Understanding and Developing Organizational Culture - Essay Example

What impact does organizational culture have on achievement of performance results?  Culture is is the driving force that causes the organization to follow (Kilman, 1986). A culture has positive impact on an organization when it points behaviors in the right direction, is widely shared among the group members, and exerts strong pressure on group members. If a culture is mobilized against the mission of the organization, it is better for the organization to have a weak culture (wrong direction, but not strong or pervasive among group members) than to have a mobilize counter culture (wrong direction, but very strong and pervasive). Impact of organizational culture however depends on its pervasiveness within an organization whether it is widespread, or shared among the members of the group. 2. Can the culture of an organization be changed to increase performance?  To better answer, culture must be first placed in proper perspective of what it is really all about and what it does so that any attempt to determine whether culture can be changed to increase performance will be properly grounded. Culture, is the shared philosophies, ideologies, values, assumptions, beliefs, expectations, attitude, and norms that knit a community together. All of these interrelated psychological qualities reveal a groups agreement, implicit or explicit, on how to approach decisions and problems: “the ways things are done around here.” (Kilmann, 1986). Culture is manifest in behavioral norms, hidden assumptions, and human nature, each occurring at a different level of depth. “At its deepest level, culture is the collective manifestation of human nature – the collection of human dynamics, wants, motives and desires that make a group of people unique” (Kilmann, 1986). Culture is the behavior and mindset that animates the organization to stay in a competitive environment. Such to answer whether it can be changed or not should be answered in the affirmative due to the imperative of an organizations to be viable in the market place. Performance must be increased to stay competitive and increasing performance goes beyond the increased productivity but transcends to cutting costs, minimizing overruns and encouraging innovation. And since culture is the driving force that animates an organization of whether it will increase or decrease performance, it can and it has to be changed. And “whether a given culture can be changed depends on how deep-seated the culture is and whether multiple culture exist. The deeper the level at which culture change is required and the more cultures there are in the organization, the more difficult and time consuming the culture change process. When culture change involves changing surface-level behavioral norms, it can occur with relative ease because members can articulate what behaviors are required for success today in contrast to those required yesterday. In addition, closing the gap between actual and desire norm is easier if the desired norms are essentially the same throughout the organization – if the environment is homogenous. Even when multiple cultures exist, requiring different changes in each work group, change is still easier to effect when the focus of culture change is on behavioral norms rather than hidden assumptions or hidden nature (Kilmann, 1986). 3. As a senior leader in an organization what can you do to change the culture and in turn increase performance of the business?  As a senior leader in an organization, culture can be changed on a top down when “one single corporate culture exists (and those at the top thus could be accurate in their view of their desired culture) and if the focus is on changing norms and not assumptions. “This is however may be difficult to sustain, even though such changes may be easy to bring about; top-down approaches generally result in overt compliance to what is mandated, not covert acceptance” (Kilmann, 1986) So that, a participative approaches to changing underlying assumptions, although difficult and time-consuming to implement, are likely to result in changes that last and are felt in everything that organization members do; participation yields overt commitment to and covert acceptance of what the group decides. “ As a senior leader, I will initially conduct early culture at a norm level, to encourage the members in the organization to behave in a new desirable ways. Being aware that for such change to be sustainable and become ingrained, I will devote time to changing the “deeper, more fundamental aspects of culture so the change will be sustained.” I will use a participative method to fine tune the culture change according the circumstances and environment of my organization. 4. As an HR leader in an organization what can you do to change the culture and in turn increase performance of the business?  Traditionally, HR leaders in an organization are tasked to source out the best talent in the market to belong in their organization thinking that aptitude and IQ will naturally result in the organization’s increased performance. “Of course without a doubt, every company should hire the best people available, but smart, talented people are not in short supply. They are all around us. (Daniels,2011). And we really can’t tell as an HR leader if someone will really perform just by looking at the resumes. Resumes can also reveal how the person performed in the previous jobs. Such, as an HR leader tasked to hire the best talent to increase performance of the business should not merely hire talent but grow it. As Aubrey Daniels (2011) enumerated, this can be done by undergoing the following: a. Be aggressive in training and promoting people. To grow talent, HR leader should provide the environment to make its