留学生组织文化硕士论文-MSc IT Management in Construction-代写留学生组织文化管理硕士论

留学生组织文化硕士论文-MSc IT Management in Construction-代写留学生组织文化管理硕士论文MSc IT Management in Construction
Module: IT Management
IT Management Cultural Change: People & Organisations Dr Jack Goulding University of Salford © Salford University, Salford 2007
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Table of Contents
1.0 Preamble .................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Learning Package Information 1
2.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 1
3.0 Learning ..................................................................................................................................................... 1
3.1 Learning 1
3.2 Stages of the Learning Process 2
3.2 Kolb‟s Learning Cycle 5
3.3 Learning Styles Questionnaires 6
3.4 Carl Rogers - Freedom to Learn 7
3.5 Learning Declaration Group 8
3.6 Action Learning 14
3.6 The Learning Organisation 17
4.0 Organisational Structures ....................................................................................................................... 23
4.1 Mintzberg 23
4.2 High Performance Organisations 27
5.0 Organisational Culture ............................................................................................................................. 29
5.1 Introduction to Culture 29
5.2 Organisational Culture in Practice 30
5.3 Culture and Organisational Behaviour 32
5.4 Harrison and Culture 33
5.5 Handy and Culture 39
5.5 Changing Corporate Culture 42
6.0 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 47
6.1 Summary 47
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1.0 Preamble
1.1 Learning Package Information
This module requires learners to participate in three core areas of activity – see Figure 1.1
Figure 1.1 Study Activities
Where:
Reading – acquires knowledge and understanding the key issues
Case Studies – develops further understanding (context)
Problem Solving – demonstrates understanding
2.0 Introduction
Learning is a vast area of knowledge and practice, and this learning package just scratches the
surface. Essentially it just considers the purpose, place and practice of individual learning in an
organisational context, and identifies the impact that culture can have on this process. It looks at the
different concepts of how we learn, and describes models and approaches of learning development -
which are helpful to enable us to become more effective in our learning (both in our lives generally,
and also in the organisations where we work).
Learning from life is one of those processes it is easy to take for granted. People often claim to learn
something new every day but they are usually referring to bits and pieces of information of the “not so
many people know that” variety. Important though the acquisition of knowledge is, learning from
experience is much more than this.
3.0 Learning
3.1 Learning
Marty Rayla states that Learning occurs in four major ways:
Transmission is the process by which information, knowledge, ideas and skills are taught to others
through purposeful, conscious telling, demonstration, and guidance. Over the course of a lifetime, this
method accounts for only about 10% of learning. Unfortunately, this is the most traditional and,
currently, the most predominant method of instruction. However, this approach is not typically as
effective as other methods.
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Acquisition is the conscious choice to learn. Material in this category is relevant to the learner. This
method includes exploring, experimenting, self-instruction, inquiry, and general curiosity. Currently,
acquisition accounts for about 20% of what we learn.
Accretion is the gradual, often subconscious or subliminal, process by which we learn things like
language, culture, habits, prejudices, and social rules and behaviours. We are usually unaware that
the processes involved in accretion are taking place, but this method accounts for about 70% of what
we know.
Emergence is the result of patterning, structuring and the construction of new ideas and meanings that
did not exist before, but which emerges from the brain through thoughtful reflection, insight and
creative expression or group interactions. This form of learning accounts for the internal capacities of
synthesis, creativity, intuition, wisdom, and problem-solving. This method is greatly dependent on the
allocation of time, and opportunities to reflect and construct new knowledge. This method plays an
important role in inspiration and originality. In the context of current educational practices, we learn
only 1-2% by this method.
This gives an interesting view of how we learn but even so, our personalities are moulded by
experiences of various kinds. Skills, beliefs, attitudes and emotions are kindled, developed and
updated through a process of trial and error. The question is whether this arbitrary process gains from
being made more organised and conscious. As Aldous Huxley observed, “experience is not what
happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him.” We all know people for whom 20
years‟ experience means one year‟s experience 20 times. If you ask someone “what have you done
today?” you may have a job to halt the anecdotes. If you ask someone “what have you learned from
what you‟ve done today?” they will be less forthcoming. If you ask someone “how did you learn from
what you‟ve done today?” they will look for someone more sensible to talk to.
Research suggests that we oscillate haphazardly between different approaches to learning from
experience. Sometimes when things are ticking over satisfactorily we are lulled into a state of
complacency and entrust our learning to an intuitive process. Complacency may be shattered by an
unexpected mishap and we are bounced into learning painfully, and therefore, more consciously. On
other occasions we are more selective and look back over an experience with the benefit of hindsight.
Sometimes we deliberately try new and different ways of doing things in order to learn. Knowing about
different learning style preference is the key to understanding and becoming more efficient at learning
from experience. People are rarely helped to acquire the skills they need to become competent
learners from experience - a life skill if ever there was one.
3.2 Stages of the Learning Process
Bloom (1956), Kolb (1984), and many other theorists have often been cited in connection with the
learning process. In simple terms, these issues can be consolidated into one simple model for
clarification – see Figure 3.1.
Figure 3.1 The Learning Process
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Experiencing (Concrete Experience) or immersing oneself in the "doing" of a task is the first stage in the Learning Cycle. Whether this is purposeful or merely a result of circumstances is not of major importance to the potential learning outcomes. Reflection (Reflective observation) involves stepping back from task involvement and reviewing what has been done and experienced. The skills of attending, noticing differences, are important to enable us to begin to grasp the significance of what has happened. This is a part of the process that we often claim we don't have time for - the reality is that without this stage, learning is severely impoverished. Making sense of (Abstract Conceptualisation) involves interpreting the events that have been noticed and understanding the relationships among them. Our brains contain patterns of associated thoughts and events. At this stage we take in the new information to check whether it reinforces what we already know or possibly starts a new pattern or gives a different slant on what we know. Planning (Active Experimentation) allows us to make use of the information we have just assimilated. Whether this is immediate or for future reference is not important - what matters is that we use the information we have processed to make a difference to the way we think and act in the future. The four stages in the process of learning from experience are, therefore, mutually dependent. No stage makes sense, or is particularly useful, in isolation from the others. The whole process can be summarised in a simple diagram. The diagram of the learning cycle below may appear simple, but, in common with most people, you probably only perform some parts of the process. This is because you have developed, without necessarily ever having thought about it, some learning styles that equip you better for certain stages in the cycle than for others. The Learning Styles Questionnaire helps to detect learning style preferences. Essentially there are four types: Activist: Let's give it a go Reflector: I wonder why that happened like that. Theorist: How does this relate to what I already know? Pragmatist: How can I plan to use this in the future? Each style equips you to carry out a different stage in the learning cycle. Having all four styles comfortably within your repertoire thus equips you best for the total process of learning from experience. Unfortunately our researches show that only 2% of people are in this category and, therefore, qualify as all-round learners. You are more likely to be among the 70% who only have one or two preferences. The best way to learn how to learn from experience is to adopt a discipline which forces you to complete all the stages in the learning cycle. If you are interested in doing this we recommend that you keep a written learning log. It takes about 15 minutes to do this, so you will have to be realistic about how frequently you can schedule it in. Even once a week would be better than nothing. Three times a week would be admirable. The learning log routine is simple: Start by thinking back over the experience and selecting a part of it that was significant or important to you. Write a detailed account of what happened during that period of the activity. Don‟t at this stage put any effort into describing what happened. Then list the conclusion you have reached as a result of the experience. These are, in effect, your learning points. Don‟t limit the number and don‟t worry about the practicality or quality of the points. Finally, decide which learning points you want to implement in the future and work out an action plan which covers what you are going to do and when you are going to do it. Make your action plan as precise as possible so that you are clear what you have to do and that it is realistic. The advantage of this self-discipline is that it forces you to do all that is involved in learning from the experience and at the same time markedly increases the “lessons learned” from your various activities.
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Other Learning models that are useful to inform our thinking include Hinton‟s model (see Figure 3.2)
and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (see Figure 3.3).
Figure 3.2 Hinton‟s Warning Triangle
Hinton's concept is that unless you have all three parts of the triangle you end up as an inhibited
learner!
The Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) approach is a model that intuitively, feels right!
Figure 3.3 Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Certainly if you take the example of learning to drive a car:
Stage 1 is often involving the realisation that watching other people do it effortlessly is no guarantee
that you can do it!
Stage 2 is the realisation that you don't know and need to learn with the help of someone who does.
Stage 3 is when you can do what is required but have to consciously think about changing gear and
looking in the mirror.
Stage 4 is when you get from A to B and haven't even thought about changing gear and looking in
the mirror! If you haven't even thought about getting from A to B you do have real problems!
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Problem Exercise
Why is it important we know about how people learn?
Discuss your thoughts about this exercise with your co-students and the module tutor using
the online discussion board and weekly tutorials.
3.2 Kolb’s Learning Cycle
Kolb described four learning stages and associated learning styles. These are:
Concrete Experience
Kolb states that a high score in concrete experience (CE) represents a receptive experience-based
approach to learning that relies on feelings-based judgements. High CE people tend to be empathetic.
They generally find theoretical approaches to be unhelpful and prefer to treat each situation as a
unique case. They learn best from specific examples in which they can be involved. These learners
tend to relate to peers, not authority.
Abstract Conceptualisation
A high score in abstract conceptualisation (AC) indicates an analytical, conceptual approach to
learning that relies heavily on logical thinking and rational evaluation. High AC individuals tend to be
more oriented towards things and symbols, and less towards other people. They learn best in
authority-directed, impersonal learning situations that emphasise theory and systematic analysis. They
are frustrated by and gain little from unstructured "discovery learning" approaches such as exercises
and simulations.
Reflective Observation
A high score in reflective observation (RO) indicates a tentative, impartial and reflective approach to
learning. High RO individuals rely heavily on careful observation in making judgements. They prefer
learning situations such as lectures that allow the role of impartial objective observers. These
individuals tend to be introverts.
Active Experimentation
A high score in active experimentation (AE) indicates an active "doing" orientation to learning that
relies heavily on experimentation. High AE individuals learn best when they can engage in such things
as projects, homework, or group discussions. They dislike passive learning situations such as lectures.
These individuals tend to be extroverts.
Description of Learners
Kolb names the learning styles of the four different types of learners that this instrument identifies as
the Diverger, the Assimilator, the Converger and the Accommodator. Kolb describes each of the four
(4) learning styles as follows:
Diverger
Best at concrete experience and reflective observation. Their strengths lie in an imaginative ability.
They tend to be interested in people and emotional elements. People with this learning style tend to
become counsellors, organisational development specialists and personnel managers. They have
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broad cultural interests and tend to specialise in the arts. This style is characterise individuals from humanities and liberal arts backgrounds. Assimilator Learning dominated by abstract conceptualisation and reflective observation. Their strengths lie in their ability to create theoretical models. They tend to be less interested in people and less concerned with practical applications of knowledge. They are often more concerned with abstract concepts. Assimilators are often found in research and planning departments. This learning style is more characteristic of basic science and mathematics than applied sciences. Converger Dominant learning abilities are abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation. The converger's greatest strength is in the practical application of idea. They tend to be relatively unemotional. They prefer to deal with things rather than people. Assimilators tend to have narrow technical interests and quite often choose to specialise in the physical sciences. Accommodator Best at concrete experience and active experimentation, their strengths are in doing things and involving themselves in new experiences. They are called accommodators because they excel in adapting to specific immediate circumstances. They tend to solve problems intuitively, relying on others for information. Accommodators are often found working in marketing and sales. The accommodator is at ease with people but is sometimes seen as impatient and pushy. This learner's educational background is often in technical or practical fields such as business. Designing Learning Experiences Research suggests that the most effective learning occurs when the learning activities most closely match the learners' preferred style and that some learning activities are more helpful for particular learners. Since typically a unit has not been designed to accommodate all learning styles, and some information is more cost effective when taught using one method, or another, learners must be able to adapt to a variety of approaches. Concrete Experience: Theoretical readings are not always helpful while group work and peer feedback often leads to success. Planned activities should apply learned skills. The instructor acts as coach/helper for this self-directed autonomous learner. /Reflective Observation: Lectures are helpful to this learner. This learner wants the instructor to provide expert interpretation. They look for an instructor who is both a taskmaster and a guide. This learner wants their performance to be measured by external criteria. Abstract Conceptualisation: Case studies, theoretical readings and reflective thinking exercises help this learner. Very little else helps this learner. Active Experimentation: This learner wants to touch everything. Problem solving, small group discussions or games, peer feedback, and self directed work assignments all help this learner. This learner likes to see everything and determine their own criteria for the relevance of the materials.
