DEEP DIVE MAGAZINE

JULY 2019 SPECIAL EDITION

DEEP DIVEThe longest established project managmenet magazine in North America
Project Management Magazine

THE ICEBERG OF
ORGANIZATIONAL
CULTURE CHANGE

How To Manage Change Succesfully

DEEP DIVE Magazine

TABLE OF

Contents

03 Ask the Expert!
Tips for Minimizing Transition Problems and Making a Culture Change Successfully
09 Be the Expert! Crossword
12
14 By: Sabina
16
19 SPECIAL REPORT: REINFORCING ORGANIZATION CULTURE CHANGE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
21 Match-Up Game: Signs Culture Change is Slipping
23
27 By: Neil

Steps for Making the Change Successfully By: Mehdi
Tips for Involving Employees in Effective Change Management By: Seran
Managing Change and Resistance By: Sumera

Leader's Role in a Change Initiative: An Interview

By: Iman

THE WHY BEHIND AN ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE CHANGE

By : Priyanka

Making the Case for Change: The Importance of Creating a Good Organizational Culture Change
Implementation Strategy

By : Julius

References

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03DEEP DIVE Magazine

The Challenges of
Organizational
Change

Guidance from a leading expert in Project
Management, Jay White

In this month’s issue, I’d like to focus on the problems arising from making
changes at one’s organization, specifically in its culture. Managing a change in
the corporate culture of a company can be very challenging as it goes deep into
a company’s core (Torben, 2015), such as, changing its vision, values, and at
times may include organizational restructuring. Nevertheless, this change can
be extremely rewarding if done right. It has to include everyone in the
organization in order for it to come to fruition. For this month’s Q&A, I
complied great questions from our readers that focus on this topic.

"Managing a change in the corporate culture of a company can
be very challenging as it goes deep into a company’s core. "

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04DEEP DIVE Magazine

NELSON MING
Managing Director

ComputerIsland
 

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF AN
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
CHANGE?

“Any type of change initiatives brings with it discomfort and is difficult
for humans. Thus, negative effects are common at the start and
transition of a change. For example, it can cause fear and uncertainty
felt by employees (Darby, 2017), such as, fear of job loss, which can
ultimately translate to low motivation and subsequent low
performance levels. Specifically to organizational culture change,
possible impacts can include:

1. Increased Levels of Conflict-
Depending on the reason for the change, differences in organizations’
practices, structures, etc. can create culture clashes if merging (i.e.
when one company buys another) occurs (Darby, 2017). Moreover,
conflicts can occur between employees and management, especially
when one or the other revert to the organization’s old ways, disagree
with the new vision and its core values, or not fully embracing the
change AKA not walking the talk.

2.  Change in Workload, Tasks and Responsibilities-
If part of the change involves organization restructuring, employees
may feel overwhelmed or worried, depending on whether there are
added/removed responsibilities.

3. Decreased Evidence of Progress-
Employees or higher management may feel discouraged or not fully
participating in the change if there is no evidence of change happening.
However, the organization needs to be aware that a culture change is
one of the most difficult changes to achieve, and due to its complexity,
it takes quite some time to see this change (Darby, 2017).. Thus, it is
important to be flexible and take the time with it."

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05DEEP DIVE Magazine

MELANIE BAY
President

Beal Processing
 

HOW CAN AN ORGANIZATION
SUPPORT A CHANGE ON AN
INDIVIDUAL LEVEL?

“With culture change in particular, the change comes 3. KNOWLEDGE of how to change
from within the organization, and thus its employees When individuals are motivated, they need to
are one, if not the most important participants in the know what role they play in this change
change. The Prosci ADKAR Model, created by Jeff (management can explain the change’s benefits
Hiatt, is one of the most well-known change and importance for the individuals-i.e. more career
management models supported by 20+ years of opportunities, increased skill set, etc.) and how to
research with proven results (“The Prosci ADKAR make the change (through training and coaching)
Model,” n.d.). ADKAR focuses 5 steps in order to (Layton & Ostermiller, 2017).
achieve successful change:
4.ABILITY to demonstrate skills & behaviours
1. AWARENESS of the need for change When individuals gained the necessary knowledge,
Individuals need to have a clear understanding of the they need the ability to implement the change.
reasons requiring the change, and recognize the Support from leaders in creating the right
issues that exist (Layton & Ostermiller, 2017). Being environment is key (i.e. re-prioritization of
informed is key! commitments, redefining responsibilities, setting
new expectations (Layton & Ostermiller, 2017)).
2. DESIRE to support the change
Once aware that an issue exists, individuals should 5.REINFORCEMENT to make the change stick
share their thoughts on the issue and whether a Individuals need to be reminded of the change and
change is needed. Getting employees involved in its corresponding new habits through
decision making is important for sparking the desire reinforcement of correct behaviours (Layton &
to actively participate in the change (Layton & Ostermiller, 2017)”
Ostermiller, 2017).

