The Unintended Consequences of Culture Interventions: A Study of Unexpected Outcomes - Research Paper Example

The Unintended Consequences of Culture Interventions: A Study of Unexpected Outcomes The Unintended Consequences of Culture Interventions: A Study of Unexpected Outcomes Introduction Managing culture in organizations has attracted a great deal of scholarly interest. Critics argue that cultural interventions lead to inadvertent outcomes. However, the arguments of the critics largely draw from mere theory. This is because there is inadequate research issue of cultural interventions and their outcomes in organization.

In the light of this gap, the study by Harris and Ogbonna intended the imbalances in theoretical views and the available literature on unplanned outcomes of cultural management interventions. First, the study endeavored to explore the ways in which management efforts in addressing programs that bring change in culture leads to unpredicted consequences. Second, the study intended to analyze the effects of unexpected outcomes of strategies to harmonize cultural imbalance. Harry and Ogbonna feel that culture is extremely significant in the operations of management in organizations.

However, the importance of organizational culture has not received adequate scholarly interest. Many studies focus on the extent to which organizations have achieved change and its impacts. Thus, little empirical studies extensively study the type of cultural interventions and their effects on management of culture in the organizations. The research did not have any hypothesis. Methodology The study employed exhaustively face-to-face interviews to gather significance data from participants. The variable under the study were the cultural change interventions and the unexpected outcomes.

In addition, the study studied the existing literature in achieves. The study also employed observational techniques such as focused interviews as the primary method of data collection. The study favored interviews because of detailed information and their flexible nature. Moreover, the research utilized guides that enabled researchers to look at many aspects of the research question. The study allocated an approximate one hour for each interview. The research conducted forty interviews, where the participants comprised of shop floor workers, chief executive officers, managers, and employees from branch, regional, and main offices.

The study utilized tape-recording and transcription to capture. To analyze data, the study employed selective coding, axial, and open procedure. Two qualitative researchers performed the coding in an independent manner. The research then consolidated the results and corrected inconsistencies through discussion and third-party mediation. In addition, the research utilized external and internal veracity checks on the results. An internal researcher, well versed in theory looked at the categorization and coding procedure.

The research then conducted ten interviews on senior managers and inquired from participants on precision of structure adopted. This assisted the investigation to compare data across all the organizations under the study. Results The findings of the investigation revealed that all the organization under the study had experienced changes in programs that aimed at shifting their cultures. The research revealed a difference and some slight similarities in nature and the character of the cultural changes in organizations.

The organization under the study did not achieve the aims of initiatives in full measure. In addition, inadvertent outcomes affected the intended change of the culture intervention program through slowing or stopping the initiatives. Organizations under the study felt that complex intervention initiatives needed monitoring continuously. Organizations revealed that culture change initiatives staled because of malicious employees who wanted to control the whole process for their selfish gains. The participants reported that the cultural intervention initiatives resulted to unwanted cultural erosion and reinvention.

Moreover, the findings of the study alluded that organization coordinated change from a central point. According to managers, such control resulted to inconsistencies in values enshrined in the cultural intervention initiative. Discussion The findings of the study revealed that organizations could not conceptualize a change in culture. The unpredicted consequences of culture change initiatives alluded organizations should view the interventions as a continuous process. It requires input and incorporation of the thoughts of every employee in organizations.

The study directed future researches in conceptualizing changes in culture to look at the varied range of both expected and unexpected outcomes of cultural change initiatives. This is because the study concentrated on the management actions and their influence on the unpredicted outcomes of cultural change initiatives. Critique The article exposes a number of issues that the designers of cultural change initiatives overlook. For instance, the designers do not factor in possibilities of unintended outcomes when designing the initiatives.

This triggers the question such as whether the unintended outcomes would be minimal after factoring in their possibility of emerging during the designing of the cultural change programs. In, addition, the research prompts questions on the design methods in studying culture change initiatives. The research adopted cross sectional research design that under-stresses the significance of the time in cultural dynamics. This begs the question whether the design adequately addressed the problem in the study.

The research could have employed both cross sectional and longitudinal research designs to uncover all the unexpected outcomes of culture change initiatives. The two designs would provide in-depth insights on the nature and dynamics of unpredicted of change culture programs. This would give an explicit insight to whether the arguments held by theorists and few researches on the culture change in the organizations have a solid truth. In addition, in depth research would shade more light on general the understanding of the causes of unpredicted results on cultural change programs in organization.

The research was worthwhile because it come up with several recommendations. To start with, the research asserted that the study design was very important in exploring the unexpected outcomes of culture change interventions. In this regard, the study suggests that research design should anticipate both expected and unexpected outcomes of culture change programs. Second, the study allude that the implementers of cultural change program should recognize and evaluate the extent of unintended effects during and after implementation of the initiatives.

Lastly, the research provided a basis and direction, which future researches would adopt. The reading of the article agrees with Levy’s guidelines in collection and analysis of data. The events analyzed in the article about programs aimed at harmonizing culture in the work environment are well elaborated in the Levy’s textbook. In addition, the research employs various methods of collecting data such as interviews, observations, and archives. The methods of data collection are in line with those of Levy.

The following of Levy’s guidelines has led to the success of the research in the article. References Harris, L. & Ogbonna, E. (2002). The Unintended Consequences of Culture Interventions: A Study of Unexpected Outcomes. British Journal of Management, 13, 31-49.