people smarter and more talented. This can be done through aggressive training and promoting people within the organization. b. Spend time and money to train people to fluency. It is often an organization’s mistake to put people before they are fluent in critical aspects of their jobs. The amount of repetition or learning required for fluency is far more than the average trainer understands or typically receives, but the extra time pays off in happier customers and more confident, competent employees. c. Positively reinforce and reward employees who put in extra time and effort. This requires observing behavior to make sure the people who put in extra effort are not overlooked or ignored. The benefit of getting managers to observe performers pays huge dividends in discretionary effort. People who are rewarded for extra effort not only work harder on assigned tasks, they also work harder on other tasks. Further, HR leader can change or induce the company’s culture to a productive one if people are positively connected to the work environment. An environment which people are understood and feels for them to do their best. 5. What impact on performance can a coaching culture have on an organization?  What is the “coaching manager? Coaching serves as a course for correction and at times a training opportunity for an employee’s performance to be consistent to the set objectives and delivery expectation. It also provides the employee a clear picture on how he/she performs and how he/she contributes to the over-all performance of the company. Through coaching, managers elicit commitment that aligns people in new possibilities that enhance performance and efficiency that translate to an individual and organizational effectiveness. Coaching manager “is type of coaching has several distinctions from other types of coaching. There is still a boss subordinate relationship and a formal performance review process. This is very different from other types of coaching , where one of the principle is providing a safe harbor where people can work through issues with confidentiality and without repercusiion. Also, the training and role is described by such concepts as delegating, communicating and teaching/instruction” . 6. Let’s assume you are a senior line management leader within an organization. Your university studies and other reading and learning have convinced you that a coaching culture can have a dramatic impact on the performance of an organization. Your organization is traditionally very autocratic and resistant to change. Pressure from the Board of Directors and Senior officers to significantly increase performance at all levels is increasing. You know changes must take place in order to achieve greater levels of performance and in turn for the company to be able to compete effectively.  • What will you do to drive a significant culture shift and in turn increase performance?  Create an environment that fosters learning, independent thinking and opportunities to contribute. The manager-coach does not want to be seen as a solution provider. Rather, they want to be seen as a facilitator, paving the way for team members to achieve their results. I will also introduce Performance Feedback. Where information is exchanged between employee and manager concerning the performance expected and the performance exhibited comparing actual performance to desired performance. This is to align performances according to the bigger organizational goals. Constructive feedback can praise good performance or correct poor performance and should always be tied to the performance standards. • What evidence do you have that such a shift in culture will have any impact on performance?  Empirical evidences that validates that such a shift in culture will have an impact on performance are not only myriad but well documented as well. One example to point in this case is the AT&T (American Telephone & Telegraph) experience, “is undergoing a dramatic culture change at all levels so the company can succeed in its new, highly competitive environment” (Turnstall) • How will you gain alignment across the organization to make such a change?  Coaching Managers train and develop their employees and subordinates in order to achieve business results and for them to meet required performance as stated in Performance Plan. As a coaching manager, it is also their task to unlock the potential of their employee/subordinate. This can be done thorough communication and providing feedback in an environment where employees are free to share information without the fear of repression. Through coaching, managers elicit commitment that aligns people in new possibilities that enhance performance and efficiency that translate to an individual and organizational effectiveness. • How will you measure the performance results of your change?  In the implementation of Performance Management, an individual Performance Plan has to be implemented indicating desirable specific results needed from an individual to achieve the greater objective of the organization. Coaching Managers facilitates this as they provides an environment to elicit information that has significant effect on the employee’s performance and “coach” remedial measures through dialog if the actual performance fall below desired performance and reinforce behavior if it adds value to organizational goals. REFERENCES: Daniels, Aubrey C IN PRACTICE: DON'T BUY PERFORMANCE, GROW IT. .. Chief Learning Officer, Feb2011, Vol. 10 Issue 2, p42 Turnstall, Brooke W. “Breakup of the Bell System: A Case Study in Cultural Transformation,” in Kilmann et al., op. cit., pp. 44 Kilmann, Ralph H.; Saxton, Mary J.; Serpa, Roy, Issues in Understanding and Changing Culture. California Management Review, Winter86, Vol. 28 Issue 2, p87-94 Read More