For more info., you can check out:

How To Use The ADKAR Model For Change - Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoQnzBuwptM

The Prosci ADKAR Model
https://www.prosci.com/adkar

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LAUREN HART 06DEEP DIVE Magazine
CEO

Calvin Corporation
 

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON
REASONS FOR A CHANGE
INITIATIVE FAILURE?

“Some organizations fail at making change because of

the negative effects that come with change.

Organizations may linger in this negativity and never

really able to get out of it. Thus, tenacity and care is

essential to overcome these roadblocks. Nevertheless,

there are common reasons for failure that John Kotter

identified in his 8-Step Change Model based on 5. Not removing obstacles

research: Any impediments that do not allow individuals to

implement the change have to be removed. Thus,

1. Allowing increased complacency constant risk/obstacle identification is key (Layton

If individuals are not aware of the issues and the & Ostermiller, 2017).

immediate changes that are needed to take place

(lacking a sense of urgency), they will not be 6. Lack of short-term recognition

motivated or driven to participate in the change Since change is often lengthy and its results are slow

(Layton & Ostermiller, 2017). to see, any sub-changes need to be recognized. Lack

of short-term reinforcement can lead to decreased

2.Lack of strong change agents AKA supporters morale and commitment to the change (Layton &

If there aren’t individuals with influence that support Ostermiller, 2017).

the change, it will be very difficult to drive the change

forward (Layton & Ostermiller, 2017). 7.  False sense of success

Short-term recognition can create an illusion that

3. Lack of a clearly defined vision the change is achieved, and thus lead to a halt.

For individuals to actively participate in the change, Thus, the vision needs to be mentioned

they need to be confident that the change is continuously (Layton & Ostermiller, 2017). 

beneficial and possible to do. Thus, creating a strong

vision is essential (Layton & Ostermiller, 2017). 8. Lack of change reinforcement

Reverting to old habits can occur if individuals are

4. Lack of follower buy-in not reminded and presented with how the new

Change will only occur if individuals follow the change led and continues to lead to the

proposed change and support the cause behind it organization’s successes (Layton & Ostermiller,

(Layton & Ostermiller, 2017). 2017)."

About the author: Jay White, MBA, PMP has been helping organizations lead various
transformation projects for over 20 years. In addition to his coaching career, in 2005, he founded
his own consulting firm, AgileWorks, to support and transform organizations using agile and
blended methodologies. His firm has successfully helped and provided its innovative services to
over 100 companies, including, Yahoo!, Google, IBM, and Spotify. In 2013, he received the PMI
Fellow Award for his outstanding contributions to the project management profession.

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07DEEP DIVE Magazine

Tips for Minimizing Transition Problems and
Making a Culture Change Successfully

TIP #1: Effective Driving Communication TIP #5: Evaluation of the Current Culture
Set clearly defined values and behaviours Re-evaluate the organization’s current
that are desired for employees to exhibit. culture and agree on aspects that are not
(Folz, 2016). up for any change (Folz, 2016).

TIP #2: Culture Alignment With TIP #6: Alignment of Culture with Your
Organization’s Structure Organization’s Brand
Align the new vision with current processes. Make sure any changes to the culture will
If there is misalignment, make appropriate be relatable on an individual,
changes in order to allow for the change to organizational, and market level (Folz,
be driven forward. 2016).