3.3 Learning Styles Questionnaires
This section encourages you to explore a wealth of fascinating on-line materials – including:
. Home of the famous Honey & Mumford Learning Styles Questionnaire. The cost for permission to use this reasonable, and you get additional invaluable information as to how to best utilise the results.
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An online learning style profiler (chargeable). What this questionnaire tells you is how well spread
your Learning Preferences are and whether you could benefit by deliberately working to develop those
styles which you use less often.
Another online learning style profiler (chargeable).
This site covers all aspects of Learning Styles and much more which is pertinent to this module
Access to allied reference material
Honey & Mumford Learning Styles
Do learning styles affect the way we engage in e-learning?
Problem Exercise
da代写留学生论文How effective are learning style questionnaires in the „real‟ world?
Discuss your thoughts about this exercise with your co-students and the module tutor using
the online discussion board and weekly tutorials.
3.4 Carl Rogers - Freedom to Learn
Carl Rogers is a leading figure in the field of learning (Rogerian School of Psychology). His seminal
work titled "Freedom to Learn" covers learning effectiveness.
It is customary to begin a presentation with theoretical and general principle and then to indicate the
way in which these principles might be carried out in practice.
Learning
1. Human beings have a natural potentiality for learning.
2. Significant learning takes place when the subject matter is perceived by the student as having
relevance for his/her own purposes.
3. Learning which involves a change in self-organisation in the perception of oneself - is threatening
and tends to be resisted.
4. Learning which is self-threatening is more easily perceived and assimilated when external threats
/ at a minimum.
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5. When threat to the self is low, experience can be perceived in differentiated fashion and learning can proceed.
6. Much significant learning is acquired through doing.
7. Learning is facilitated when the student participates responsibly in the learning process.
8. Self-initiated learning which involves the whole person of the learner - feelings as well as intellect - is the most lasting and pervasive.
9. Independence, creativity and self-reliance are all facilitated when self-criticism and self-evaluation basic and evaluation by others is of secondary importance.
10. The most socially useful learning in the modern world is the learning of the process of learning, a continuing openness to experience and incorporation into oneself of the process of change.
Facilitation - helping others to learn
1. The facilitator has much to do with the initial mood or climate of the group experience.
2. The facilitator helps to elicit and clarify the purposes of the individuals in the group as well as the group's more general purposes.
3. He/she relies on the desire of each participant to implement those purposes which have meaning for him/her, as the motivational force behind significant learning.
4. He/she endeavours to organise and make easily available the widest possible range of resources for learning.
5. The facilitator regards him/herself as a flexible resource to be utilised by the group.
6. In working with the group he/she accepts both the intellectual and emotional content of what is communicated and tries to respond appropriately to each.
7. As the acceptant climate in the group becomes established, the facilitator increasingly becomes a participant learner, a member of the group and expressing his/her individual views.
8. He/she takes the initiative to share him/herself with the group - feelings as well as thoughts - in ways which do not demand or impose but represent simply a personal sharing which participants may take or leave.
9. Throughout the group experience, he/she remains alert to expressions indicative of deep or strong feelings.
10. In his work with the group, the facilitator endeavours to recognise and accept his/her own limitations.
3.5 Learning Declaration Group
A Declaration on Learning - Version 2 - A Call to Action (used with permission) This is a national document about the state of learning in the 21st century. Unlike many other national documents, this is written by practitioners and is refreshing both in its scope and also in its down-to earth approach. Well worth reading and sharing within your organisation!
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Origins of the Declaration As people who have researched and written extensively about effective learning, we came together in an experiment to see how far we could agree on statements about learning that would be of benefit to others and, in particular, help policy-makers and those in leadership roles. We were excited by the common ground we discovered. We are united in the belief that learning is the core process for the positive development of individuals, organisations, and society as we enter the 21st century. Learning can be the most vital, engaging, and enjoyable aspect of our personal and collective experience. Equally, learning can be difficult and the source of much of our pain and failure. The ability to learn about learning and to harness the learning process is the key to our ability to survive in a complex and unpredictable world. The Challenge Learning reinforces the informed, conscious and discriminating choices that underpin democracy. National policy makers must:
1. Make learning to learn one of the fundamental goals of education and training and reduce the excessive focus on knowledge and skills that can quickly become obsolete.
2. Support and invest in uncertificated learning as much as in certificated learning. Abandon the preoccupation with controls that inhibit learning (e.g. accreditation, inspection, audit, and predefined standards).
3. Recognise there is no such thing as a non-learner; all people are learners. The challenge is to secure the kinds, amount, and pace of learning that benefits individuals, organisations and society as a whole.
4. Encourage and support the self-management of learning (e.g. allowing learners to set their own goals and to choose how and when to learn to meet needs identified by themselves rather than by others).
5. Create schemes that remove financial obstacles to learning for individuals and socially disadvantaged groups.
6. Use participative democratic processes to promote inclusion and co-operation as a basis for learning.
Learning is the only source of sustainable development. Leaders in organisations should:
1. Commit to, proclaim and celebrate continual learning as one of the organisation‟s most valuable capabilities.
2. Include the right to learn and develop continually in all contracts of employment.
3. Build into the agreed roles of all managers the primary need to focus on encouraging others to learn and reinforce this through personal support and coaching.
4. Be a role model for learning, by doing such things as asking questions you do not know the answers to, demonstrating how you have learned from your mistakes, articulating and sharing your own learning.
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5. Have effective strategies to link individual and collective learning, both within and between groups and organisations.
6. Routinely encourage curiosity, inquiry and diversity of thought as the norm to ensure dialogue about strategy and decision making at all levels.
7. Encourage people to challenge, innovate and experiment.
Learning to learn is the most fundamental learning of all. Teachers, trainers and developers must:
1. Be role models for effective learning.
2. Support learning from live problems and experience, as a central activity of work.
3. Encourage and support reflection.
4. Encourage everyone to have learning goals and development plans.
5. Respond to both the complexity of situations and the diversity of learners and avoid simplistic solutions that fail to create worthwhile learning.
6. Ensure everyone has the opportunity to learn how to learn effectively and to exploit the full range of opportunities available to them everyday.
7. Support people through the discomfort and uncertainty sometimes associated with learning (e.g. through mentoring, support groups and networks).
8. Invest time and effort in bringing people together to learn from each other.
9. Empower others to take responsibility for, and to manage, their own learning. Stop defining for others what they need and how those needs should be met.
Learning is the key to developing your identity and your potential. As an individual learner you should:
1. Take responsibility for yourself as a learner - both in terms of what you seek to learn, and how - by setting your own learning goals, actively seeking the conditions or experiences that will help to achieve the goals, making demands on the system, refusing to tolerate obstacles to effective learning.
2. Make your learning (both in terms of goals and the means to achieve the goals) as conscious, self-disciplined and explicit as possible. Routinely review whether you are making progress towards your learning goals.
3. Share your learning with others as an investment with a high return in terms of personal learning.
4. Learn to exploit everyday experiences as learning opportunities - experiment, try out alternatives, ask others, and invite challenge.
5. Learn with and through others as a prime vehicle for learning.
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6. Explore and consciously exploit the wide range of resources for learning (e.g. the Internet, coaches, mentors and colleagues).
7. Always seek and learn from feedback as well as inquiry.
Assertions about the Nature of Learning Learning is frequently associated with formal teaching and training which, too often, comes to be seen as irrelevant to daily life and work. Most learning takes place outside controlled classroom environments, and this needs to be recognised - especially by educators and governments. It is unhelpful to link learning solely to the achievement of qualifications where systems of accreditation are often assumed to represent the totality of a person‟s learning and can result in unfair discriminatory practices and mere tests of short-term memory. The critical task for government policy-makers and leaders in organisations is to maximise the learning ability of people by encouraging and supporting individual and collective learning. In this way, organisations, communities and societies can change and adapt more effectively. Learning can be looked upon as a process, for example reflecting and questioning (which can be made more effective through consciously learning to learn) or an outcome (which may or may not be planned).
1. Learning is not just about knowledge. It is also about skills, insights, beliefs, values, attitudes, habits, feelings, wisdom, shared understandings and self-awareness.
2. Learning outcomes can be incremental (building gradually on what has already been learned) or transformational (changing ways of being, thinking, feeling and acting).
3. Transformational learning, may be a struggle, take time and involve conflict over aims and outcomes.
4. By its very nature, learning is essentially individual but can also be collectively generated in groups and organisations.
5. There is no one right way to learn for everybody and for every situation.
6. We can learn from any experience - failure, success, having our expectations confirmed or having them confounded.
7. Learning processes can be conscious (which helps us exercise our control over the process) or unconscious and serendipitous.
8. Learning processes can be both planned and opportunistic. Combining the strengths of both can enhance learning effectiveness.
9. Learning outcomes can be desirable or undesirable for the learner and for others – therefore, learning always has a moral dimension.
10. Learning (both as a process and an outcome), can be both a cause of change and a consequence of change. There is no learning without change, though there can be change with insufficient learning.
11. Questioning, listening, challenging, enquiring and taking action are crucial to effective learning.
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12. The learning process occurs inside the person, but making the outcomes explicit, and sharing them with others, adds value to the learning.
13. When self-managed, learning becomes more effective.
14. Learning as a process can be subject to obstacles (e.g. social exclusion, lack of resources or confidence) but the desire and ability to learn is hard to suppress.
15. Wanting to learn, and seeing the point of learning, is often crucial and makes it more likely that unexpected opportunities to learn will be exploited.
16. Mood influences the quality of learning. While not a prerequisite, enjoyment of the learning process is a significant enabler.
The Benefits of Effective Learning The following benefits assume that the learning in question is morally acceptable in intent, process and outcome. (This of course leaves open the question of morality.) For society:
1. Society, and the communities of which it is comprised, survives, adapts and thrives through developing and sharing learning.
2. A focus on articulating, valuing and sharing learning contributes to a more cohesive society where everyone‟s contribution is valued.
3. Individual and collective learning reinforces the informed, conscious and discriminating choices that underpin democracy.
4. Learning has the potential to create a society where diversity is valued and everyone can lead more fulfilled lives.
5. Learning (as distinct from education) helps people become active citizens in a constantly changing world.
For organisations:
1. Regular and rigorous use of learning processes increases everyone's capacity to contribute to the success of organisations by challenging, reshaping and meeting its goals.
2. Learning from and with all stakeholders enhances and helps clarify purpose, vision, values and behaviour.
3. A focus on learning, planned and unplanned, produces a wide range of solutions to organisational issues.
4. Learning helps achieve a balance between the pressures of long-term effectiveness and short-term efficiency.
5. Learning enables an organisation to balance the demands of its stakeholders and its environment.
6. Learning, when shared, reduces the likelihood of repeated mistakes.
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For individuals:
1. Learning is the key to developing our identity and our potential.
2. Learning to learn is the key to effective learning.
3. Learning enables us to meet the demands of change.
4. The capacity to learn is an asset which never becomes obsolete.
5. Embracing learning helps us to understand that learning is a great deal more than just formal education and training.
6. Learning increases the range of our options. Learning about our past can help us understand the present and prepare for the future.
7. Learning expands the horizons of who we are and what we can become.
8. The continuing desire to learn fuels curiosity and progress, & restrains prejudice and parochialism.
What Certain Key Terms Should (and should not) Mean Lifelong learning Should be ... a learning approach to all life and work experience, using formal education and training as a last resort. Should not be.... ongoing compulsory formal learning events and monitoring against competency requirements. Open learning Should be…. user friendly learning opportunities minimising constraints of time, place, cost, access, content and process. Should not be ... repackaged and recycled correspondence and distance learning packages. Learning society Should be…. a society in which individual and collective natural learning is a way of life and a major dynamic in social processes, encouraged and supported by formal education and training provision. Should not be…. a monopolistic take-over by the institutionalised education and training industry. Learning organisation Should be…. an organisation which promotes learning and sharing, supported by values, processes and investment, to enhance its capacity to create its own future. Should not be…. an organisation that regards training as the only legitimate mode of learning. Self and personal development Should be…. a liberating and emancipating process for individuals as employees and citizens. Should not be…. self-subjugation, discipline and enforcement of conformity to corporate and state norms.
