The Role of Organizational Culture in Change Management

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper was to analyze the relationship between organizational culture and change management. The two are noted to be some of the most important aspects in any given organization. The paper examined the influence of organizational culture on organizational change management. This was achieved through a critical review of several articles in this discipline.

The author clearly indicated the need for organizations to embrace a healthy organizational culture that supports and sustains change. Political, economic, and social factors have led to globalization. They have made organizations to expand and change over time. Change management is vital to organizations as it enables them to continue being sustainably productive, profitable, and competitive in the global market.

The core aspect of every organization’s change management is its organizational culture. There is need to evaluate the effects of organizational culture to change management. This critical review of articles addressed the key issues relating to organizational culture and change management. This is according to the various journals of change management and organizational change.

Introduction

Organizational culture according to Pierre, Cooke & Porter (2006) can be described as the glue that holds organizations together. Culture in this context includes a combination or a set of organization’s key internal rituals, belief systems, norms, behaviors, values, and symbols that form the core identity of organizations.

It is a critical success factor that links the organization to change management. Culture shapes individuals in an organization and influences these individuals as well. It encompasses practices, assumptions, and sets of values that have evolved over time in an organization.

In an article titled “Dysfunctional Culture, Dysfunctional Organization: Capturing the Behavioral Norms that form Organizational Culture and Drive Performance” and which is published in the Journal of Managerial Psychology, Pierre et al. (2006) state that processes such as the individual’s interaction and socialization as well as performance in an organization are directly influenced by this set of culture.

Employees’ job satisfaction and job commitment is also highly influenced by the organizational culture. It directly influences organizational effectiveness, performance, and efficiency in relation to changes at the work place.

As already indicated, the author of this paper is going to analyze the role of organizational culture in change management in contemporary organizations. To this end, the author will critically review several articles touching on this subject. The aim is to identify the agreements and disagreements among various scholars and also assess the existing knowledge in this field.

Role of Organizational Culture in Change Management

The various scholars agree that dysfunctional culture leads to dysfunctional organizations. In an article reporting on findings within the same field, Zabid, Murali & Johari (2003) added that organizational culture guides employees’ behavior in the organization. Employees’ behaviors shape the culture of the organization and their ability to accommodate changes in the organization.

Organizational culture though variously defined is vital to change management in every organization. It plays a major part in informing the direction that the organization is taking as far as development is concerned. In her article, Bryson (2008) emphasized that organizational change and development are inextricably intertwined with organizational culture.

This scholar viewed culture as a form of property in an organization or as something that can be seen. She also conceptualized culture as something that an organization has at all times. Like Zabid et al. (2003), Bryson (2008) agrees that culture is a critical variable in change management.

In another study, Zabid, Murali & Azmawani (2004) viewed organizational culture or corporate culture as implicit, intrinsic, invisible, and an informal form of consciousness in the organization. It is this consciousness that guides the behavior of individuals in an organization and which in turn “……shapes itself out of the behavior (Zabid et al. 2004: p. 34).

In their article titled “Building Organizations that Stimulates Creativity and Innovation”, Martins & Terblanche (2003) provides us with a definition of organizational culture that is slightly different from that of the other scholars cited above. According to Martins & Terblanche (2003), organizational culture can be conceptualized as those assumptions that are maintained in the continuous process of human interaction.

These are those basic assumptions within the organization that have worked so well in the past that they have become accepted as valid facts in the work place. According to this article, these assumptions are routine components that keep organizational strategies on track and in line with adaptation to changes.

The functions of organizational culture according to Martins & Terblanche (2003) include internal coordination and integration. They create standards and boundaries within which the organization operates.

Organizational culture provides the members with a common system of norms, beliefs, and meaning which is very important. This provides the basis of mutual understanding and communication among individuals in the organization. This significantly influences efficiency in the organization and ability to deal with change.

In their article titled ‘Understanding the Influence of Organizational Culture and Group Dynamics on Organizational Change and Learning’, Colleen & Kline (2008) notes that group and organizational learning highly influences organizational change. It also influences individual’s capacity to learn and adapt to changes in the organization.

Group and organizational learning affects the norms, behaviors, and reactions of members of an organization. These norms and behaviors among employees and members of the organization form part of the organizational culture. Thus organizational learning affects organizational culture which in turn has a direct impact on organizational change.

At this juncture, it can be concluded that all the articles cited above acknowledge and emphasize the importance of organizational culture to organizational change management.

Organizational Culture and Change Management

In their article, Zabid et al. (2004) emphasize that organizational change involves organizational commitment which is a psychological aspect that influences employee’s perception and adaption to change. The article particularly identifies the likely relationship between the different organizational cultures and their effect on organizational commitment.

