Organizational Culture and Change Management

Class 10

Organizational Culture

• Acceptable patterns of behavior within a group

• Agreed upon by all / almost all members• Usually unspoken• Relate to– Performance (e.g., hours of work)– Appearance– Social interaction– Allocation of resources

• Why are social norms different in different organizations?

Social Norms

• Develops gradually over time and as newcomers are socialized into the group– Artifacts, explicit statements by organization• e.g., punch clocks, dress codes, etc.

– Critical events in the organization’s history• e.g., accidents, strikes, lawsuits, etc.

– Primacy / Recency• What happened at the very beginning, yesterday

– Previous expectations, socialization• e.g., where are new employees recruited from?

Social Norms

• Important norms– Survival of the group / solidarity• Avoid interference from outsiders• Social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986)

– Predictability• Reduce uncertainty

– Reduce embarrassment

Change Management

• Formal process intended to facilitate the implementation of something new– Culture– Outsourcing– Technology (e.g., new software)– Organizational structure (e.g., teams)– Work processes (e.g., new tools)– Rewards / pay structures (e.g., merit pay)

Lewin’s Three-Step Model

• 1: Unfreeze– Support all driving forces– Inhibit any restraining forces

• 2: Move– Implement your new policies / processes etc.

• 3: Refreeze– Do what you can to stabilize driving/restraining

forces– Try to prevent “backsliding”

Kotter’s Eight-Step Plan1. Establish a sense of urgency by creating a compelling reason for

why change is needed2. Form a coalition with enough power to lead the change3. Create strategies for achieving the vision4. Communicate the vision throughout the organization5. Empower others to act on the vision by removing barriers to

change and encouraging risk-taking and creative problem-solving6. Plan for, create, and reward short-term “wins” that move the

organization toward the new vision7. Consolidate improvements, reassess changes, and make necessary

adjustments in the new programs8. Reinforce the changes by demonstrating the relationship between

new behaviors and organizational success.

IT Company• You have been asked to develop a more

centralized process for approving research projects in your R&D office.

• In the past, your engineers were allowed to work on almost any project that seemed promising. However, a new CEO has decided that from now on senior management teams are going to require frequent project updates (formal initial go/no-go decision after one year, and then again after each quarter thereafter). Projects that are deemed to be not progressing well will be canceled (with workers reassigned to new projects).

Global IT Company in the UK

1. Form a group of about 4-5 people2. How would you go about implementing the

change?3. What are the likely outcomes of the new

system?– Employee job satisfaction and organizational

commitment?– Employee recruitment?– Cost savings? (i.e., which costs will go down,

which might go up?)• How can you mitigate any downsides?

Change or Die

• What are the primary contributions of the chapter?

• What did you agree with?• What did you disagree with?• What was missing or should have also been

included?• What is your overall assessment of the

chapter?

In-box Exercise1) ITEM RANK LEVEL OF

URGENCYSHOULD THIS BE DELEGATED?

IF YES, WOULD YOU DELEGATE THIS TO AN INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM?

Email from Rob Green for the Data Processing Staff

3 (relatively important because of the staff meeting on Tuesday, but a longer term fix)

Yes To a team with representation from all affected units - this seems to be an issue that affects all units

Email from Linda (HR Department)

4 (relatively important because the staff meeting, but not urgent)

No – this is something Donna should deal with initially. Donna needs to clarify if she means to change the performance and compensation systems.

If Donna wants to change the performance and compensation systems then yes delegate hammering out the specifics to a team from HR (who may involve people from other departments as appropriate). If isn’t planning changes then nothing needs to be done other than set Linda straight.

Email from Todd Brook 5 (this should not be on her desk!)

Yes – Todd’s direct supervisor (possibly in conjunction with someone from HR) should be dealing directly with this.

Yes – an individual – direct supervisor (and possibly involve someone from HR)

Email from Pat (Training and Development) re. Tom Dalton’s Jury Duty

1 (deals with an urgent issue affecting ability to make quarterly earnings)

No – right now the timing is such that she needs to deal with this issue.

Longer term – Pat should be empowered to begin coming up with his solution to this problem, and bringing this to Donna (versus just bringing the problem to her and expecting her to solve it).

Email from Andy Donavan (Outplacement Department)

2 (deals with main source of business for the company and a great opportunity)

Yes Andy should be dealing with this opportunity. He could provide Donna with an update about the fact that he is pursuing the opportunity, but it should not be her job to be that highly involved.

Group Process Debriefing Report

• Due in the last class• A “one page report” about your group’s project

management process– What was your group’s process (what happened)?– What did your group do well?– What went badly?– What would you do differently next time?– What is your overall assessment?

• Complete it individually. Be honest.

Presentation• Provide a synopsis of the book project• Focus on your own analysis and evaluation of what

the authors argue (with background as needed)• No skits! • All group members must be involved in the

presentation• Help your classmates:– By being attentive– By asking questions at the end

Exam Practice Question

• Myers-Briggs is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad way to determine which job applicants to hire.– Why is it so terrible? (4 marks)– Why is it still popular? (4 marks)– What would be a better approach, in terms of

identifying desirable characteristics in your applicant pool? (6 marks)

Exam Practice Question II

• Your most junior employee, Molly, made her first client presentation this morning. It did not go well, unfortunately, and she is quite discouraged. – Using the principles of transformational

leadership, write an email to her that would motivate her to improve. (12 marks)

– Is email the best way to communicate with Molly? Why or why not? (3 marks)