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The Signatories We never set out to say all there is to say on the subject of learning, or to impose our views on others. Rather, we point to the richness and diversity of approaches to learning as an indication of its potential to achieve desirable transformations. Our goals are to stimulate discussion about the importance of learning and to resist the encroachment of narrow, dogmatic approaches that limit learning, in whatever context they occur. This declaration reflects the thinking of us all and our passion about the importance of learning. We offer it as a basis for dialogue and action. Margaret Attwood, Tom Boydell, John Burgoyne, David Clutterbuck, Ian Cunningham, Bob Garratt, Peter Honey, Andrew Mayo, David Megginson, Alan Mumford, Michael Pearn, Mike Pedler, Robin Wood © LEARNING DECLARATION GROUP
3.6 Action Learning
Action Learning is a simple, yet incredibly powerful way of learning with and from other people. Essentially it involves a group of 5-7 people meeting together over 6 - 12 months once a month to consider in turn each participant's problem/issue from their work. The outcome is not only to come up with elegant and robust solutions to these issues, but also to feedback to the group regarding their implementation. It involves not only solving issues but also learning from that solving. What is action learning? In summary, action learning brings together small groups of participants with the following intentions: To work on and through organisational/individual issues. This is most effective when the commitment is voluntary.
To work on real problems. Situations in which "I am part of the problem and the problem is part of me."
To work together to check individual perceptions, clarify (and render more manageable) the issue and explore alternatives for action.
To take action in the light of new insight. Begin to change the situation.
Bring an account of the consequences back to the group for further shared reflection.
To focus on learning, not only about the issue being tackled but also on what is being learned about oneself. This is essential to turn developing understanding into learning that can be transferred to other situations.
To be aware of group processes and develop effective ways of working together.
To provide the balance of support and challenge that enables each person to manage themselves and others more effectively.
Each group is provided with a facilitator (set adviser) whose role is to help individuals and the group to identify and develop the necessary skills.
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Key principles on which action learning is based While the focus of learning sets differs according to the situation, they follow the same general principles and beliefs that participants gain by: Learning from experience and sharing that experience with others
Being open to the challenge of colleagues and listening to alternative suggestions
Having time where they are listened too in a non-judgemental atmosphere
Having more choices about the way forward
Reviewing the outcome of actions with the support of fellow set members and sharing the lessons learned
How action learning differs from more traditional approaches There are several ways in which action learning differs from more traditional approaches to the training and development of people. Differences between traditional and action learning: Traditional Learning Classroom Based Individual Orientation Input Orientation Knowledge Orientation Passive Historical Focus Cost Investment Producer Oriented Action Learning Work Based Group Orientation Output Orientation Action Orientation Active Concern with Here and Now Investment Return Required Market/Customer Oriented Examples of issues addressed through action learning Action Learning can be used to work on many of issue. However, the most common applications can be divided into three main areas: A work based project in which you are involved and where you are able to influence the outcomes by your actions
An issue which concerns how you operate in the work context (e.g. giving feedback), which you want to change / improve and which you feel will benefit from the support and challenge of set members.
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An issue where you are required to produce an applied piece of work for an academic programme. Usually, group members are working on different areas and benefit from the support, challenge and opportunities for mutual learning.
Below are examples of projects which have been implemented with the support of action learning sets: Development of an export plan for a product
Looking at the discharge procedure for hospital patients
Reduction of factory accidents
Changing the procedures for and attitudes of the workforce to inter-site transfer of materials
Getting internal designs changes signed off in aircraft manufacture
Design of a supervisory development programme for new foremen
Determining the required roles for night sisters in a general hospital
Developing a plan for better utilisation of operating theatres involved in treating day patients
Devising a training and development programme to make the workforce more aware of the implications of Total Quality Management (TQM)
Analysing the reasons for "no-shows" at an out patient clinic and making recommendations for improved utilisation
Improving the work allocation and communications within a large GP fund-holding medical centre
Critical aspects of the action learning process There are six important questions in action learning:
1. What am I (or what is my firm) really trying to do, first and last?
2. What is stopping me (or my firm) from doing it?
3. What can I (or my firm) contrive to do about it?
4. Who knows what is the line of action that we are trying to implement?
5. Who cares about getting this line of action really implemented?
6. Who can actually contribute anything towards getting it implemented?
The elements of action learning The basic unit of action learning is a set of participants who learn with and from each other by working on real problems and engaging in group reflection on their experiences. The elements of action learning include the following:
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Each participant is responsible for: Choosing a problem that is intellectually stretching and contains some element of risk
Researching, diagnosing and offering a solution to his \ her own problem
Implementing of at least some of the solution
Using the group's help in identifying, defining and analysing the problem. They can also assist with identifying where interest, energy and commitment lie, where power lies, where blockages are to be found. Participants meet regularly as a group (set) to review and reflect on: Progress, setbacks and new proposals for tackling the problem
The divergence between actual and expected results
Their own development, attitudes and actions
Need for additional resources, e.g. conventional training
At meetings of the set, each participant describes their problem and progress in detail, and typically, the following questions will be addressed: What have I done/not done since the last meeting? What can I learn from this? What do I want to do before the next set meeting? What is the best way of going about this?
The other members of the set provide comment so that all members become involved in helping to solve each others' issues. However, each person retains responsibility for their own issue. Conclusion Action learning programmes are run for such diverse groups as US Generals, managers in a transportation company, postgraduate students, a world-wide group of team leaders in an oil company. No approach will be the ideal answer for all situations and groups of people. However Action Learning has an impressive track record of making a difference in practice in a range of organisations by bringing together individual learning and on-the-job action (Ian Hall & Jo Cumming).
3.6 The Learning Organisation
The 'learning organisation' has its origins in companies like Shell, where Arie de Geus described learning as the only sustainable competitive advantage. The Learning Organisation is seen as a response to an increasingly unpredictable and dynamic business environment. Here are some definitions by key writers: "The essence of organisational learning is the organisation's ability to use the amazing mental capacity of all its members to create the kind of processes that will improve its own" (Nancy Dixon 1994) "A Learning Company is an organisation that facilitates the learning of all its members and continually transforms itself" (M. Pedler, J. Burgoyne and Tom Boydell, 1991)
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"Organisations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to learn together" (Peter Senge, 1990) Learning organisations are those that have in place systems, mechanisms and processes, that are used to continually enhance their capabilities and those who work with it or for it, to achieve sustainable objectives - for themselves and the communities in which they participate. The important points to note about this definition are that learning organisations: Are adaptive to their external environment Continually enhance their capability to change/adapt Develop collective as well as individual learning Use the results of learning to achieve better results
Why the Interest in 'Learning Organisations'? Basically, it's the search for the (unattainable) Holy Grail. Companies are seeking to improve existing products and services (continuous improvement), and innovation (breakthrough strategies). This has resulted in a plethora of initiatives such as TQM (Total Quality Management) and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR). But companies are finding that such programmes succeed or fail depending on human factors, such as skills, attitudes and organisational culture. It also appears that many implementations are geared to highly specified processes, defined for anticipated situations. The current interest in the 'learning organisation' stems from the recognition that these initiatives, by themselves, often do not work. Something more is needed to: Cope with rapid and unexpected changes where existing 'programmed' responses are inadequate
Provide flexibility to cope with dynamically changing situations
Allow front-line staff to respond with initiative based on customer needs vs. being constrained by business processes established for different circumstances
As various management writers put it: "Organisations must develop a capacity for fast-paced innovation... Learn to love change" (Peters) "As the competitive environment becomes more complex and variegate, the need for greater genetic variety - a broader range of managerial beliefs and a greater repertoire of managerial actions - grows apace" (Hamel and Prahaled). "Top companies seem to organise around people ...honouring these needs - feeling of control, something to believe in, challenge, lifelong learning, recognition" (Waterman) With the pace of change ever quickening, the need to develop mechanisms for continuous learning and innovation is greater than ever. Types of Learning A learning organisation is not about 'more training'. While training does help develop certain types of skill, a learning organisation involves the development of higher levels of knowledge and skill. We have developed a 4-level model:
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Level 1: Learning facts, knowledge, processes and procedures. Applies to known situations where
changes are minor.
Level 2: Learning new job skills that are transferable to other situations. Applies to new situations
where existing responses need to be changed. Bringing in outside expertise is a useful tool
here.
Level 3: Learning to adapt. Applies to more dynamic situations where the solutions need developing.
Experimentation and deriving lessons from success and failure is the mode of learning here.
Level 4: Learning to learn. It is about innovation and creativity; designing the future rather than
merely adapting to it. This is where assumptions are challenged and knowledge is reframed.
Furthermore this model (or adaptation of it) can be applied at three levels - to the learning of
individuals, of teams and of organisations. Organisations that achieve learning to Level 4 will "reinvent
not just their organisation but their industry" (Hamel and Prahaled in Competing for the Future)
Characteristics of a Learning Organisation
Observation and research identifies four types of factor:
Learning Culture - an organisational climate that nurtures learning. There is a strong similarity with
those characteristics associated with innovation.
Processes - processes that encourage interaction across boundaries. These are infrastructure,
development and management processes, as opposed to business operational processes (the typical
focus of many BPR initiatives).
Tools and Techniques - methods that aid individual and group learning, such as creativity and problem
solving techniques.
Skills and Motivation - to learn and adapt.
Here are some additional points on the first three of these.
Problem Exercise
Why are learning organisations important?
Discuss your thoughts about this exercise with your co-students and the module tutor using
the online discussion board and weekly tutorials.
Learning Culture
Future, external orientation these organisations develop understanding of their environment; senior
teams take time out to think about the future. Widespread use of external sources and advisors e.g.
customers on planning teams.
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Free exchange and flow of information - systems are in place to ensure that expertise is available where it is needed; individuals network extensively, crossing organisational boundaries to develop their knowledge and expertise. Commitment to learning, personal development - support from top management; people at all levels encouraged to learn regularly; learning is rewarded. Time to think and learn (understanding, exploring, reflecting, developing) Valuing people - ideas, creativity and "imaginative capabilities" are stimulated, made use of and developed. Diversity is recognised as a strength. Views can be challenged. Climate of openness and trust - individuals are encouraged to develop ideas, to speak out, to challenge actions. Learning from experience - learning from mistakes is often more powerful than learning from success. Failure is tolerated, provided lessons are learnt ("learning from fast failure" - Peters). Key Management Processes Strategic and Scenario Planning - approaches to planning that go beyond the numbers, encourage challenging assumptions, thinking 'outside of the box'. They also allocate a proportion of resources for experimentation. Competitor Analysis - part of the process of continuous monitoring/analysis of influential factors in the external environment (including technology and political factors). A coherent competitor analysis process that gathers information from multiple sources, sifts, analyses, refines, adds value and redistributes is evidence that the appropriate mechanisms are in place. Information and Knowledge Management - using techniques to identify, audit, value (cost/benefit), develop and exploit information as a resource (known as IRM - information resources management); use of collaboration processes and groupware e.g. Lotus Notes, First Class to categorise and share expertise. Capability Planning - profiling both qualitatively and quantitatively the competencies of the organisation. Profiling these on a matrix can be helpful to planning adjustment: Team and Organisation development - the use of facilitators to help groups with work, job and organisation design and team development - reinforcing values, developing vision, cohesiveness and a climate of stretching goals, sharing and support Performance Measurement - finding appropriate measures and indicators of performance; ones that provide a 'balanced scorecard' and encourage investment in learning (see, for example, Measuring Intellectual Capital). Reward and Recognition Systems - processes and systems that recognise acquisition of new skills, teamwork as well as individual effort, celebrate successes and accomplishments, and encourages continuous personal development. Tools and Techniques These are too numerous to cover in detail, but include a wide range of learning and creativity skills in the following groups: Inquiry - interviewing, seeking information Creativity - brainstorming, associating ideas
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Making sense of situations - organising information and thoughts Making choices - deciding courses of action Observing outcomes - recording, observation Reframing knowledge - embedding new knowledge into mental models, memorising Collective (i.e. team and organisational) learning requires skills for sharing information and knowledge, particularly implicit knowledge, assumptions and beliefs that are traditionally "beneath the surface". Key skills here are: Communication, especially across organisational boundaries
Listening and observing
Mentoring and supporting colleagues
Taking a holistic perspective - seeing the team and organisation as a whole
Coping with challenge and uncertainty
Many (but not all) of these can be found described in The Fifth Discipline Field book by Peter Senge et al. The five disciplines are Personal Mastery, Systems Thinking, Team Learning, Shared Vision, Mental Models. Another useful source is Techniques for Structured Problem Solving by VanGundy. Inhibitors to becoming a Learning Organisation These are some of the most common obstacles to becoming a learning organisation: Operational/fire fighting preoccupation - not creating time to sit back and think strategically
Too focused on systems and process (e.g. ISO9000) to exclusion of other factors (bureaucratic vs. thinking)
Reluctance to train (or invest in training), other than for obvious immediate needs
Too many hidden personal agendas
Too top-down driven, over tight supervision = lack of real empowerment
Getting Started
As with many 'interventions', there are many good places to start, depending on the specific context. Some ones often recommended are: Start at the top - helpful to give an impetus
Start with a chronic problem - always a good place to get the thinking caps on
Initiate a Task Force - a common response, but they will need drive and vision
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Start with an Organisational Diagnosis - the HR consultants favour this one!
