The Cultural Change of a Public Library - Essay Example

BRIEFING PAPER ON CULTURAL CHANGE OF A PUBLIC LIBRARY ADMISSION UNIT Briefing paper on the cultural change of a public library Purpose of paper This paper aims at shedding light on a public library and how it can progress in line with organization culture and change. The paper targets the management of the public library. Background information The public library, in question, is facing challenges and needs to embrace change. Human resources, outdated technology and poor management affect the public library. Organization culture is critical in the realization of change in the public library. Organization culture governs the shared beliefs, values and assumptions considered being the best way of doing things in an organization. Organization culture defines the way opportunities, issues, and problems get dealt with in organizations. This paper analyses the need for change in the public library, and highlights the future of the library. Status report Currently, the organization faces challenges in technological and service delivery. There are hitches in communication with users. Furthermore, a majority of employees are about to retire. Additionally, poor management seems to be a concern from the previous management. Key considerations Human resources Communication Technology and service delivery Management Team learning Key elements of organizational culture There are several elements that denote the culture present in an organization. According to Daft (2007), beliefs, values, assumptions, language, rituals, physical structures and stories are the elements of organizational culture. These elements speak volumes about what an organization deems relevant as it runs its daily activities (Stueart, & Moran, 2007). Beliefs and values indicate what an organization guides its activities along. Furthermore, assumptions indicate what an organization takes to be critical in relation to its existence. Language, rituals, stories and physical structures refer to the artifacts of organizational culture. This means that there are routines and activities that denote an organization. Artifacts highlight the ability to attain the goals and objectives of an organization (Stueart, & Moran, 2007). In the context of the public library, in question, there are several elements that are clear. The elements are clear in the team and employee aspects of the organization. Additionally, the library seems to have been relying on an aging workforce. This is an element of organization culture that indicates the beliefs and values in relation to the workforce. However, the element of language comes out properly in relation to communication. The public library faces issues with meeting and communicating with user groups. The dwindling levels of communication indicate an issue with the culture of the organization at the moment. Additionally, the public library has issues relating with its physical structures. Physical structures denote the general outlook of an organization and the impact on performance. In this scenario, the library has many users and seems to be lagging behind on Information Technology issues. This shows that the management of the library should work on its physical structures in order to succeed. The deficient information spaces and inadequate technological progress are a hindrance to the library’s success (Stueart, & Moran, 2007). Furthermore, the stories indicated in the case study show that the organization can overcome its challenges. This can happen with a transformation in the culture of the public library. Considerably, teamwork should get embraced in order to ensure that the various departments work as a team (Paton, and McCalman, 2000). The difficulties of working with the marketing department pose an issue indicating that team work is necessary. Additionally, a majority of the workforce are about to retire and can hardly understand new technologies. This shows that the current culture of the organization needs a shift in the right direction. Further, rituals indicate how things happen in the organization. For instance, the organization of meetings with user groups is a routine that indicates a ritual in the public library. The ritual is going down showing a weakness in the culture of the public library. Consequently, the public library does not seem to have planned activities for the members. This has led to the decline in the number of public library users indicating a deficit on the part of the library management. Planned activities stand for the ceremonial part of organizational culture (Lodge, & Pymm, 2007). For instance, the new manager needs to plan on the way forward in order to revamp the library. Additionally, the organization seems to have been using the same strategies for a long time. This can be explained because the long serving manager got replaced. This shows that the culture of an organization gets influenced by the leadership. Leadership is about giving direction and pointing out areas in organizational performance that stress on culture. Proper cultural inclinations contribute to the realization of the goals and objectives of organizations. Arguably, the elements of organizational culture reflect on the issues highlighted concerning the public library. However, changing the culture of the public library is not an easy task (Stueart, & Moran, 2007). This is because there are barriers that hinder change in organizations. One of the issues that may hinder change is the fear of accepting any change activities (Matesic, 