Professional Certificate in Strategic Change Management Diagnosing Organisational Culture 06 – 10 March 2017

Organizational culture – A definition Organizational culture is a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs, which governs how people behave in organizations. These shared values have a strong influence on the people in the organization and dictate how they dress, act, and perform their jobs.

What do you see?

A further view on the definition

Culture is revealed in repeated patterns

The Iceberg Metaphor for Culture

The causes of behaviour are out of sight What we see (the iceberg above the waterline) is behaviour and the physical structures that contain it. These are sometimes called the ‘artefacts’ of culture. What lies out of sight (below the surface) are values, assumptions, beliefs and attitudes. They are the norms that produce repetitive rituals and familiar responses. They are ‘the way we do things round here’ Our culture can blind us to repeated failure. We do the same things again and again while hoping for better outcomes.

Culture comprises behaviour driven by unseen values and beliefs

Culture change influences other changes Culture is ‘what we do around here’. It is the habitual way we think and behave in an organisation. Cultures develop over a long time through interactions between people. When we start work in an organisation we notice its culture. After a while we become habituated to it and don’t notice it. We comply. Can you think of the time you first noticed a definite culture in your organisation? In the McKinsey 7s framework culture is described as ‘style’. Culture will also influence systems (the way we do things) and shared values (what we believe is important)

Characteristics of Organizational Culture 1 The seven characteristics of organizational culture are: Innovation (Risk Orientation) - Companies with cultures that place a high value on innovation encourage their employees to take risks and innovate in the performance of their jobs. Companies with cultures that place a low value on innovation expect their employees to do their jobs the same way that they have been trained to do them, without looking for ways to improve their performance. Attention to Detail (Precision Orientation) - This characteristic of organizational culture dictates the degree to which employees are expected to be accurate in their work. A culture that places a high value on attention to detail expects their employees to perform their work with precision. A culture that places a low value on this characteristic does not. Emphasis on Outcome (Achievement Orientation) - Companies that focus on results, but not on how the results are achieved, place a high emphasis on this value of organizational culture. A company that instructs its sales force to do whatever it takes to get sales orders has a culture that places a high value on the emphasis on outcome characteristic. Emphasis on People (Fairness Orientation) - Companies that place a high value on this characteristic of organizational culture place a great deal of importance on how their decisions will affect the people in their organizations. For these companies, it is important to treat their employees with respect and dignity.

Characteristics of Organizational Culture 2 Teamwork (Collaboration Orientation) - Companies that organize work activities around teams instead of individuals place a high value on this characteristic of organizational culture. People who work for these types of companies tend to have a positive relationship with their co-workers and managers. Aggressiveness (Competitive Orientation) - This characteristic of organizational culture dictates whether group members are expected to be assertive or easygoing when dealing with companies they compete with in the marketplace. Companies with an aggressive culture place a high value on competitiveness and outperforming the competition at all costs. Stability (Rule Orientation) - A company whose culture places a high value on stability are rule-oriented, predictable, and bureaucratic in nature. These types of companies typically provide consistent and predictable levels of output and operate best in non-changing market conditions.

Changing Culture - planning the next steps We have consensus on the current and preferred future culture What do changes mean for behaviour of tops middles and bottoms? What should we do more of? What should we do less of? What skills will we need to achieve it?

Behaviour in organisations results from experience In organisations we understand behaviour by understanding the situation people are in and their response to it. We explain behaviour by seeing the effect of the organisation on people. We will not understand behaviour if we always see problems originating in individuals Organisation culture results from people’s reaction to their situation. If we want to change culture and behaviour we change people’s experience

Blame Many of us grew up and work in a culture that blames Blaming others is common in organisations where the people at the top rely on command and control to maintain power Blame arises from fear. The blamer wants to protect themselves from responsibility for failure Blamers want someone else to be punished when things go wrong Blame takes power away from the blamer

Recognising the effects of blaming Complaining and ‘corridor conversations’ Repeated mistakes. Little learning from experience. Secrecy. People not disclosing what they think or feel Low trust or collaboration, lack of innovation, risk taking or real change Assumptions that causes are simple, linear and easily recognised

How to get out of blame Assign clear responsibility for work Be prepared to admit when things aren’t working. Acknowledge and manage your feelings of fear. Self management is crucial When things go wrong, ask ‘what happened?’ not ‘who did it?’ Look for flaws in systems not in people Challenge blame and complaining when you experience them

Exercise: Recognising and reducing blame Work through the list of behaviours that occur in a blame culture and the antidotes for it with your neighbour (using the previous two slides) How many of the behaviours do you recognise in your organisation and in yourself? What could you do to reduce blame in your team?