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Process of Organizational Culture Change

Share this page: Share Webmail / Other One of the most difficult aspects of a company to change is the organizational culture. However, when a company realizes that its culture is a barrier to success as the industry evolves, a change becomes necessary. Below is a useful model for the steps necessary to change the organizational culture of a company. Create a Sense of Urgency For any change effort to be successful, it is important to communicate the need for change to the employees. Creating a sense of urgency is perhaps the most effective way of doing this. The sense of urgency, or even crisis, needs to come from the top of the company in order for it to be a compelling case for the employees. Changing Leaders and Other Key Players A leader's vision is an important factor that influences organizational culture. Managers and leaders will need to be the first to embrace the new culture. Whether the managers change their outlook, or the company replaces them, things will need to change at this level. Role Modeling This is the process by which employees modify their own beliefs and behaviors to reflect those of their leaders. Here is where the leaders need to "lead by doing" and "set a positive example" in order to implement the cultural change. Employees will see if there is not a complete buy-in to the change in corporate culture. Training Well-crafted training programs may be instrumental in bringing about culture change by teaching employees new norms and behavioral styles. Changing the Reward System The criteria with which employees are rewarded and punished have a powerful role in determining the cultural values of an organization. Switching from a commission-based incentive, for example, to a salary system may be instrumental in bringing about customer focus among sales employees. Morever, you will signal to your employees the values that your organization prizes by whom you choose to reward or promote within the organization. Creating New Symbols and Stories Finally, the success of the culture change effort may be reinforced by developing new rituals, symbols and stories. This can range from symbolic actions undertaken by leadership (destroying an old policy manual while unveiling a new one), to employee success stories that are shared with the staff, to new item, logos, or posters in the office. The above image is made available through: CreativeCommons.org Derivative by Athivia College (2010), Original materials: Collins, Karen., Exploring Business. Retrieved Apr 8, 2010 from http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/node/123782 . Collins, Karen. Exploring Business. 1969 . Flat World Knowledge. 8 Apr, 2010.