Link to an existing process or initiative - go where there is existing energy
Review existing systems and processes - an audit to identify a 'capability' gap
New Product Development
The Role of Systems Many learning organisation initiatives are often taken over by the human resource function (or by outside specialists). This should be avoided, as developing a learning organisation is about doing it from within and taking a holistic systems perspective. Management Information Systems (MIS) departments and Information Systems (IS) professionals have a major contribution to make, for example: They have a systems approach and mindset: a strong background in logical methods and process and are generally capable of developing creative solutions and holistic views.
They often provide some of the best project managers within an organisation, capable of co-ordinating multiple activities across several functions and involving significant change in work processes.
An information infrastructure that enables information flows, including networked connections between internal systems and access to external networks and databases
They are likely to be "early adopters" of important learning enabling technologies, such as groupware, computer conferencing, video conferencing, Internet exploration, multimedia etc
They have systems integration knowledge, essential aspect of making efficient connections between information, and more importantly knowledge
In conjunction with the library Information service functions, they play a key part in the management of information and knowledge resources. Therefore, providing systems and processes for the management of knowledge and flow of information is crucial in the support of the learning organisation. The Management Challenge The challenge facing managers today is to make the effort needed to learn some of the new skill and techniques, and to put in processes that engage their workforce in programmes of continuous capability development. Learning should be integrated into the doing, as part and parcel of everyday work. It should also be energising, stimulating and fun. Getting the best out of everybody, including yourself to meet the challenges ahead. © Copyright. David J. Skyrme and John Farago. 1995. This material may be copied or distributed subject to the terms of our copyright conditions (no commercial gain; complete page copying etc.) The concepts of the Learning Organisation and Knowledge Management are increasingly seen as two sides of the same coin - as you learn you gain knowledge which you apply and learn more. Organisational learning programmes such as those at Anglian Water and Glaxo Wellcome have over time evolved into knowledge management programmes. More on the links between the Learning Organisation and Knowledge Management can be found in Chapter 6 of Creating the Knowledge-based Business.
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Additional Resources Argyris, C (1998), On Organizational Learning, Blackwell Publishers Dixon, N.M (1999), The Organizational Learning Cycle: How We Can Learn Collectively, Gower Publishing Limited Garratt, R (2004), The Learning Organization: Developing Democracy at Work, Profile Business Pedler, M, Burgoyone, J, and Boydell T (1996), Learning Company: A Strategy for Sustainable Development, McGraw-Hill Education Senge, P.M, Kleiner, A, Roberts, C, Ross, R, and Smith, B (1994), The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies for Building a Learning Organization, Doubleday/Currency VanGundy, A.B (1998), Techniques of Structured Problem Solving, John Wiley & Sons Inc
http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/jaln/index.asp
http://www.brint.com/papers/orglrng.htm

http://www.brint.com/OrgLrng.htm


4.0 Organisational Structures
4.1 Mintzberg
According to Mintzberg, organisational structure and the coordination and control of work requires: Mutual Adjustment This requires the co-ordination of work through the process of informal communication. Control of work rests in the hands of the 'doers'. From the simplest organisations to the most complex – and it works in extremely difficult circumstances e.g. the space shuttle project: elaborate divisions of labour – with thousands of specialists. At the outset, make sure what exactly needs to be done. Success depends on groups/teams of specialists adapting to each other along an uncharted route - rather like a group of people rafting down a turbulent river. Direct Supervision Organisation outgrows its simplest state. Coordination by someone taking responsibility for the work of others - planning scheduling allocating instructing monitoring actions
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NB In a rugby team players are distinguished by their work role and even physical requirements; wing-three-quarter, scrum-half, stand-off half, etc. Mutual adjustments do not fully suffice to co-ordinate their play so a captain is named to co-ordinate tactics on the field. Standardisation of Work Processes When the content of work is specified or programmed. NB the assembly instructions provided with easy-build kitchen units. The manufacturer is standardising the work process of the assembler. (Take the 2-inch screw and insert into LX while holding AD with your tight foot and at the same time balancing ...) The routine of processes is commonplace in business. Witness: a pre-flight check list, where behaviour is controlled.
the specification for a production process - as might be found in an ISO 9000 quality system - illustrates the significance of documentation and conformity to a standard process
how a sale (trolley load of groceries) is processed in a supermarket.
Standard processes facilitate machine control and systems which demand little direct supervision. Automation is possible. A worker on a TV assembly line requires but little supervision or even informal communication with peers (except to be sociable). Work co-ordination is "system" achieved. Some work standards have discretion built in, e.g. a retail buyer may be permitted to buy up to £10,000 worth of goods each month, but otherwise left free to decide the range of goods to buy. A manager of a fast-food hamburger joint may have some discretion over staff rotas but none in terms of changing the menus or the decor and displays within the restaurant. Are you ever disparaging about routinisation (bureaucratisation)? You may be failing to recognise the following value gains: more goods and services offered more reliably with better price and delivery at higher quality, with guarantees over the content and processes
Routinisation and bureaucratisation may reduce opportunities for independent action and creative expression but for those delivering and those receiving the results of routinisation the benefits are substantial in every aspect of life. The problem for the business person and the consumer is to safeguard against the dulling, conformist, mediocrity that routinisation thrusts upon us particularly when the routinised system is doggedly followed to serve the operators purpose. The fact of the matter may be that we continue to produce as routine our goods and services - but the world has moved on - no-one wants these goods and services any more. The goal-posts too will have been shifted by competitors who have an eye for a chance. Standardisation of Skills Some work or processes cannot be standardised. e.g. in social work or teaching. How could a Monarch control and co-ordinate the activities of colonial governors with such slow lines of communication? Control here comes through education and training and the sharing of values and ethical standards which inspire loyalty. Note that with the introduction of a national curriculum - that the discretion of teachers in what they teach becomes regulated (by standardisation of systems and procedures).
A similar case applies to a hospital administrator. It is very difficult for a high level general administrator to supervise and give directions to a doctor or surgeon. A manager of architects or social
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workers is in a similar position when it comes to many aspects of diagnosis, design and decision-making. Skills and knowledge are standardised through education and training before or after joining the firm. Where an organisation invests in systematic training not only policies, rules and values are being conveyed but also standard ways in which skill should be applied. The NVQ competence's movement in the UK is an illustration of social engineering with a view to standardising skill attainment and accreditation nationally. Where diversity and a laissez-faire approach prevails – try to instil commonality! Professionalism The rigorous training that a doctor, solicitor, accountant or indeed a social worker receives provides admission into the club of the profession with its rules of behaviour and ethical values. Workers may appear to be wholly autonomous when working, but "lines have been learned" and the organisation can expect the highest levels of professional conduct and behaviour - externally regulated and espoused by "chartered members". Such members of the organisation are trusted and given more scope to act. When the anaesthetist and surgeon meet to remove an appendix, they might communicate more frequently through a nod and a wink than more complex explanations and discussions. Through training they know what to expect of each other. If a doctor is seen by colleagues to be performing badly - colleagues are expected to give feedback and advice even to the extent of limiting the scope of the person's work. Above all "members of the professions" are supposed to be self-evaluative and committed to keeping their knowledge and skills up-to-date (continuing professional development). Most importantly they must uphold the highest ethical values and to be critical of the way in which they carry out their duties. The top professional bodies are permitted (privilege given by society) to be self-regulating. They set standards for admittance into the profession. They define their own educational curricula and assess the performance of student candidates. They have established structures which meet to make judgements about and even discipline errant members. Society - allegedly - can be confident that these organisational members are reliable. In organisations wanting to improve product and service design and deliver more complex operations - the value of employee know-how and problem-solving ability is generally recognised. Improving skill levels enables staff to undertake more complex work - guided by policies and (groomed) commitment to the quality standards that are being sought - rather than direct and constant supervisory intervention. Here standardisation of processes and skills are conjoined. Standardisation of Outputs/Results With outputs defined, the fit between tasks is predetermined and can be performance monitored. Work results can be specified by performance dimensions, conversion ratios, profitability and cost indicators, time. Quality standards will be determined and implemented in a firm that is accredited for ISO 9000. Taxi-drivers are not told how to drive or what route to take - only the address. They can be appraised on the basis that they do not get lost. We arrive at our correct destination on time and the rules on cab charges are applied correctly. A project manager's performance outcomes are discussed with him/her. The plans and budgets are agreed, progress is monitored with a particular eye on the deliverables from each phase. Unrealistic project targets contribute to disappointment and disorganisation. They seldom motivate or secure commitment - they breed disaffection.
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A management by objectives approach was defined by Peter Drucker and John Humble in the late 1960's (see Humble, J, Improving Business Results, Pan and also Humble J, Management by Objectives in Action, McGraw Hill). The application of MBO approach can be seen for example in relation to the role of a sales person. Corporate "Management by Results" A conglomerate of subsidiaries controlled by a corporate parent company is typically managed by standardisation of outputs. The corporate HQ managers agree strategic objectives and plans/programmes with each subsidiary/division. This agreement is based on: analysis of the division's performance the demands of its competitive environment opportunities for growth and profitability how it compares with rivals - benchmarking how it compares with other divisions/subsidiaries how it is funded and how it is using up funds expectations and values shared between corporate board members and the senior managers of the subsidiary company. These may for example cover matters relating to social responsibility, public relations, internationalisation, down-sizing and community orientation. The detail agreed in corporate divisional plans will determine the funding of specific strategic programmes and targets will be specified using a range of performance ratios:
profitability return on capital employed specific targets for cost reduction and funding sales per employee profit per employee market share (sales turnover) by product group and many other benchmark indicators
Divisional Managers in a division interact with HQ managers over such performance standards. Management information systems are installed to monitor divisional performances. There will be reviews of projects, quality, profits and growth levels each year. Heads of Department in a college are required to achieve targets within agreed budgets. However divisional managers will be left to get on and manage their operation in a largely autonomous way. Summary Mintzberg's five elements fall into a general order. As organisational work becomes more complicated coordination seems to shift from mutual adjustment to direct supervision, to standardisation (preferably of work processes, otherwise of outputs or else of skills), finally reverting back to mutual adjustment. Large groups are less able to co-ordinate informally. With further complexity, supervision becomes necessary. Mintzberg suggests that an optimum stage can be reached and passed in terms of how managerial roles are differentiated. If there is a delay in reviewing and realigning roles - once they have evolved beyond an optimum stage, then decline in efficiency may be apparent. We may see group members, instead of applying their energy to key tasks, becoming diverted and spending too much time trying to work through the morass of interactions within a disparate group . This hints at reasons for the practice of down-sizing in organisations and the adoption of matrix/project teams.