TIP #3: Unity Between Culture and TIP #7: Metrics to Assess Progress
Personal Accountability (Folz, 2016). Measure the effectiveness of the change
Promote personal accountability so that for improvements.
employees take responsibility when issues
with change occur (i.e. reverting to old ways, TIP #8: Taking it Slow
etc.). Make sure that everyone understands a
culture change is lengthy, thus
TIP #4: Powerful Support of the Change persistence is key.
Make sure higher management supports the
change, follows it, and makes it a priority in
the organization.

Check out this article for a unique
way to change a culture!

A Good Way to Change a Corporation
https://hbr.org/2009/06/the-best-way-to-

change-a-corpo

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Answers:DEEP DIVE Magazine 08
DOWN 1. Vision 2. ADKAR 3. Uncertainty 5. Culture clashes
ACROSS 4. Reinforcement 6. Obstacles 7. Underperformance 8. Walk the talkBe the Expert!
Crossword

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09DEEP DIVE Magazine

SPECIAL REPORT:

REINFORCING ORGANIZATION CULTURE CHANGE

IN THE 21ST CENTURY

"An organization’s Changing an organization’s culture is
culture is also often
deeply ingrained and arguably the hardest change you can
is very challenging to
make. So how do you ensure this
change..."
change sticks?

The culture of an organization is crucial. It defines
the identity of the organization including the values
it holds, its vision for the future and its
environment (Jones, 2018). An organization’s
culture is also often deeply ingrained and is very
challenging to change because of this. It can be
even harder to reinforce a change in an
organization’s culture. In our special report, we
examine the latest trends in organization culture,
strategies to reinforce change, and how to monitor
culture change so that it sticks.

 

Trends in organizational culture

The latest trends in corporate culture include an
increased focus on employee engagement,
improved work-life balance, emphasis on learning
and development, increased diversity, and a shift
toward a more agile culture (Corporate Edge, 2019;
Jones, 2018; Taylor, 2017). There is an increasing
focus on the employee experience because it
motivates employees and makes them more
productive (Jones, 2018). The reputation of
organizations and their ethics are also more
important as employees value these more,
especially with the increased power of social
movements (Ring, 2019; Jones, 2018). Competition is
also getting fiercer requiring firms to be more
nimble and adopt agile cultures (Corporate Edge,
2019).

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10DEEP DIVE Magazine

How to reinforce culture change Monitoring culture change

There are many strategies that help make change   The primary mechanisms for monitoring
stick. Jonathan Halls (2017) noted it is crucial to cultural evolution consist of frequent surveys,
provide positive reinforcement such as awards analysis of key performance indicators, and
for employees who best exemplify the change. tracking progress versus a baseline (Gleeson,
Our research also reveals that formalizing 2017). It can also be beneficial to track culture
changes in job descriptions and organization change with key milestones and measurement of
policies removes potential excuses for not critical behaviours (Katzenbach, Steffen &
complying with a culture change (Halls, 2017). Kronley, 2012). Providing measurement tools
Another key strategy is to communicate (e.g., surveys), communicating that leadership
frequently within the organization, especially will leverage these tools, and ensuring these tools
with communications from executive sponsors, are circulated frequently enough to constantly
to remind employees of the expected change in reminding employees of the desired cultural
behaviour and to solicit feedback (Gleeson, 2017; behaviours helps to reinforce change (Gleeson,
Halls, 2017). Lastly, an effective method to 2017; Katzenbach et al., 2012). Monitoring culture
maintain culture change is to align desired change with the above techniques shows you
behaviours with incentives (Gleeson, 2017). This your progress and reinforces change.
provides an incentive for employees to adhere to
a new culture, but use caution as some disagree The future
with this strategy on philosophical grounds (Hall,
2017). Organizational culture will continue to grow in
importance as society advances and gives greater
credence to values and ethics. It is difficult to
change an organization’s culture and even harder
to reinforce but organizations have adapted and
created effective strategies for making and
sustaining cultural change.

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11DEEP DIVE Magazine

Signs CuMltautrcehC-UhapnGgaemies:Slipping

REINFORCE YOUR LEARNING BY MATCHING UP DESCRIPTIONS WITH THE SIGNS
THAT YOUR CHANGE TO A MODERN ORGANIZATION CULTURE IS NOT STICKING!

