Seven Steps Managers can use in Changing Organizational Culture
Clarify meaning
This is the first step in changing the culture of an organization, a feature that helps the stakeholders to understand what the change means to their corporate. It includes specifications of the various attributes to embrace, characteristics to indicate the new culture, features that should be eliminated and what should be preserved in the new culture. The rationale of the above step is to show the different attributes that will be changed and those that will not change after the implementation of the new culture (Alvesson & Sveningsson, 2016). For example, it is worth understanding that an organization should not abandon the particular aspects that make it unique during the transformation.
Identifying stories
Muratović, (2013) explains that the culture of any corporate is best communicated through stories, hence during the change, the aspect should be incorporated. The stakeholders involved in the modification should find positive incident(s) that best explains the different values that will indicate the future of an organization's culture. The story is important as it will show what the new culture will look like, its values, people's perception, and other important facets.
Determination of strategic initiatives
As an effort to accommodate the new change in the organization, the above step takes account of the various aspects that ought to be accomplished to embrace the transformation. It helps stakeholders to identify what should be done, activities that ought to be stopped, and the necessary resources. By stating what should be terminated, the management can identify resources that should be directed to other purposes and in the identification of what should be started involves introducing of new activities to the firm.
Identifying small wins
The above step implies the identification of small actions that can be implemented to bring significant changes to an organization more quickly. They help engage stakeholders in developing a desire to change organizational culture in different ways possible.
Craft metrics, measures, and milestones
The above step requires the management behind the transformation to identify the various indicators of success, how to evaluate success and what should be considered. The stakeholders should devise a strategy to use in assessing change in the organizational culture among other key factors.
Communication and symbols
As observed by Towne et al., (2016), cultural change always faces resistance as it brings different changes to an organization's way of doing things. Therefore, to overcome the above challenge, it is worth appreciating the need to have effective communication so as to encourage commitment. In the above step, the concerned individuals explain why there is need to implement change in culture and its benefits to an organization. Moreover, symbols play an essential role in cultural change as they are a visual representation of the new state, and this will include the development of new logos, structures or even charters.
Leadership development
It is the final step in the change process in organizational culture, and it is worth appreciating the fact that leadership plays a vital role in the development of corporate champions and owners. Effective leaders help implement change in an organization as they give direction on how the new culture will be absorbed into the system. The leaders act as champions of the new change and are mandated with the responsibility of making sure that the new change is implemented.
References
Alvesson, M., &Sveningsson, S. (2016). Changing organizational culture: Cultural change work in progress. New York, NY: Routledge.
Muratović, H. (2013). Building Competitive Advantage of the Company Based on Changing Organizational Culture. Economic Review, Journal Of Economics & Business / EkonomskaRevija: CasopisZaEkonomiju I Biznis, 11(1), 61-76.
Towne, S. D., Anderson, K. E., Smith, M. L., Dahlke, D. V., Kellstedt, D., Purcell, N. P., & Ory, M. G. (2015). Changing organizational culture: Using the CEO cancer gold standard policy initiatives to promote health and wellness at a school of public health. BMC Public Health, 15(1), 1-8