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4.2 High Performance Organisations
High performance organisations are often characterised by: Strategic vision, objectives A focus on horizontal relationship (vs. vertical): Role v rank Breakdown of "glass walls" between units Relationships with customers, stakeholders, suppliers Decentralised decision-making Team leadership and use of teams throughout the organisation Continuous improvement: Quality, customer service Business Process Re-engineering The "learning" organisation Accountability systems Managing change Broadened responsibility at all levels: Job skills and interpersonal skills Problem solving and leadership skills Extensive use of teams for planning, problem solving, and working
Traditional and High Performance Organisations Contrasted Traditional Organisations Information is shared on a need-to- know basis only Decision makers act alone Work is highly specialised Rank is emphasised (vertical relationships) Standardisation is promoted (rules, policies)
High Performance Organisations Information is shared openly Decisions are made jointly or decentralised Responsibilities are broadened Role is emphasised (horizontal relationships) Strategic vision, priorities, plans guide work; flexibility is promoted (continuous improvement)
Role of Managers in High Performance Organisations Often working in concert with employees or representative teams of employees, managers in high performance organisations: Develop the strategic vision, priorities, and plans for the organisation as a whole in order to enable units and individual employees to align their efforts and focus on desired outcomes: Do strategic thinking - for example: What forces will affect our organisation over the next decade? How will our role, impact, resources, stakeholders, place in the Department, etc. be affected? What are going to be staffing challenges? How will technology and other changes in the environment affect us? What strategic alliances will be important for us to continue to be effective? What should our organisation look like?
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Undertake strategic planning - for example: What are the priorities for our organisation over the next three years, given how we understand the long term trends affecting us and changes in the environment surrounding our work? What should we be doing now to prepare our organisation for future conditions or challenges? How can we help employees understand the strategic picture as they make decisions about their work day-to-day? What strategic goals can we set that will help us move in the right directions? Identify needs and develop the organisation, its units, and individual employees, in order to ensure that structures, infrastructure, and skills - collectively, the organisational capacity - keep pace with performance requirements: Conduct needs assessment - for example: Employee climate surveys, customer satisfaction surveys, training needs assessments, technology requirements analyses. Strengthen the organisational culture - for example: Clear priorities and goals, open communication, maximum transparency in management practices, equity of opportunity to participate in organisational priorities, elimination of "silos", inter-group and interpersonal teambuilding and conflict resolution, involvement of all members of the organisation in planning, problem solving, and managing change roles. Develop employees - for example: Leadership training, team training, job/technical skills coaching and training, internships, career ladders, bridge jobs, recruitment and selection programs, develop own leadership perspective and skills, strengthen management team. Secure resources - for example: Staff, space, technology, travel, consulting or contracting expertise, budget. Continuously improve operations - for example: Business process re-engineering, quality programs, customer focus programs, quality initiatives, problem solving teams. Develop and watch over measurement (accountability) systems, in order to enable the organisation, its units, and individual employees continuously improve performance. Measure progress and productivity - for example: Outcomes-oriented planning, process measurement, outcomes/productivity assessments, benchmarking, performance appraisal systems. Establish and advance the organisation's interactions - with key elements in its external environment. Represent and promote the organisation and its mission within its larger organisation - for example: Service on task forces and planning or problem solving teams, briefings to senior leadership on organisational initiatives, participation in pilot tests of larger organisational initiatives, participation in larger organisational budget and planning processes. Represent and promote the organisation and its mission with external players - interactions with customers, stakeholders, bankers (for example, Congress or industry), suppliers; strategic alliances with other federal agencies or other external organisations, publication of technical or program-related articles. Serve as senior technical or program experts. Advise senior leadership - for example: Technical or program briefings, advice on technical or program policy, research, reports. Continue own development - for example: Conferences and seminars, presentation of papers, exploration of new issues/topics/information. Manage own unit within the organisation.
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Lead and support change - for example: Clear objectives for change in unit, change management training for employees, anticipation of problems created by change, forums for discussion of change and its implications or consequences, inclusion of employees in planning and implementing change, assessment of progress toward change. Motivate and manage performance - for example: Clear roles, effective distribution of work, equitable opportunities to learn and contribute, challenging performance expectations for employees, emphasis on performance appraisal and accountability, recognition for performance accomplishments, staff development. Provide technical or program guidance - for example: Training and coaching of staff, technical or program information and materials, explanation of "big picture" context, technical resource to major or particularly complex projects. Ensure administrative framework is streamlined and operating effectively - for example: Budget, leave, travel, purchases, supplies etc.
5.0 Organisational Culture
5.1 Introduction to Culture
Organisational culture can have many different meanings – some definitions of which follow: The source of a family of concepts ... symbol, language, ideology, belief, ritual and myth. (Pettigrew, 1979)
The collection of traditions, values, policies, beliefs and attitudes that constitute a pervasive context for everything we do and think in an organisation. (Marshall and McLean, 1983)
The taken-for-granted and shared meanings that people assign to their social surroundings… and how things are done around here (Wilkins and Ouchi, 1983)
A shared system or paradigm of belief and meaning. (Pfeffer, 1981)
Organised patterns of thought with accompanying understanding of what constitutes adequate knowledge and legitimate activity. (Smircich, 1983)
Values and expectations which organisational members come to share. (Van Maanen and Schein, 1979)
Culture often encompasses many different notions and meanings (Young, 1989), ranging from beliefs, language and ceremonial acts, through to stories and perceptions. From an organisational perspective, it tends to encompass the internal and external environment, and therefore embodies the whole essence and driving force of an organisation. Corporate culture is thus often ingrained and very difficult to influence and change. It is affected by employees‟ deep-rooted values and beliefs, the nature and causes of which, can often have far reaching consequences (Johnson, 1992; Mockler and Dologite, 1995; Geletkanycz, 1997).
The term „culture gap‟, is the difference between the values and perceptions held by one person, group, or subset; against the perceptions held by others (individuals, groups, or subsets). An example of which is to consider the views of management against operatives; each have different perceptions of culture, and of each other; but neither are able to identify why this gap exists, how wide it is, or how this gap can be closed. These fundamental differences therefore can often instil mistrust and create
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communication problems, particularly where no common agreement has been reached concerning
social rules and protocol. Therefore, key cultural milestones or barriers must be addressed to
maximise shared beliefs, and minimise any negative effects associated with misunderstanding. The
process of resolving differences requires an in-depth understanding into the root causes of all
preconceptions (Mockler and Dologite, 1995), which may also require organisational subcultures to be
integrated, before any attempt is made to bridge the culture gap (Grindley, 1992; Peppard, 1995).
From an IT perspective, culture can affect the success of any IT initiative (Grindley, 1992; Davis, 1993;
Taylor-Cummings, 1998), and cultural equilibrium (where all share the same perception) can only be
restored when IT becomes part of organisational culture (Earl et al, 1988). This can be achieved
through effective management intervention, but this requires acknowledgement that people by their
very nature are averse to change, and feel uncomfortable with issues that affect their social standing
and working practices (Johnson, 1992). Socialisation issues should therefore encompass the sharing
of norms – knowledge; skills and competence; continuous learning related to IT needs; cooperative
relationships with IT professionals; and commitment (Taylor-Cummings, 1998). Managers should
therefore look carefully how they recruit, manage, train and reward their staff to minimise these
difficulties (Tonks and Wan, 1991; Samler, 1993; Luoma, 2000).
Problem Exercise
Identify any areas within your company that you perceive to be influenced by differing levels of
culture (individual or organisational).
Discuss your thoughts about this exercise with your co-students and the module tutor using
the online discussion board and weekly tutorials.
5.2 Organisational Culture in Practice
Organisational culture is the personality of the organisation. Culture is comprised of the assumptions,
values, norms and tangible signs (artefacts) of organisation members and their behaviours. Members
of an organisation soon come to sense the particular culture of an organisation. Culture is one of those
terms that's difficult to express distinctly, but everyone knows it when they sense it. For example, the
culture of a large, for-profit corporation is quite different than that of a hospital which is quite different
that that of a university. You can tell the culture of an organisation by looking at the arrangement of
furniture, what they brag about, what members wear, etc. -- similar to what you can use to get a
feeling about someone's personality.
Corporate culture can be looked at as a system. Inputs include feedback from, e.g., society,
professions, laws, stories, heroes, values on competition or service, etc. The process is based on our
assumptions, values and norms, e.g., our values on money, time, facilities, space and people. Outputs
or effects of our culture are, e.g., organisational behaviours, technologies, strategies, image, products,
services, appearance, etc. The concept of culture is particularly important when attempting to manage
organisation-wide change. Practitioners are coming to realise that, despite the best-laid plans,
organisational change must include not only changing structures and processes, but also changing the
corporate culture as well.
There's been a great deal of literature generated over the past decade about the concept of
organisational culture - particularly in regard to learning how to change organisational culture.
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Organisational change efforts are rumoured to fail the vast majority of the time. Usually, this failure is credited to lack of understanding about the strong role of culture and the role it plays in organisations. In this context, many strategic planners now place as much emphasis on identifying strategic values as they do mission and vision. Broader View of Organisational Culture If we assume that an organisation's culture comprises the variables that influence behaviour of people in the organisation, then we need to broaden the basic definition of organisational culture. This broader model provides a different viewpoint to use in assessing an organisation's culture. It suggests that two major components comprise the organisational culture-- a formal component and an informal component. In the case of the formal component, the elements range from those that are very broad in their scope to those that are very specific in defining acceptable behaviours. In the case of the informal component, they too range from those that are very specific in defining behaviour to those that are broader with a more general application. Formal Component of Organisational Culture This concept is not included in standard discussions of organisational culture. This is difficult to understand because of the significant influence these formal components of an organisation's structure play in defining the acceptability of specific and general behaviours in an organisation. Mission/Vision - The mission or vision is the broadest definition of the reason the organisation exists. It provides an overall yardstick against which all organisational activity can be judged for consistent contribution to a single purpose. Policies - Policies are broad statements designed to be guides to behavioural decisions within the organisation. Policies tend to be written in such a way as to provide considerable leeway in interpretation and specific implementation. Example: The organisation believes in open communication with its constituencies. Procedures - Procedures are designed to provide a more specific guidance to behaviour decisions. Example: External communication should be submitted to the information officer for dissemination to external media. Rules - These are specific definers of behaviour. Example: No production or assembly employees will speak to media persons in the plant. In addition to these formal components, the dimensions of an organisation also affect the behaviour of people as members of the organisation. The firm's strategy, size, environment, internal structure, technology, and management styles influence the degree and type of communication occurring in the organisation. Informal Component of the Organisational Culture The second component of the organisation culture is the informal component. This is the concept that most often is the focus of definitions of organisational culture. These are intangible or tangible manifestations of shared values among members of the organisation. The individual elements of the informal component range from those that a very specific in their expression of the value involved to those that are non specific and are general guides to acceptable behaviour. The second component of the organisation culture is the informal component. This is the concept that most often is the focus of definitions of organisational culture. These are intangible or tangible manifestations of shared values among members of the organisation. The individual elements of the informal component range from those that a very specific in their expression of the value involved to those that are non specific and are general guides to acceptable behaviour.
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Artefacts - Material objects made to facilitate expression of culture. Example: The "Ford is job one" signs in the assembly plants. Symbols - Any object, act, event, quality, or relation that serves to convey meaning, usually representing another thing. Example: The McAllen High School Bulldog. Rites - Relatively elaborate, dramatic planned events. Example: the annual Christmas Party. Ceremonies - A system of rites connected by a single occasion or event. Example: an annual awards banquet where service awards, longevity awards, or other awards are distributed. Stories - Narrative based on true events. Example: Stories of how the founder of the company did some particular thing that sets the tone for activity, such as the FedEx story. Myths - Narrative of events, most likely fictional. Example: In the good old days we did.... Charles Handy (who initially worked with Roger Harrison), defined the following aspects of culture: Power Culture - Many small enterprises and large conglomerates such display the characteristics of a centralised power culture. Even Mintzberg recognises this in his account of a divisionalised structure. Role Culture - Often referred to as a bureaucracy, it works by logic and rationality. Its pillars represent functions and specialisms. Departmental functions are delineated and empowered with their role e.g. the finance dept., the design dept etc. Work within and between departments (pillars) is controlled by procedures, role descriptions and authority definitions. Task (Project Team) Culture - Imagine this culture as a net with small teams of cells at the interstices. It is very much a small team approach to organisations. As a culture, power and influence are distributed to the interstices of the net. Person Culture. The individual is the central point. If there is a structure it exists only to serve the individuals within it. If a group of individuals decide to band together to do their own thing and an office or secretary would help - it is a person culture. The culture only exists for the people concerned; it has no super-ordinate objective.