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Steps for 12DEEP DIVE Magazine

Making the Change
1 Urgency Creation Successfully
A change is only successful if
the whole company really 2 Build a Team
wants it. If we are planning to If our convincing is strong, we
make a change, then we need will win a lot of people in favor
to make others want it (Mind of the change. We can now
Tools, n.d.). We should create a build a team to carry out the
change and urgency change from the people, who
atmosphere in our company. support us (Mulder, 2018). We

This action prepares minds for should organize our team

a suitable reaction to change, structure and assign

we should explain our ideas responsibilities to the team

and the reasons as well as we members. Make them feel that

can also the roles of employees they are important within the

in reaching our goals team.

3 4Create a Vision Communication of Vision
When a change happens,
a vision is necessary. The Creating a vision is not
vision makes it clear why enough to reach a successful
the change is needed. change, we should
When we have a clear communicate about it across
vision, team members the company (Mulder, 2018).
know why they are
working on the change This communication should be

initiative and the rest of frequently (Mind Tools, n.d.).

the staff know why our It is better to have a public

team is making the and formal meeting that

change (Mind Tools, everyone can participate in it

n.d.). with a high level of

consideration we have to

make or find some supporter

to implement the change.

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13DEEP DIVE Magazine

5the change also havingRemoving Obstacles

Obstacles are the part of 6 Go for Quick Wins
Quick wins increase
changing communication of the motivation and
satisfaction of group
vision decrease some and stakeholders (Mind
Tools, n.d.). It has a
Obstacles. People can support positive effect to boost
the energy to follow
organized processes and the change but we
have to always keep
procedures could be a crucial

part of the change (Juneja,

n.d.). The important item is

continuously watching out the

obstacles and fixing them as

soon as possible (Juneja, n.d.).

7 8Let the Change Mature the eye on the long-
We should not declare our term goals.
successes about the change
before the change get Integrate the Change
matured because people Constantly work to ensure
suppose after change that the change is visible in
everything is perfect and every aspect of your
organization. It is also

when they see problems it important that the

gets them upset (Mulder, leadership of an

2018). Let it have its own organization continues to

time to get integrated into provide support for the

the people's lives and change (Mind Tools, n.d.). If

organizational processes we lose the support of these

before you say it’s 'over.' people, we might end up

back where we started. In

the end, we need a

complete mechanism to

integrate the change in the

organization (Mulder, 2018).

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14DEEP DIVE Magazine

Tips for Involving Employees in
Effective Change Management

Create an involvement plan

For successful change management involve as many people as possible in the very
early stages of the change process. This plan should be made with coordination of
change management team and senior managers (Heathfield, 2018). Employees feel
motivated and encouraged by involving them in the change process and asking
their opinions. Give employees a chance to share his or her voice and ideas in
change, which will affect their job. Both the team and management play a vital role
in supporting the change (Heathfield, 2018).

Involve all stakeholders

It is important to involve all stakeholders, partners, process owners and employees
in planning, learning, decisions and implementing the change (Heathfield, 2018).
Involving employees and sharing information in change management process will
enable them to catch up with the new learning and new processes and will not be
left behind. Information sharing with all employees is significant and no employees
should be left behind in change process (Heathfield, 2018).

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Involve all departments 15DEEP DIVE Magazine

Another effective way is to involve employees Test Your
from different departments in decision making Knowledge!
about their unit and work (Heathfield, 2018).
During the change process, a good leader will Q1: Who should be
talk to the team and then to team members involved in the change
individually to engage them in identifying the process and decisions?
overall effect of the change on their jobs _________________________
(Heathfield, 2018). _________________________
_________________________
Build a measurement system Q2: Who should lead the
change?
This will help in the change process to let the _________________________
employees know when they are failing or _________________________
succeeding (Heathfield, 2018). Rewards and _________________________
recognitions is a good way of motivating Q3: Should employees be
employees to work positively towards the involved in the learning
change and help in implementing the change process?
(Heathfield, 2018). Employees who are against _________________________
the change or failing to work with the change _________________________
need to be adapted to the change and should _________________________
not be let on the negative path forever which Q4: How to deal with
will affect the organization time, energy and employees failing to work
morale of other employees (Heathfield, 2018). with change?
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________

