CREATING A CHANGE-ORIENTED ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Any organizational change is bound to cause some stress and resistance among members of the firm. Firms adapt best when they have a change-oriented culture. Organizational (or corporate) culture may be defined as widely shared values within an organization that provide unity and cooperation to achieve common goals. Usually the culture of an organization is reflected in stories, traditions, and myths. Carly Fiorina, for example, has advertised the story about how Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard started their business in a Palo Alto garage. She hopes to maintain the entrepreneurial spirit of HP as symbolized by the garage.

It’s obvious from visiting any McDonald’s restaurant that effort has been made to maintain a culture that emphasizes quality, service, cleanliness, and value. Each restaurant has the same feel, the same look, the same atmosphere. In short, each has a similar organizational culture. An organizational culture can also be negative. Have you ever been in an organization where you feel that no one cares about service or quality? The clerks may seem uniformly glum, indifferent, and testy. The mood seems to pervade the atmosphere so that patrons become unhappy or upset. It may be hard to believe that an organization, especially a profit-making one, can be run so badly and still survive. Are there examples in your area?

The very best organizations have cultures that emphasize service to others, especially customers. The atmosphere is one of friendly, concerned, caring people who enjoy working together to provide a good product at a reasonable price. Those companies that have such cultures have less need for close supervision of employees, not to mention policy manuals; organization charts; and formal rules, procedures, and controls. The key to a productive culture is mutual trust. You get such trust by giving it. The very best companies stress high moral and ethical values such as honesty, reliability, fairness, environmental protection, and social involvement. The Spotlight on Small Business box looks at how one small organization successfully implemented a customer-oriented culture. Reengineering Guru Michael Hammer symbolically uses a megaphone to get his points across. His newest book titled The Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade says that reengineering processes are as important now as ever. Have you noticed that some companies are slow to change unless they are pushed hard by new competition? Organizational (or corporate) culture widely shared values within an organization that provide unity and cooperation to achieve common goals.