5.3 Culture and Organisational Behaviour
Culture can affects organisational behaviour, e.g. social responsibility. How the formal and informal culture components come together to define an organisation's position on social responsibility will dictate how the organisation reacts to social responsibility issues. Depending on where the organisation can be classified on the Social Responsibility Continuum as a result of the organisational culture's formal and informal components, all organisational behaviour, including decision making, will be influenced for outcomes. For example, a firm whose culture defines it as Social Obligation will react to situations consistently based on the culture's influence. More importantly, the culture will influence organisational decisions even if the social responsibility characteristics of the firm differ from the beliefs of the individual or individuals making the decision. Understanding Culture If we really want to understand the culture of an organisation, then we need to ask some probing questions of the people who are involved such as: Who sets the style and pace? What kind of Role Model are they? "Do as we do" or "Do as we say?" What behaviour is rewarded, condemned or ignored? Is feedback constant, intermittent, at job completion, or never?
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Are improper or unethical practices condoned through silence? What information is shared? (needed vs. desired information) Is upward information flow constrained? (Do you really know?) How is superior performance encouraged? What type of performance appraisal system is used? How are the best qualified people recruited? Is training and development offered to everyone? Are values backed up by time and money? What is the relative importance of - bottom line results? - saving face? - power building?
5.4 Harrison and Culture
Roger Harrison is considered one of the founding figures of the Organisational Development movement. What is organisation culture? Organisation culture is those aspects of an organisation, which give it a particular climate or "feel". "Culture" is to an organisation what "personality" is to an individual person. It is that distinctive constellation of beliefs, values, work styles, and relationships, which distinguish one organisation from another. All organisations have some combination of four basic organisational cultures. Each evokes different behaviours and rests on different human values. Each has a pattern of decision making; a characteristic way of motivating people to work; a typical management style; and a set of underlying values and beliefs about work and about human nature. The four cultures are only partially compatible with one another, and the benefits of one can only be achieved at the expense of some of the benefits of the others. The four cultures are: Power Culture Role Culture Achievement Culture Support Culture Power Culture Power culture, is based on the control of the organisation's resources, by the people who have real power in the organisation. Leadership resides in the person of the leader(s), and rests on their ability and willingness to administer rewards and punishments. People are motivated by rewards and punishments, and by the wish to be associated with a strong leader. In the Power organisation at its best, leadership is based on strength, justice and paternalistic benevolence on the part of the leader. The leaders are firm, fair, and generous and indulgent with loyal subordinates. The leaders are required to be all-knowing as well as all-powerful. Subordinates are expected to be compliant and willing, rather than being rewarded for initiative and independence. At its worst, the Power organisation tends towards a rule by fear, with abuse of power for personal advantage on the part of the leaders, their friends and portages. When the organisation becomes large, or when the leaders struggle for dominance, it may degenerate into a hotbed of political intrigue. The Power orientation is well suited to entrepreneurial and start-up situations where the leaders have the vision, intelligence and will to manage the business and assume personal direction or the activities of its people. The other people in the organisation extend the leaders' reach, leverage and impact. There is a personal relationship between subordinates and leaders. Subordinates depend on their leaders for direction and security, and the leaders depend on subordinates for loyal service.
As the size and complexity of the business increases, the demands on the leaders multiply exponentially. Large Power-oriented organisations are often unwieldy and inefficient, full of fear and confusion, unless the power orientation is supplemented by good structures/systems for getting work
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done. People lose motivation with distance from the leaders, and effective control is difficult at a distance. Because of the dependency of subordinates, when Power oriented organisations grow, they often run out of leadership talent. Power-oriented organisations are places where: the leader is strong and charismatic, bringing courage to the faint-hearted, and clarity of vision to the confused the leaders take care of their own; they reward and protect loyal followers the leader is wise and benevolent. He/she acts unilaterally, but in the best interests of the organisation the leader is tough, but fair. He/she will listen to ideas and criticisms, if you make a good case the people who get ahead are tough, determined, and willing to fight for their ideas
The darker side of power are organisations where: people give the boss's wishes the highest priority, even when it interferes with important work people are afraid to give bad news to the boss Ý people don't question the leaders, even when they're wrong people with power break the rules with impunity and take special privileges information is a source of personal power. It is restricted to friends and allies mediocre or incompetent people rise by being loyal to those in power
Limitations of power-oriented organisations: constructive change is limited by the vision and flexibility of the leader attempts at hands-on management of large or multi-site organisations result in confused, sloppy operations energy is diverted from work into politics and gaining favour with the leaders leaders' impulsive seizing of opportunities may disrupt important systems, schedules and plans leaders easily become isolated, and insulated from bad news leaders are overloaded - subordinates' work stalls, waiting for approvals short-range thinking is typical of power-oriented organisations
Strengths of power-oriented organisations: unifies individual effort behind the vision of the leader can move quickly in the market and make rapid internal changes leverages the knowledge, wisdom and talent of the leader can provide direction and certainty, and reduce conflict and confusion in times of danger and emergency
Role Culture Role culture balances the power of the leaders with a system of bureaucratic structures and procedures, which give protection to subordinates and stability to the organisation. The struggle for power is moderated by the rule of law. The duties and the rewards of one's role are explicitly defined and are the subject of a contract between the organisation and the individual. Leadership is "transactional" in that people perform defined functions in order to receive defined rewards. Both the individual and the organisation are expected to adhere to their part of the bargain.
The values of the Role orientation are order, dependability, rationality and consistency. A well designed system of roles (a bureaucracy) in which performance is organised by structures and procedures, rather than personally controlled by the leader, permits work to be reliably directed at a distance, so that large, complex organisations can be created and managed. Rather than the coalition
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at the top having all the power, authority and responsibility are delegated downwards. Each level in the organisation has a defined area of authority, and work can continue to get done without direct supervision from the top. At its best the Role-oriented organisation provides stability and justice. People receive protection under the rules from the arbitrary exercise of authority, which is typical of the Power orientation. Their energy is freed from "looking out for No.," and is applied to the work. A well designed bureaucracy, operating a stable technology in a slowly changing environment can be very efficient, because much of the routine work can be made subject to impersonal rules and a system of checks and balances. Once an operating problem is solved, the solution gets built into the system. Role-oriented organisations require relatively little direct supervision, compared to the "hands on" management typical of the Power culture. Performance can be monitored by information systems, without much face-to-face contact with people who do the work. Routine work can be standardised and broken into small pieces, which can be quickly learned to a high degree of reliability by relatively unskilled workers. Role -oriented organisations are best adapted to the more stable combinations of technology, supplies and markets which characterised the century between 1850 and 1950. In rapidly changing situations, they have difficulty keeping up with circumstances. Nevertheless, most large organisations today have strong elements of the Role culture. Our society would probably fall apart without it. The weakness of Role organisations is in the very impersonality, which is their strength. They operate on the assumption that people are not to be trusted much, so they don't give individual autonomy or discretion to employees. The system is designed to control the people and prevent them from committing selfish or stupid acts. It also prevents people from being innovative, and from doing the right thing when the right thing is outside the rules. In the interests of rationality and order it is made difficult to change or bend the rules, and it usually takes a long time to make needed changes. The Role organisation can be efficient, in that it does what it does economically. If it is unable to adapt and do the right things, however, it becomes ineffective. In the extreme it may not survive. External Motivation - the shared assumptions of Power and Role Most organisations have cultures which are strongly oriented towards Power and Role. Both rely heavily on "external motivation." Power and Role orientations make certain assumptions about the nature of people and their relationship to work. Both Power and Role orientations assume that people do not enjoy working. Therefore, they must be motivated to work by the use of rewards and punishments administered by those in control, or by a "reward system." The Power orientation assumes a large gap in ability and motivation between the leader and the led. The leader is assumed to be strong, knowledgeable, active and competent, while those led are assumed to be weaker, less able, and relatively passive. The leader supplies the vision, energy and know-how, and the subordinates supply the eyes, ears and hands required to turn the vision into reality. The Role orientation assumes that people work most effectively and efficiently when they have relatively simple, clearly defined, circumscribed and measurable tasks. Clarity and precision of roles and procedures are striven for in order to fit the parts of the organisation together like a machine. Role-oriented organisations are places where: individual performance is judged against written job descriptions - as long as you meet requirements, you are safe people are rewarded for playing by the rules and for reliable, dependable service to the firm inefficiency, uncertainty and confusion are reduced by clear objectives, systems and procedures personal abuse of power is reduced by "due process", rules limiting arbitrary use of authority authority and responsibility of jobs are clearly defined, minimising power struggles and turf issues
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work methods minimise variability of performance and reduce the need for individual decision-making people are trained in specialised skills, rather than general problem-solving abilities
The darker side of role-oriented organisations where: people follow the rules, even when they get in the way of doing the work it is considered a sin to exceed one's authority or deviate from accepted procedures it is more important to avoid deviating from the norm than it is to do the right thing jobs are so tightly defined that there is little room to contribute one's unique talents and abilities it is so difficult to get approval for changes, that people give up on making needed improvements people are treated as interchangeable parts of a machine, rather than as individual human beings.
Limitations of role-oriented organisations: change is too difficult and slow in turbulent environments checking and reporting requirements due to low trust take time away from productive work organisation boundaries easily harden into non-co-operating fiefdoms sub-optimisation: everyone takes care of their own business, and no one takes care of the whole people do what the rules say, rather than what is needed narrow jobs under use the talents and creativity of lower level subordinates.
Strengths of role-oriented organisations: well designed structures and systems make for efficient operations and reduce the time for learning jobs clear lines of authority and responsibility reduce conflict, turf battles, confusion and indecision clear, fair rules and guidelines protect individuals from exploitation and abusive use of power having good systems, procedures, and organisation memory prevents having to "reinvent the wheel" structure, routine and predictability provides security and reduces stress.
Achievement Orientation Culture The Achievement organisation culture evokes internal motivation by providing opportunities to use one's talents and abilities in ways which are intrinsically satisfying, or which advance a purpose or goal to which the individual is personally committed. For example, professional and technical people find satisfaction in exercising their specialist skills, and “doing their thing”. The financial rewards are in addition to the enjoyment of their work, and it is not unknown for these individual contributors to prefer challenging work over a well paid but uncreative position. People who are united in the pursuit of a valued goal or purpose may also operate relatively independently of external rewards and punishments. Instances can be found in business, in nations at war, in the professions, in social service organisations and in "grass roots" movements. Examples are: an organisation start-up; the launch of a new and innovative product or service; the excitement of combat; the drama of the operating room or intensive care unit; the pursuit of a political, humanitarian or scientific ideal. The Achievement culture tends to evoke a sense of passion and commitment to the work, a sense of „calling‟ which can be deeply satisfying. The term, "organisation alignment" has been coined to describe the willingness of people to voluntarily "line up" their efforts behind an exciting or noble goal or purpose. Recent management literature and folklore on "excellent organisations" is full of examples of task forces, project groups, and other instances of alignment in business.