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16DEEP DIVE Magazine

Managing Change
and Resistance

What is change? According to the Change usually involves many phases. The
Oxford Dictionary, change is “an act or three main steps according to William
process through which something Bridges are: saying goodbye, shifting into
becomes different.” (Oxford Dictionary, neutral, and moving forward (Bridges &
2019) Corporations go through changes Mitchell, 2000). Each of these steps take
all the time, whether they’re small and time before moving to the next step until
minor or they’re major changes on a the change is finally in place, accepted, and
large-scale. As John P. Kotter mentions, thriving. Stepping away from what one is
no organization is safe (Kotter, 1998). If used to is always a difficult process. It’s
you’ve ever been a part of an made that much more difficult when there
organization, chances are you is an unknown of what the path ahead
experienced some type of change as holds and what the outcome will be. In an
well. This could be an internal shuffle of organization, employees have lots of
employees, changes in vision and expectations hanging over them and
values, or even a change in products and changes mean there is a risk that could
services. Whatever the change may affect those expectations – whether it be
have been, it’s likely that not everyone positively or in most cases, negatively
might have been on board and therefore (Schuler, 2003).
would have resisted to the change.
“Whatever the
change may have
been, it’s likely
that not everyone
might have been on
board and
therefore would
have resisted to the
change.”

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17DEEP DIVE Magazine

Other forms of resistance include all the More often than not, resistance can be
emotions that can arise due to change. A managed effectively if it’s done by the right
big one is feeling overwhelmed (Schuler, people in the right manner at the right
2003). This emotion can come from the time. When leaders and managers aren’t
actual change itself and the unknown that equipped with the right tools and training
comes with it or from one’s personal life. to implement and manage change,
Changes within one’s corporation can be communication is affected and therefore
an added stress for someone who could be organizations see more losses than gains.
going through changes and experiencing Communication and engagement are two
other events happening in their own effective ways to overcome resistance and
personal life. This can cause them to resist implement change successfully. By hearing
the new processes and procedures or out the employees in the organization,
management and tasks simply to keep the giving them a platform to voice their
structure and comfort that was originally opinions and provide feedback, a level of
there. comfort and trust is built. This can help
ease the transition and accept the changes
faster. This can also assist in alleviating any
stress and negative emotions that could be
clouding the air for several employees. In
turn, it can improve employee morale and
create productivity. (Paycor, 2016)

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18DEEP DIVE Magazine

Change is a constant that is almost
impossible to avoid in corporate
organizations today. Resistance is
the outcome that is almost always
to be expected until change
management is considered a
strong asset. However, when open
and thorough communication is
part of the process, resistance takes
a backseat while successful
transitioning takes the wheel.
(Paycor, 2016) These small steps
have big impacts for managing
change successfully.

Check Your Understanding

Choose which column to best apply the following reasons to.

Answers:
Resistance – change, overwhelmed, saying goodbye, stress
Success – effective communication, trained leaders/managers

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19DEEP DIVE Magazine

Leader's role in a change initiative
An interview

In the project world, change is constant and it is driven by various agents within the
organization. Each agent of change has their role and responsibility. Today, we will sit
down with John Smith, a seasoned project manager to speak about the role of a leader in
managing change and the effective leadership skills that a leader can adopt to ensure
that those who follow easily transition into the new organizational culture.
Through your experience, what will
you say is the biggest challenge a What is the best way to combat
leader faces in managing change? resistance?

Resistance exhibited by members of   As a leader driving change, open
a project group is arguably the
biggest challenge  a leader faces multi-directional communication is
during change. Change in an
organizations culture comes with very important. This skill is effective
risks and uncertainties at varying
degrees and as a result, shifting before, during and after the
from the norm is met with tension
that can cause anxiety, stress and transition to manage change. Open
reduction in productivity and
morale. communication encourages concerns

to be aired and acknowledged and

also ensures that every step of the

change occurring is understood fully.

By opening the lines of

communication, the members of the

organization (senior and junior) can

also feel valued during the

transitional change through

exchange of ideas. This will give

them a sense of purpose that will

increase group morale and

productivity.

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20DEEP DIVE Magazine

What other skills should a leader acquire to
manage change successfully?