The authors continue to analyze the effects of this on performance and organizational change. The article clarifies the association between the various types of organizational cultures and types of commitments in the organization.

Zabid et al. (2003) are concerned with the relationship between different corporate cultures and the organization commitment to performance and change. The scholars analyze the main types of cultures in an organization. These include “…….competitive culture, consensual (culture), entrepreneurial culture (and) bureaucratic culture (Zabid et al. 2003: p. 43).

For example competitive corporate culture emphasizes on risk taking, high levels of dynamism, creativity and innovation. All of these factors allow for change and enhances the likelihood of adapting and supporting organizational change.

With entrepreneurial corporate culture, issues to do with profitability, market superiority, competitive advantage and profits are more emphasized. This creates environment that is conducive for the organization to embrace and sustain change. On the other hand, bureaucratic corporate culture focuses more on predictability, stability and efficiency.

This limits implementation or embracing of change in an organization. The consensual corporate culture lays more emphasis on loyalty, tradition, self-management, personal commitment, teamwork, and social influence. These are more likely to be barriers when it comes to the adoption, support and sustenance of change in an organization. Zabid et al. (2004)’s view, change management calls for dynamism.

However it should be noted that the article provides little empirical evidence on the effects of managerial organizational factors to corporate culture, performance, and change. However, the article clearly articulates the fact that organizational culture highly influences change management in every organization.

Bryson (2008) however points out that society is in a constant state of cultural change which influences the organizational culture. The author notes that organizations are not closed systems. The internal and external dynamics of change influence the organization. Changes are always taking place in every corner of the organization.

Therefore, organizational or corporate culture changes over time. Dominants systems are in a constant struggle to evade organizational change. This struggle by itself is part of organizational change as the entities are trying to adapt to various developments in management.

According to Bryson’s article, organizations world over are prone to changing organizational cultures. Culture within and without the organization is shaped by social institutions. These are institutions such as mass media, the government, education system, industrial groups, and family. Globalization and market changes directly affect the management in the organization.

They lead to the adoption of better values, norms, beliefs, and ways of doing things which are the core elements of corporate culture. The management and employees are more likely to adapt to these changes. This directly influences change in organizational culture and management (Bryson 2008).

Bryson (2008) further provides various theoretical insights into cultural influence on organizational culture. The article critically evaluates the relationship between organizational culture on one hand and the societal culture, democracy and governance on the other hand. Organizational culture in the context of democracy, Marxism, and industrial capitalism translates to different strategies of change management according to Bryson (2008).

However the article fails to provide an in-depth analysis of the dynamics of these governance issues that directly affect organizational culture and change management. In an effort to address this shortcoming, the article provides for an analytical approach to organizational change which directly influences organizational culture.

It reinforces the view that culture is dynamic, selected and negotiated. The article is significant in explaining and exploring the flexibility of emergent culture that allows for organizational change and development. It enhances the generation of new insights to organizational change management.

Bryson’s approach to organizational change management and development is entirely different from that of Zabid et al. (2003). In this article, Zabid and his colleagues clearly articulates the fact that organizational culture highly influences change management in every organization. Bryson however emphasizes more on the influence that culture has on the organization.

She emphasizes the relationship between organizational culture and societal culture, democracy and governance. She also points out that society is in a constant state of cultural change and this cultural change influences the organizational culture. On the contrary, Zabid et al. (2004) argues that change management requires dynamism and organizations should allow for this.

However, the two articles acknowledge the benefit of embracing a favorable organizational culture that allows the entity to adapt to and manage changes. The two sets of scholars concluded that organizational culture greatly influences change management in the organizations.

Creativity and innovation are key drivers of organizational change. Organizational culture therefore should accommodate creativeness and innovativeness in the organization. When employees and the management team adopt creative ways of performing organizational tasks, they are able to adjust to various organizational changes. Martins & Terblanche (2003) identifies key determinants of organizational culture that influences success in change management in an organization.

Each determinant according to Martins (2003) influences innovation and creativity which are crucial to management change. Innovation and creativity when integrated into an organizational culture has a positive impact on the organization. Steps should therefore be taken to stimulate innovativeness and creativity in an organization.

This will lead to an organizational culture that supports and embraces change. The involvement of employees in decision-making processes, setting working standards, carrying out performance appraisals, recruitment and appointment of highly creative individuals will help achieve this objective.

Change management is a critical factor in the success of every organization. Successful organizations have the capacity to influence organizational culture to allow for change management practices in their operations. Martins & Terblanche (2003) identifies organizational culture as a critical factor in organizational structure.

In creating a competitive culture, the organization exposes the employees and managers to a wide array of opportunities and thus helps them view change as normal and acceptable. They become tolerant to mistakes and to a range of different but important ideas. Their worldview changes and they become fully alert and ready to embrace and sustain change.

