An organization's culture is comprised of the set of values, beliefs,
assumptions, principles, myths, legends, and norms that define how people
actually think, decide, and perform. In his book Organizational Culture
& Leadership (2nd Edition, 1992, Jossey-Bass), Edgar Schein
defines culture as . . ."a basic set of assumptions that defines
for us what we pay attention to, what things mean, and how to react
emotionally to what is going on, and what actions to take in various
kinds of situations" (p. 22).
Schein's definition suggests that leaders who hope to implement a radical
departure from the "norm" in an organization will need to
influence and finally change the culture before leading a successful
organizational change effort.
The Four Components of Every Organization
Organizations are comprised of four major components:
physical (the visible aspects of the organization), infrastructure (the
systems and processes for directing and managing work), behavioral (the
daily actions and reactions of employees), and cultural (the underlying
assumptions, values, beliefs and norms that shape daily behavior). While
implementing change at the "higher" levels is possible, as
the following graphic suggests, the durability of the change is short-lived
without change at the underlying cultural level.
Strategies
for Changing an Organization's Culture
In the article "Connecting Culture to Organizational Change"
(Human Resources Magazine, March 1996, pp. 84-90), T. Galpin suggests
that because changing the basic assumptions and beliefs of the underlying
cultural is very difficult, the best approach for influencing specific
aspects of a culture that you want to change involves targeting only
those components that are most critical for implementing and sustaining
the changes that concern you.
Before intervening in the culture to effect the desired change, it
is important that organizational leaders first document the current
organizational culture. This is typically done by exploring leader and
employee perceptions of the current organizational practices, norms,
customs, and beliefs within Galpin's ten cultural components.
In addition, while assessing the current culture, it is just as important
to assess employee expectations and aspirations of the desired culture.
The overall "gap" between the current and desired culture
represents the perceived need for change.