A leader should engage employees early in the

change process by bringing them together and

encouraging collaborative work. This will break

negative competition, and strengthen

commitment. Support from a leader during QUIZ
YOURSELF!
change communicates empathy towards
1.As a leader in your organization,
employees. A leader should be supportive of what are the ways you will meet
resistance from your employees?
their employees while they adapt and learn to
2.What are the best ways to
manage the results of the change. Finally, a establish a friendly rapport with
your employees to open up
leader should commit to the change being communication during a change
project?
implemented. By devoting their resources and
3.From the interview, can you
changing their behaviour to support the change identify the three C’s of
managing change in a leadership
in the organizational culture, they can easily role? What are they? How will you
execute these in your personal
manage and guide their employees to adapt to projects?

the changes and produce positive results.

 

 Thank you for your time today. I believe our
readers will be leaving with a better
understanding on how to manage change
successfully as leaders in their organization.

Thank you for having me!

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21DEEP DIVE Magazine

THE WHY BEHIND AN
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE CHANGE

Possible reasons for embarking on a change journey

1. Adopting New Technology

Moving to new technologies may require organizational restructuring. IT Technologies
require complete change of an organization’s current systems and practices (Marino,
n.d.). New technologies are efficient and provide better methods for performing work
(Marino, n.d.).

2.Performance Issues

Internal inefficiencies cause the performance issues. If the goals & objective of an
organization are not met changes are required to reduce the performance issues. If there
is lack of communication, this can only be resolved through revisiting and amending the
internal procedures and processes (Marino, n.d.).

3. Mergers/Acquisition

During mergers and acquisitions organization restructuring is done in order to remove
the duplicate work systems/process and ensuring procedures are consistent in nature
(Marino, n.d.).

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22DEEP DIVE Magazine

4.Style of Management

Organization restructuring helps organizations to follow the changing business
conditions (Marino, n.d.). There should be structured organization and winning
operating models.

5.Reducing the number of employees in the organization

When business adopt new strategies and do some changes, it makes the staff non-
productive, in those scenarios reducing the number of employees is important, but we
need to ensure that rest of the other employees are trained and efficient in performing
the job duties and complete the work within the timelines (Marino, n.d.).

6.External Factors

Sometimes external factors can also lead to organization transformation (Marino, n.d.).
External factors include competition, customers, environmental factor and government
regulations (Marino, n.d.).

Questionnaire

1.   Has your organization been through a restructuring process
during past 5 years? Yes/No

2.   If Yes, in which field/department?
3.   Which do you consider the drivers for restructuring?
(New business Strategy, competition, technology, government
regulations)
4.   Which stakeholders were IN FAVOUR of restructuring and why?
5.   Which stakeholders were AGAINST restructuring and why?
6.   What was the aim of restructuring plan?
(Adopting New Technology, Reducing the size of the organization,
Right Person for Right Kind of Job, External Factors, Internal Factors,
Cost Pressures)

We would love to hear from you!
Send in your answers for a chance to win a
$25 gift card!

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23DEEP DIVE Magazine

MAKING THE CASE FOR CHANGE

The Importance of Creating a Good Organizational
Culture Change Implementation Strategy

Changing an organization’s culture is one of Changing a culture is a large-scale
the most difficult leadership challenges. It is, undertaking, and involves changing minds
in fact, considered by organization culture from top to bottom. For it to be successful, it
experts as a monumental challenge. That’s has to start from the top and has to be
because an organization’s culture embodies embraced by the rest of the employees of the
in it the values, behaviors, goals, processes, organization.
business practices, roles, and rules which are
interconnected to each other (Denning, 2011). Generally, a successful strategy starts with
leadership tools, most importantly a vision
These interlocking aspects of the culture of or a state of the future the organization
wants to become, and reinforce the proposed
the organization are sometimes so ingrained changes with effective management and
business improvement tools like PDCA and
that even the most effective business DMAIC methods (Denning, 2011).

improvement initiatives, such as Lean

manufacturing, Agile/Scrum project

management, or Six Sigma will fail to

progress in the long term (Denning, 2011).