The Achievement culture values action, excitement, and impact. It is oriented to "making a difference" in the world. Its thrust is outwards, onwards and upwards towards the goal or ideal. Aligned groups and organisations release tremendous amounts of energy. Their members are often willing to "give their all," working long hours in support of the common task, for no other reward than the satisfaction
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and challenge of the work, and the camaraderie of people joined together in the pursuit of a noble purpose. Thus the Achievement-oriented organisation makes high demands on its people's energy and time, assuming that people actually enjoy working at tasks which are intrinsically satisfying or which allow them to identify themselves with purposes higher than narrow financial and career objectives. Experience shows that dreams, visions and values have great power to evoke internal motivation. As with the Power and Role orientations, however, there are weaknesses as well as strengths. The high-energy and involvement which the Achievement orientation generates are difficult to sustain, and organisation members are subject to burnout and disillusion. Such organisations may rely on the common vision to organise the work, rather than subjecting themselves to the discipline of systems and procedures. When the task is complex, and the vision takes on different forms for different parts of the organisation, the organisation may lose focus and unity of effort when different groups each "do their own thing" coordination suffers and resources are often wasted. Achievement-oriented organisations are places where: people share a sense of urgency in attaining worthwhile goals and values - they feel they are working for something bigger than themselves, people feel stronger, better for being a member of the group - it raises their self esteem people manage themselves, doing voluntarily what they see needs doing (the rules and regulations aren't allowed to get in the way of doing the work) people work long hours without complaint there is high morale, a sense of 'one for all', of camaraderie there is a sense of being special and different - an 'elite' with special myths and jargon
Where to find achievement culture: Research and development (R&D) organisations and high tech companies medical research teams intensive care units disaster relief teams plant and new company start-ups marketing organisations advertising agencies space shots and nuclear weapons tests political campaign organisations elite military groups: Marines; criminal teams, e.g. armoured car robberies underground, guerrilla, terrorists groups etc. The darker side of achievement are organisations where: people believe so much in what they are doing that the end comes to justify the means people become intolerant of personal needs and sacrifice family, social life and health for work the group talks only to itself; it becomes isolated from others and from reality the group only operates internally; it is seen by others as arrogant and competitive dissent and criticism are stifled; the group cannot correct its own errors (group-think) the commitment to excellence at any cost leads to waste and inefficiency
Support Orientation Culture Like the Achievement culture, organisations which are oriented to Support, assume that people want to contribute. Rather than evoking their contribution through a common purpose or ideal (a doing culture), the Support-oriented organisation offers its members satisfactions which come from relationships: mutuality, belonging and connection (a being culture). The assumption is that people will contribute out a sense of commitment to a group or organisation of which they feel themselves truly to be members, and in which they believe they have a personal stake.
It has long been known that factory and office workers develop informal groups which are strongly cohesive and which evoke great loyalty and commitment on the part of their members. The strength of
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organised workers owes much to the bonds of mutual caring and solidarity, which develop among those who share a common work experience and a common enemy. Those "ties that bind", often arise spontaneously in groups of people who not only work together but share much of their lives outside work as well: examples are found among the military; foreign service and ex-patriot business groups; start-up teams on "green field" plant sites; union organisers, community development workers and foreign aid personnel; interns and graduate students; young, unmarried office workers. In a true Support-oriented organisation, it may be said that the individual knows and trusts that the organisation will be responsive to his or her individual needs, and in turn she or he takes responsibility for the needs of the organisation. The shared values of the Support culture generate a reciprocal caring, trust and concern for one another's welfare, not only among the individuals in the work group, but also between the individual and the organisation. They are nicely summarised in a quotation from the corporate philosophy of Koilmorgen: "where a spirit of mutuality, respect, equality and even love prevail." The emphasis on human needs of the Support culture balances and moderates the single pointed task focus of the Achievement orientation. Where the one may use people up and burn them Out, the other binds up their wounds, restores their energy and vitality, and heals their relationships. The Achievement culture unleashes and fuses the human will of organisation members in the service of the organisation's task. The Support culture evokes human love for the nurturing of the organisation's members, and the maintenance of the organisation's essential fabric of relationships. The Support culture can evoke extremely strong motivation in the service of the group. We see this motivation in the sacrifices which members of groups make for one another. The willingness of people to give their lives for those of their comrades is not only known in war, but also in close knit teams doing dangerous work such as in polar exploration, police work, and fire fighting. In more mundane work situations, the effects of team loyalty on productivity, quality and absenteeism are well publicised in recent reports, notably in the growing literature on creating high performing organisations. The weaknesses of Support culture are the negative side of its humanistic strengths. Organisations in which the Support culture is both strong and unbalanced tend towards conflict avoidance: in the interests of harmony, difficult issues are swept under the rug. Consensus may be overvalued, hampering the organisation's ability to move decisively. Sometimes, favouritism affects decisions about people, and injustice results. Differences in skill and ability may be ignored in the interests of "equal treatment." Tough decisions about people's performance may be postponed out of "kindness," negatively impacting the organisation's effectiveness. Support-oriented organisations are places where: people support one another in their work - they go out of their way to help people value harmony: they make sure conflicts are resolved and everyone is on board people give their time and energy to one another; they are available; they care; they listen people trust that they are viewed as worthwhile individual human beings by the organisation people appreciate one another; they acknowledge each others contributions people have a sense of belonging; they feel accepted by those they work with and they like spending time together
Where to look for the support culture: Community-based social service organisations. Family businesses: resorts, restaurants and shops Field units, isolated from headquarters Danger workers: line crews, combat teams, rescue units, fire-fighters, police "underdog" groups: factory workers, garment workers, office workers public performers: dance and theatre companies, theme parks, consultants and trainers spiritually oriented communities: sects and cults personal service groups: flight crews, beauty salons, physicians offices, restaurant workers.
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The darker side of support culture, where: people may focus on process to the neglect of getting the work done out of "kindness" difficult personal decisions may be avoided disagreement may be avoided and issues fester - there is surface harmony and covert conflict consensus cannot be agreed, the group may become indecisive and lose direction
Internal Motivation - the shared assumptions of Achievement and Support The Achievement and Support cultures are less common in places where people work. They are becoming more so, and there is a lot of interest in their possibilities, stimulated by such writers as Peters and Waterman in their book, In Search of Excellence. The assumptions of the Achievement and Support cultures are significantly different from those of Power and Role about what people are like, and why they work. Achieving excellence through dynamic tension The ideal organisation is the one that manages to balance the positive sides of each culture whilst minimising the darker side of each: Decisive, Focussed, Strong - Power Rational, Systematic, Reliable - Role Committed, Idealistic, Energetic - Achievement Cooperative, Responsive, Caring - Support
5.5 Handy and Culture
Handy reporting the work of Harrison, suggests that organisations can be classified under four cultures: Power Culture Many small enterprises and large conglomerates such display the characteristics of a centralised power culture, and Mintzberg recognised this in his account of a divisionalised structure. This model is very like Weber's charismatic organisation. It is like a web with a ruling spider. Those in the web are dependent on a central power source. Rays of power and influence spread out from a central figure or group. There may be a specialist or functional structure but central control is exercised largely through appointing, loyal key individuals and interventionist behaviour from the centre through whim and personal influence rather than procedures or purely logical factors. This is not to say that the whim is autocratic or authoritarian - although it is authoritative. Effectiveness is judged on results and sometimes for the central figure, perhaps the ends sometimes justify their means. Advantages and Disadvantages Such organisations can be strong, proud and dynamic, react quickly to external demands. However power cultures may suffer from staff disaffection. People in the middle layers may feel they have insufficient scope. The interventionist pressure and constant need to refer to centre may create dysfunctional competition and jostling for the support of the boss. The organisation is dependent on the ability and judgement of the central power - if weak, then the organisation will struggle. As the power organisation grows, the centrist culture breaks down if it becomes impossible for the centre to keep up its interventionist, co-ordinating role. The large organisation may need to divisionalise (create other spiders webs linked to the central web).
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Type of Management and Employee The dominant managerial style may readily equate to Reddin's task-oriented-entrepreneurial style and shares its potential advantages and disadvantages. Individuals succeed as long as they are power oriented, politically minded, risk taking with a low need for security. The power of members is based on control over resources and personal influence with the centre. Role Culture Often referred to as a bureaucracy, it works by logic and rationality, using pillars to represent functions and specialism. Departmental functions are delineated and empowered with their role e.g. the finance dept., the design dept etc. Work within and between departments (pillars) is controlled by procedures, role descriptions and authority definitions. It uses communication structures and well defined systems and products (committee constitutions and reports, procedure manuals, official memoranda). There are mechanisms and rules for processing decisions and resolving conflicts. Matters are taken up the line to the pediment of the Doric structure, where heads of functions can define a logical, rational, corporate response. Coordination is at the top - the senior management group. Job position is central to this not necessarily the job holder as a person. People are appointed to role based on their ability to carry out the functions - satisfactory performance of role. This is very much in line with Weber's bureaucratic framework. Performance required is related to role and functional position. Performance over and above role is not expected and may disrupt. Efficiency stems from rational allocation of work and conscientious performance of defined responsibility. Advantages and Disadvantages If economies of scale are more important than flexibility or technical expertise and specialism more important than product innovation or product cost - the stability and conformity of the role culture has merits. Mintzberg refers to this model as the machine bureaucracy. Role-culture tends to develop in relatively stable environments. Importance is given to predictability, standardisation and consistency. However the role-culture may find it harder to adjust to change. Rules, procedures and tested ways of doing things may no longer fit the circumstances. Burns & Stalker pointed out the problems of mechanistic organisations struggling to cope with dynamic market change. Similarly Reddin's bureaucratic management style - tends to place less emphasis on task innovation and people relationships. Work in a role-culture is frustrating to someone who wants discretion and opportunity for innovation in his/her work. Those who are ambitious may focus on procedures and existing methods and work the committee structure. Performance focuses on standard expectations rather than novel problem-solving to achieve results Type of Employee Employees benefit from security and predictability in working patterns. They can be specialist skills without risk. Salary and career progression are predictable. Power is based on position not personal expression. Expert power is tolerated if it is line with accepted position. Application of rules and procedures are major methods of influence. Examples Local government and the civil service, large insurance companies, IBM in the late 1980's etc. However the pressures for enhancing market competitiveness and with the application of various forms of decentralisation and deregulation the have been many calls to make such organisations more flexible and responsive. Down-sizing and competitive tendering are examples of how such organisations have changed.
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Task (Project Team) Culture Imagine this culture as a net with small teams of cells at the interstices. It is very much a small team approach to organisations. The modern jargon also refers to organisational arrangements such as: network organisations - small organisations co-operating together to deliver a project. So the large organisation consists of lots of little ones that make their contribution
matrix organisations - which are project oriented with ever changing project or contract teams. Team or cell technologies fall into this mode of organising
As a culture, power and influence are distributed to the interstices of the net. The emphasis is on results and getting things done. Resources are given to the right people at whatever level who are brought together and given decision making power to get on with the task. Individuals empowered with discretion and control over their work. The task and results and the main focus and team composition and working relationships are founded on capability rather than status. Advantages and Disadvantages Team culture is flexible and adaptable. Tams are formed for specific purposes and then move on. Team composition changes according to the stage of the project. The team is flexible and sensitive to the environment. Client responsiveness is important. Economies of scale are harder to realise - but computer communications and information systems facilitate sharing of information and co-ordination. People in the team who want to specialise may be sucked into general problem-solving and when the task changes they must move with it rather than a particular scientific or professional specialism. The project usually involves high risk and ambiguity. Control is via: allocation of projects and target setting project budgets/resource allocation monitoring/review of progress systems
Where resources become scarce and top management may intervene more closely. There may be competition between project leaders for available resources. Either way morale may suffer. Individual priorities and objectives take over and the task culture may then become a power culture. Type of Employee Most managers and technical types at junior and middle level prefer a task culture which is implied by the work of the human relations theorists such as: Likert: System 1 to System 4 Herzberg - job enrichment Blake and Mouton 9.9 manager. Reddin's Executive/team leader. It is the culture of Burns and Stalker's organismic organisation. It fits managerial thinking on the need for democratic values Reward by results (management by objectives)
Task culture is based on expert power with some personal and positional power. Influence tends to be more widely dispersed with team members feeling that he/she has more of it. In the team status and individual style differences are of less significance. The group achieves synergy to harness creativity, problem-solving and thus gain efficiency. The aspirations of the individual are integrated with the objectives of the organisation.
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Person Culture
The individual is the central point. If there is a structure it exists only to serve the individuals within it. If
a group of individuals decide to band together to do their own thing and an office or secretary would
help - it is a person culture. The culture only exists for the people concerned; it has no super-ordinate
objective.
