smaller portfolio as compared to HP and the management style was dictatorship like in nature because decisions were made on the top level and handed down to the lower level and they took heavy risks.

This example clearly shows that there was a misfit between the cultures of the organization and the strategy of merging both the organizations. ReferencesFried, I. (2002, September 2). HP-Compaq merger: Worth the wait? - CNET News. Technology News - CNET News. Retrieved April 8, 2013, from http://news.cnet.com/HP-Compaq-merger-Worth-the-wait/2100-1001_3-956202.htmlMonash University. Faculty of Business and Economics. Department of Management, Threlfall, Mark, Yearn, Dan, & Haslett, Tim. (2003).

An investigation into the link between culture and strategy using soft systems methodology and group analysis. Part 1 soft systems methodology.