2009). Fear of accepting change is common to human beings who do not want to get out of their comfort zone. For instance, the public library has a workforce that does not know the latest library technologies. Additionally, a majority of the workforce are old and about to retire. Their input cannot be ignored in the organization, but they get limited in their ability to capture the market. Furthermore, team learning may have to be emphasized in order to ensure that the workforce get acquainted with the latest technologies. The fear of accepting change is a barrier that may influence the direction of the public library. Another barrier to change is poor communication with interested parties. Organizational change can be hindered by communication breakdown (Kanter, Stein, and Jick, 2009). This can happen when information on the change does not get communicated properly to the parties involved. Furthermore, inadequate resources may hinder the change needed by the public library. Inadequate resources refer to lack of necessary things to meet the goal of change (Matesic, 2009). For instance, the library has an elderly workforce that may not work as hard as a younger workforce. Imposing change on the elderly may not yield fruit for the public library. The management may need to hire a young team to run the critical aspects of information technology in order for the change to be effective. Furthermore, lack of consensuses among the stakeholders involved may hinder intentions of change. The stakeholders of the public library need to agree that change is necessary. Failure to agree may hinder any prospects of change foe the public library (Lodge, & Pymm, 2007). Further, a weak management and lack of engagement in the activities of the library may hinder change. Additionally, poorly set goals concerning the intentions of change may hinder any progress. Insufficient goals lead to poor results for any organization. Lastly, it is critical to ensure that relevant stakeholders understand the need for change in the public library. Failure to understand the need for change leads to complacency at the public library. This public library needs to embrace change so that it can remain relevant and competitive in the market (Matesic, 2009). This means that change will revive the public library and make its contribution worthwhile. It is vital for a public library to find ways of managing its information services in times of organizational change (Bryson, 2011). Change management initiatives for the public library There are several change initiatives that can get implemented. These change initiatives should work in line with the elements of organizational culture (Burnes, 2004). Team learning is one of the initiatives that can help the public library. Team learning refers to a situation where the members of an organization work towards realizing its goals (Stueart, & Moran, 2007). Team learning will ensure a public library works towards the future in terms of human resource planning and resource utilization. Additionally, team learning ensures that current skills get imparted on the staff of an organization. Team learning has a direct link on the performance of a public library. This presents the values and beliefs of an organization in line with the elements. Secondly, changing the structure of the human resource of the public library is necessary. This initiative will ensure that a new team of qualified employees gets inculcated in the affairs of the public library. This initiative aims at ensuring the public library is up to date in terms of shared spaces and information commons (Stueart, & Moran, 2007). A young team can come in handy in enlightening the library and replacing the older workforce as soon as they retire. The nature of the workforce speaks volumes about the culture and performance of a public library. Building a strong workforce is securing the future of the public library. This may speak volumes about the element of organizational culture known as physical structure. Thirdly, building a management team that works on strategy in line with the structure of the public library is necessary. A management team that can work with the new manager can help in bringing all the departments together. A united management team would lead to a strong and successful public library. This is because decisions and any progress initiatives come from a united management team. The management can work to ensure that shared spaces and information commons are present in the public library. This is one area that presents a deficit in the public library. Furthermore, allowing stakeholders to present ideas concerning the progress of the public library is helpful (Ugah, & Ojpara, 2007). This is because stakeholders may have relevant ideas on the service and technical aspects of the library. This initiative will help in bringing ideas and issues that lead to the success of the public library. The management can allow such a forum to get conducted to gather ideas, views and opinions of relevant stakeholders. This should be a routine as presented by the elements of organization culture. Additionally, implementing a transparent library will help in linking the users to the library. Furthermore, the content in the library will be accessible by the public. This initiative will help in meeting the need for library services in the market. Further, a transparent library has the ability of ensuring a public library is competitive. Lastly, this means that open communication with the public becomes a reality with this initiative (Stueart, & Moran, 2007). Consequently, embracing the latest library technology is another initiative. The public library should inculcate web 2.0 technologies to ensure that they remain relevant. This is because this technology is user friendly, socially rich and provides a multimedia experience to users. Advanced technology should help the public library to serve users properly (Rune, 2005). Their service delivery will improve due to advanced technology. In conclusion, continuous appraisal of performance in the public library should happen. This is an initiative meant to find out the progress of the public library (Sanders, 2004). Analyzing the number of users from time to time will help in the reevaluation of strategies. The technical and service delivery aspects must be central in this analysis. This should help in making conclusions that contribute towards the success of the public library. Continuous appraisal helps in correcting weaknesses and improving strong points. This is an initiative that should be carried out on a regular basis. The culture of the library in 2015 The culture of the library in the future depends on the decisions made by the public library at the moment. The culture of the library will change in terms of the values, beliefs and structures. Realizing the needs of the public through the best technology and service delivery is one aspect. This shows that the library will reach a point where it believes in meeting the needs of the public. A transparent library will be present to ensure that users are happy with the service delivery. The latest technology on library services will be available to ensure success is not a theory. The public library will embrace the latest technology in the library market in order to appeal to users. Furthermore, the ritual aspect of the elements of organization culture will be present. In 2015, meetings on progress and positive changes will become a routine in order to ensure success. This means that stakeholders will have the liberty of airing their views and working on improvements. Additionally, team learning will be a part of the culture of the organization. This shows that the organization will strive to embrace technical and service delivery aspects. This will contribute towards the hardworking culture of employees in the public library. Further, members will have the ability to air their views concerning the progress of the public library. This shows that stakeholders will present their views and ideas without fear of victimization. In addition, the management team will present values of unity and oneness (Limerick, Cunnington, & Crowther, 2002). This should reflect in their ideas and decisions in the organization. The public library will portray assumptions of progress when strategy is in place. Team learning will be a constant and continuous affair in the organization. Training exercises will be part and parcel of the public library. The members will get presented with new ideas and information from time to time. This information will help the public library stay competitive in the market (Sanders, 2004). In conclusion, the library will have a young human resource that understands technology and service delivery. This will contribute to the success and growth of the public library. Further, the marketing department will streamline its activities by working in unison with the management. Consequently, the library will attract many individuals leading to the realization of the goals. This will become a reality following the change initiatives put forth by the public library. The public library will be a suitable environment that encourages users to study, at all times. This is the beauty of embracing change in organizations. References Bryson, J. (2011). Managing information services: A sustainable approach (3rd Ed.). Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Burnes, B. (2004) Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organizational Dynamics, Harlow: Prentice Hall Daft, R.L. (2007). Organization theory and design (9th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson. Kanter, R. M., Stein, B. A. and Jick, T. D. (2009) The Challenge of Organizational Change: New York: The Free Press Limerick, D, Cunnington, B. & Crowther, F (2002): The four management blueprints: In Managing the new organization: collaboration and sustainability in the post corporate world Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin (2nd ed.): 29-47). Lodge, D & Pymm, B (2007). Library managers today: the challenges. In Libraries in the twenty-first century: charting new directions in information services Wagga Wagga, NSW: Centre for Information Studies, Charles Stuart University: 289-310 Matesic, G. (2009).Every Step You Change: A Process of Change and Ongoing Management. Journal of Library Administration: 49(1):35-49 Paton, R. A. and McCalman, J. (2000) Change Management: A Guide to Effective Implementation, London: SAGE Publications Rune Todnem (2005): Organizational Change Management: A Critical Review. Journal of Change Management Vol. 5(4): 369 –380 Sanders, R F. (2004). Australian library supervision & management (2nd Ed) Australasian Library and Information Studies No. 21 Stueart, R.D. & Moran, B.B. (2007): Library and information center management (7th ed.). Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited. Ugah, A.D. & Ojpara, M. (2007): A SWOT analysis of the University Library of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Library, Umudike, Nigeria. Library Philosophy & Practice: 9(4). Read More