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24DEEP DIVE Magazine

Doing so will not be easy, however, as it Check out this article for
takes years to change how people think, feel, more info.!
and behave. Even then, there would be a
possibility that the differences may not be Aetna's long history of
that meaningful, and often the culture will struggle, growth and
end up changing the leaders (Katzenbach,
Steffen, & Kronley, 2012). In that case, an reinvention
organization with an old and powerful https://www.healthcarefin
culture rooted to the core could mean trouble ancenews.com/news/aetna
and disaster (Katzenbach et al., 2012).
s-long-history-struggle-
However, there were also instances when a growth-and-reinvention
change in organizational culture moves in
the right direction, as demonstrated at Aetna
(Brino, 2015). Cultures, after all, do evolve
over time — either moving backward,
stagnating, or progressing forward
(Katzenbach et al., 2012).

The following are five principles that can help an organization achieve higher performance,
improve customer satisfaction, and a more coherent and ethical attitude to cultural change.
Using them as a guide can help an organization attain peak performance and better customer
focus, and retain reinvigorated, enthusiastic, and proud employees.

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25DEEP DIVE Magazine

1. Match Strategy and Culture 3. Honor the Strengths of Your
Existing Culture
Most of the time, organizations focus on
strategies to improve the business — achieve It’s easy to dwell on the negative aspects of
higher performance, eliminate waste and an existing culture, but any corporate culture
defects, and achieve greater customer is a product of good intentions that evolved
satisfaction. These strategies, however, are in unexpected ways and will have many
often at odds with the deep-rooted practices strengths (Katzenbach et al., 2012). This
and behaviors of its culture and the culture might include a deep commitment to
employees (Merchant, 2011). And a strategy customer service or an inclination toward
that is at odds with a company’s culture is innovation (Katzenbach et al., 2012). Original
doomed. Culture trumps strategy every time values and share stories that people in the
(Katzenbach et al., 2012; Merchant, 2011). organization believe in are still valuable and
can still serve the company well (Katzenbach
As Stephen Sadove, chairman and chief et al., 2012). Acknowledging the current
executive of Saks said in a New York Times culture’s strengths will also make changes
interview, “Culture drives innovation and feel less like a forced shift from leadership
whatever else you are trying to accomplish and more like a natural evolution
within a company — innovation, execution, (Katzenbach et al., 2012).
whatever it’s going to be.” (Merchant, 2011)

2. Focus on a Few Critical Shifts in
Behaviour

To get the people involved in the vision of
the organization, company management and
executives should talk to thoughtful people
at different levels of the company to learn
what behaviors are most affected by the
current culture, and possibly by the
proposed change in the culture (Katzenbach
et al., 2012). These behaviours, however
small can it be, could be crucial motivating
behaviors that will be emulated by the rest
of the employees in an organization and
provide the most significant impact to your
culture (Katzenbach et al., 2012).

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4. Integrate Formal and Informal 5. Measure and Monitor Cultural
Interventions Evolution

Introducing a new set of behaviors and Cultural progress should be measured and
orienting the employees of its effect on the monitored at each stage of the
organization’s strategic performance are implementation, similar to implementing
often done in formal approaches — new other business and process strategic
policies, rules, controls, or guidelines initiatives (Katzenbach et al., 2012).
(Katzenbach et al., 2012). To make these Monitoring and control allows top
changes more effective, companies are also management to identify any relapse in the
advised to touch the more emotional side of progress made, formulate corrective actions,
the organization — the people, by and demonstrate continuous improvement to
incorporating informal approaches, such as help cement the changes for the long term
daily huddles, team building activities, or as towards achieving the new vision
simple as random interaction with the (Katzenbach et al., 2012).
employees (Katzenbach et al., 2012).

The strategies discussed above are by no means exhaustive. Those, however, can work well for
organizations under the right circumstances with the right mindset. Other cultural change
theories and strategies are also available and seem to be effective in achieving the objectives
of steering organizations to the right direction. Watch the following 2 videos and try to answer
the corresponding questions!

Richard Barrett - Changing Culture in the Workplace - Empathy
and Compassion in Society 2013

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb4gPoZ5Imk

Organizational Culture Change Strategy - 5 Pillars - Arthur
Carmazzi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK6M-i9JLaA

Q1: What are the 7 State of Consciousness that Richard Barrett
defined and adapted to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs?

QAr2t:huWr hCaatrmaarezzithineth5e PseilclaornsdovfidTeroa?nsformation discussed by

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27DEEP DIVE Magazine

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