Advantages and Disadvantages
This culture may be the only acceptable organisation to particular groups - such as workers' cooperatives
or where individuals basically work on their own but find some back up useful.
Only the originators are likely to achieve success - the organisation begins to take on its own identity
and begins to impose on individuals so moving towards some of the other cultures. NB. See
Minzberg's work on co-ordination of organisations.
Power
Is by consent: influence is shared and the power base, if needed, it is usually expert individuals who
do what they are good at (and are listened to on that basis).
Employees
Tend to have strong values about how they will work. Employees with a person culture will often be
found working in other cultures but using their own culture - the specialist who will do what he/she has
to retain his/her position in the organisation but essentially sees the organisation as a base on which
he/she can build his/her own career or carry out his/her own interests. As such they are very difficult
for the organisation to manage.
Examples
Consultants (both within organisations and freelance), worker cooperatives, barristers' chambers etc.
Problem Exercise
How does the management or leadership style influence culture?
Discuss your thoughts about this exercise with your co-students and the module tutor using
the online discussion board and weekly tutorials.
5.5 Changing Corporate Culture
For most people, corporate culture is a vague and slippery concept at best. Almost everyone agrees
that it is an important factor in the success or failure of any organisation, but many people have
difficulty pinning down exactly what their corporate culture is & are truly at a loss when it comes to
knowing how to change it.
It's impossible to deny: change happens. Things change in the marketplace, in the workplace, in the
lives of individuals and organisations. But it can be and should be denied that organisations are, by
definition, resistant to change. As with so many matters, that depends upon the culture of that
organisation.
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There are many responses to change. And contrary to popular opinion, those responses are not necessarily fear and trepidation. In the learning package on change we look at why people welcome change! Change itself, is not the enemy. When developed and presented properly, organisational changes can be experienced as exciting, even challenging. When it comes to Change Management, it's not change that needs to be managed as much as the environment in which the change is taking place. The best way to manage change is to create a culture where the trust levels are so high that when changes occur, they are greeted as events likely to make life better than before. For example, it is better to create a culture where the joy of the challenge outweighs the fear of the unknown. Such a culture, far from needing change to be managed, actually thrives on changes as new and exciting opportunities. For that to happen, the culture characteristically needs to be strong in: Trust Sensitivity Feedback Relationships Pride in their competence and skill sets
Trust is crucial in organisations for the same reason it is crucial between individuals. If you made a statement to me and I did not trust you, I would want all kinds of assurances, constant confirmations, memos, etc. I would examine every word, trying to find the loophole you're planning to use to hurt me. If the trust levels are higher, the spirit of the interaction is less hostile and acrimonious. Similarly, in organisations where the trust level with senior management (or policy makers) is high, change is easier to introduce because the audience is less jumpy and defensive. Not less careful. Just less hostile So this is why is it so important to understand your own culture and know how to change it! A resistant or inappropriate culture is the most frequent cause of failure for major strategic initiatives taken by companies. An organisation may decide to enter into a restructuring, merger, or new systems implementation for business reasons. But if these efforts fail, it will usually be because the culture undermines and derails the implementation of the plan. If the culture is not pulling in the same direction as the plan, the culture will win. Crux of Cultural Change Three key questions must be answered. As a simple blueprint to keep in mind when you are trying to organise your thoughts about how to align your culture with your strategic initiatives, focus on the answers to these three questions. The questions are simple; your answers are not. You want to generate many detailed, practical answers to each of these questions. There are not one or two right answers for all organisations. What you are looking for is a fit between your strategy and culture. Your culture blueprint should support your strategy. What are the key elements of the new culture that you must have in place to be successful? What are the key elements of your old culture? What are the new habits you need to create in your organisation to switch from the old to the new?
As you progress through your implementation of a major change, keep looking back at these questions and expanding your answers. Changing a culture is an evolution in most cases, unless you are willing to fire your entire staff and throw out all your old systems to start from scratch. The speed with which you will be able to change the culture will depend upon how many answers to these three questions you can implement and how fast your can do it. Speed of change will come from hundreds of small answers to these questions that are implemented quickly.
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Why is it still so difficult to change an organisation's culture? Organisations are Comprised of Formal and Informal Systems. The organisation's formal systems are like the tip of an iceberg, and include: Outputs--products and services Structures--for example, literal structures, like buildings and offices, and organisational structures, like departments or pay levels Procedures--the steps by which work is done. Rules--for example, the work hours
The organisational culture is also comprised of less formalised systems that are like the part of the iceberg that is below the surface of the water, and include: Roles – what is expected of people and how people fit in Relationships - how people are connected Values - what people consider important Norms - how people think they and others should behave Attitudes - what people believe to be true Skills - what people can contribute to Communication patterns - who talks to whom about what
Formal and Informal Systems in an Organisation Affect Each Other Changes in the formal systems have an impact on the informal systems, and vice versa. If, for example, the organisation wants to improve its products or services--part of the formal systems--, it should anticipate effects in the informal systems--people's roles, relationships, etc. This means that change in the formal systems can not be implemented without having an impact on the organisation; and explains why changes in formal systems frequently meet resistance from the organisation. Successful change efforts address both the formal and informal systems in the organisation, engaging people in the planning and problem solving associated with the change and motivating and equipping them to make the transition. Organisational Culture Can Not Change Overnight Roles, relationships, values, norms, attitudes, and communication patterns do not change overnight. These things are deeply ingrained in people. It often takes considerable time and experience working in the new ways for people to become comfortable with them. Major organisational changes require adequate time for people to adapt, prepare, accept, and, ultimately, implement. Organisations do not go straight from the steady state to the new state. Organisations must pass through a period of chaos or uncertainty as they make the transition from the way they were to the way they want to become. The prospect of uncertainty and chaos can be enough to make some people resist change, as positive as it may appear to be. It is important that organisations have a clear vision of the desired state, plan the pathway through the transition to change, and provide information, training, and support to employees at all levels during the transition phase. What Helps Organisational Change Succeed? This is a list of common elements found in 123 companies that made large scale, successful changes: Agreement that change is needed Clear objectives for the change are needed Involvement of people affected by change in planning and carrying it out
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Anticipation of problems created by change and efforts to solve them (for example, training in new skills, harmonisation of salary systems, etc.) Forums for understanding and exploring the nature and impact of the change Special efforts to communicate about the change (for example, briefings, newsletters, distribution of notes from meetings, etc.) Incremental implementation of the change, for example, pilot-testing, or phasing-in the change Feedback methods to find out what's working well (best practices) and what is not
Practical Hints to Move Forward Cultural Change The remainder of this section will be a list of tips and suggestions for answers to the three questions. This is not an exhaustive list of ideas, but it should give you a good start in developing your own blueprint for changing your corporate culture. What are the key elements of the new culture that you must have in place to be successful? * What are the 3 or 4 key "personality" traits you want the new organisation to have? I often refer to these traits as "what is in your sacred bundle" because of my work with tribal metaphors and how accurately they still apply to modern organisations. Use everyday language to describe these traits. A new employee on the first day of work should be able to hear these phrases and easily understand the implications for his behaviour. For example, in my company I tell people that the three do-or-die traits are (1) treating people respectfully, (2) being reliable, and (3) providing personalised/flexible customer service. Everything revolves around those three company personality traits. That is where the passion is. If you do not agree with those three traits or they leave you cold, you do not belong in my company whether you are giving speeches, consulting, typing, or printing the stationery. Do not rely on eloquent or flowery vision or mission statements. Such statements will never substitute for punchy, simple phrases.
Use stories to bring the key traits alive in people's minds. Tell your own stories and get everyone else to tell theirs. Capture the stories in as many mediums as you can. Encourage lots of informal story telling in every meeting or gathering. Encourage people to keep the stories focused on the key traits. Stories instruct more effectively and are remembered longer than any other form of communication. Pick your key traits and then pump as many stories as you can out into the organisation.
Make sure the director or chief executive officer is the main champion of the key traits. If the leader is not known for being obsessed with the key traits, no one else will be either. People need to know that the „boss‟ is thrilled when anyone succeeds in carrying out these traits and crushed when the organisation fails.
Tackle the mistakes and shortfalls when people do not live up to expectations about these key traits in the spirit of learning from mistakes and making sure they do not happen again. Don't pretend you are perfect as an organisation; you aren't and everyone knows it. Do not go on witch-hunts to punish mistakes. If you have a long- term problem with individuals who will not change their behaviour, you will eventually have to terminate them or isolate them. Your day-to-day efforts, however, should focus on constant improvement.
What are the key elements of your old culture? There are two sets of traits that are particularly important as you are trying to change your corporate culture. The first are the traits that fit with your new initiatives and will remain a part of your core culture. These become part of the "personality" of the new culture. Secondly, there are those traits that you need to leave behind. As I often ask, what needs to be taken out of your sacred bundle?
Face the truth about what needs to be left behind. Many organisations are trying to move toward a more goal-driven, faster-paced culture. This situation may mean that the emphasis on job security,
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rewards and safety based on long tenures, or "family" style cultures may not fit anymore. This is a painful change to make. If you are trying to avoid facing the issue or making the necessary changes while not admitting what you are doing, it will only make the situation worse. That approach will insure that you end up with a culture with key traits that include cynicism.
Have a funeral! (every culture event ever studied has had some form of funeral ritual). There must be a reason. It gives the community of people a chance to say goodbye. It marks the end of the old life and the beginning of a new life for the people affected by the death. The funeral does not end the grieving because that takes more time. It does however, act as a road marker that tells people where they are on the journey. People often say “I don't know if we are on the old plan or the new plan I don't know what I am supposed to do." Examples of a funeral in a company could be a formal ceremony, a party, a meeting dedicated to saying goodbye to the old ways, making a scrapbook or a bulletin board with mementoes from the past life.
Be respectful of the past. Do not inadvertently insult people by implying that the old way of doing things was not good. They are very sensitive about their loyalties to the past during the time when they are leaving it behind. The irony is that even if they did not like the past ways, they suddenly develop a fondness for the very things they used to complain about. Even if the past efforts were a failure, treat the effort with respect. They have to let go of the old ways, but the memories do not have to be destroyed or discounted.
What are the new habits you need to create in your organisation to switch from the old to the new? You need to create new habit patterns of behaviour that match the new key traits you want. This problem is what is meant by the commonly used expression "walk the talk." Your answers to the first question represent the "talk." Here is where you are stating and reinforcing what you say matters to you in the new culture. The answers to this third question are aimed at the "walk." Are you regularly behaving in ways that match what you said matters most?
Change as many outward symbols as you can. Change titles, colours, logos, dress codes, rewards, building layouts, schedules, and anything else you can think of that are the tangible symbols of the new way of doing things. One director of a factory in Northern Ireland parked his car along with all the other workers cars in the staff car park. The security guard was alarmed by this action, but on pointing out that a reserved place existed elsewhere was told that if the staff car park was OK for the workforce it was OK for the director! The director didn't need to send a memo round to the workforce who all knew about it before coffee break that morning!
Change your language. This is one of the most powerful elements of culture. If you coin a new set of words that represent the new traits, it will get people's attention. I watched one company switch from using the word customer to "client" as a way of signalling the change in the type of relationships and levels of customer service that were expected in the new world. One note of caution: avoid corny terminology. Many people do not react well to corny or trendy terms.
Create new rituals that reinforce the new key traits. Change your meeting formats and attendees, change the way you use voice mail or e-mail, add celebrations of the new successes, change your orientation process, honour your cultural heroes. For example, one director who wanted a friendlier, less hierarchical organisation joined the cleaning staff as they did their early morning work. Again the grapevine worked overtime to send out the message that the director wanted a hands on / more focus on people culture.
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6.0 Conclusion
6.1 Summary
Changing corporate culture often seems too complicated and therefore doomed to fail. It might look insurmountable (because culture is such a large, intangible entity to tackle) but it is simply not true that failure to change is inevitable. Culture is always changing, whether we are talking about countries, communities, or companies. In fact, the only thing you can be sure of is that your organisation's culture will continue to change over time. The challenge is to push it in the direction you want it to go. Just chip away and keep pushing. Enlist as many people as you can to help you push. Do not worry about perfection. You will never achieve that, but you do not need perfection to create a culture that will take you where you want to go.