Therefore, if organizational structure supports new ways of doing things or creativity in the organization, it will allow for an organizational culture that will embrace change and help the entity deal with the new developments.

Martins & Terblanche (2003)’s article provides little empirical evidence of the effects of organizational culture to change management. More of such evidence should have been provided to effectively indicate the relationship. However, the article clearly indicates the importance of embracing a healthy organizational culture that supports and sustains change management.

According to Colleen & Kline (2008), the characteristics of an organization’s culture and the groups within that culture can influence how work groups and individuals experience and interprete organizational change initiatives. The study by the two scholars paid special attention to organizational learning. It emphasizes the importance of learning during organizational change.

It highlights those aspects that organizations should adapt to change their culture and facilitate effective change management. In particular, the article highlights the need for organizations to be aware of the different organizational cultures and initiate efforts to promote the right organizational culture that is favorable to its operations.

This will enable the organization to manage change and attain sustainable change management practices. The article provides important aspects of the relationship between change management and organizational culture.

Both Martins & Terblanche (2003) and Bryson (2008) articles identifies key determinants of organizational culture that influences success of change management in an organization. They points out that society is in a constant state of cultural change which influences the organizational operations.

According to them, organizational structure and open communication are some of the factors that support innovation. The articles lay more emphasis on the fact that organizations are not closed systems. The internal and external dynamics of change influences the organization.

Colleen & Kline (2008) goes a step further to highlight the aspects of organizational culture and the groups within that culture that influence how work groups and individuals experience and interpret organizational change initiatives. Interpretation of these initiatives provides a deeper understanding of the major aspects of change management and helps individuals and organizations commit themselves to a competent corporate culture and change management regimen.

Bryson (2008) investigates and analyzes the various characteristics of organizational culture in organizations under democratic, Marxist, capitalist, or industrial capitalist governments. According to the article different organizations adopt different strategies to deal with organizational culture and change management.

As already indicated, Zabid et al. (2003) emphasizes that change management requires dynamism and organizations should allow for the same. In this article the scholars argues that organizational change involves organizational commitment. The article adds that organizational culture guides employees’ behavior in the organization and as such affects the performance of the organization as a whole.

This is the same view that is expressed Pierre et al. (2006) who adds that organizational culture directly influences organizational effectiveness, performance and efficiency in relation to changes in the organization. The two articles pointed out that culture is inherent in every organization and it is upon these organizations to choose a culture that supports change.

Conclusion

In this paper, the author critically analyzed several articles touching on the role of organizational culture in change management. The author compared the various strategies adopted by the various scholars in approaching this issue. Where applicable, strengths of weaknesses of these articles were addressed. The aim was to identify the status of the knowledge existing in this field’s literature.

From the critical review of the articles, it can be concluded that change management in an organization relies heavily on the culture of the organization under consideration. An organizational culture that stimulates creativity and innovation leads to the success of change management initiatives in the organization. Key determinants of organizational culture directly influence the success or failure of change management.

There is therefore the need for organizations to change to or adopt a culture that can accommodate change. This is given the fact that change management is a dynamic rather than a static phenomenon. There is a direct relationship between organizational culture and organizational commitment to change. Organizational culture highly influences change management in every organization.

A favorable organizational culture should motivate the employees and help them embrace, support and sustain change. Organizations should adopt among others, entrepreneurial and competitive cultural practices. In entrepreneurial corporate culture, issues of profitability, market superiority, competitive advantage and profits are emphasized as already indicated. This provides an opportunity for members of the organization to explore a variety of options.

It exposes them to change in the environment within which they are operating. It introduces them to a new world where they are able to identify better ways of doing things or better ways of increasing their organization’s performance and productivity. This enables them to understand and grasp the key aspects of change management.

References

Bryson, J 2008, “Dominant, emergent, and residual culture: the dynamics of organizational change”, Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 21 no. 6, pp. 743–757.

Colleen, L & Kline, T 2008, “Understanding the influence of organizational culture and group dynamics on organizational change and learning”, The Learning Organization, vol. 15 no. 3, pp. 277-287.

Martins, EC & Terblanche, F 2003, “Building organizational culture that stimulates creativity and innovation”, European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 6 no. 1, pp. 64-74.

Pierre, AB Cooke, RA & Potter, RE 2006, “Dysfunctional culture, dysfunctional organization: capturing the behavioral norms that form organizational culture and drive performance”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 21 no. 8, pp. 709–732.

Zabid, AR Murali, S & Azmawani, AR 2004, “The influence of organizational culture on attitudes toward organizational change”, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 25 no. 2, pp. 161–179.

Zabid, AR Murali, S & Johari, J 2003, “The influence of corporate culture and organizational commitment on performance”, Journal of Management Development, vol. 22 no. 8, pp. 708-728.