Introduction
Organizational culture and how it is used serve as one of the strategies leaders can employ to improve organizational performance. Organizational culture can both be a driving force and a barrier to progress (Sa, & Serpa, 2020). To obtain an ideal culture of an organization, higher-ups must be cautious of changes within the community. The achievement of the ideal culture, however, presents several difficulties. In light of recent developments with the Covid virus, organizational culture had to be changed worldwide. An organization’s culture is known to influence how its members respond to changes, whether they accept, reject, or adapt to them (Sa, & Serpa, 2020). Therefore, it is the leaders’ responsibility to guide people to alter their perceptions and help them defeat adversities.
What is the Organizational Culture?
Organizational culture is one of the most important factors in an organization’s infrastructure. It is defined as the foundation that sets an organization’s values, principles, and performance expectations (Jamali et al., 2022). It allows for to enhance of student performance and builds a space where creative, productive, ethical, and effective work methods are employed (Lubis, & Hanum, 2020). In addition, it has been shown that organizational culture supporting knowledge sharing leads to greater job satisfaction (Islamy et al., 2020). This means that one of the leaders’ foremost priorities is to build a well-functioning organizational culture.
Describe the Obstacles Educational Leaders Face in Changing an Organization’s Culture
In order to create a more efficient space for education, new methods within organizational culture must be employed. For example, an essential change to an organization could be ensuring that it supports people with diverse identities and ethnic backgrounds. However, attempts to construct an equal and unbiased place might be undercut by leaders’ hesitation as to where to start the change process (Wong, 2019). In order to gauge what kind of organizational culture the leaders must strive towards, it is necessary to conduct a thorough analysis of people’s values and beliefs (Caliskan, & Zhu, 2020). This analysis would help overcome such obstacles as the absence of the same strategical vision, lack of commitment, adverse attitudes, and struggles with freedom or autonomy (Caliskan, & Zhu, 2020). Other factors that can restrain the process of change in organizational culture are the lack of skill and knowledge among academic staff, as well as criteria for academic achievement (Caliskan, & Zhu, 2020). These challenges could potentially paralyze the process of changing organizational culture, so reducing them should be an utmost priority.
Has the Organizational Culture Changed in Recent Times?
In recent several years, organizational culture has undergone complicated and varying changes due to the outbreak of the Covid virus. One of those changes was digitization, which stands for connecting and communicating with peers through means of the Internet and digital appliances (Antonopoulou et al., 2021). However, the switch towards a more digitalized approach has not surfaced purely within the last two or three years. Some trends, such as cooperative and collaborative learning, computer-supported studies, online and distance learning, as well as Internet-based platforms, have been on the rise for two decades (Caliskan, & Zhu, 2020). It shows that the demand for digitalized education has not stemmed simply from the need to protect oneself from the pandemic but from the innovative nature of the education process.
What Has Caused the Change and how Have Leaders Had to Respond?
Given the worldwide lockdowns and students’ and staff’s inability to partake in face-to-face learning, digitization had to be implemented quicker. First of all, the leaders’ themselves had to possess sufficient knowledge of the Internet and digital gadgets (Antonopoulou et al., 2021). This, in turn, led to the development of the so-called digital leader, whose responsibilities and faculties differ from those of previously established types of leaders. A digital leader has to mentor interdisciplinary staff and members across the border, innovate business and operational models, and envision and implement changes to improve results with the help of digital tools (Antonopoulou et al., 2021). This means that for a leader in these times and the future, possessing digital skills and freely operating within the Internet space is of great importance.
Conclusion
In conclusion, organizational culture is the key to an efficient workflow and performance enhancement for both students and staff members. It helps develop methods that allow people to use their skills in productive, effective, and ethical ways. Although digital means of education have been employed for two decades at this point, the process of digital innovation had to be accelerated due to recent developments. Because of the lockdown and the necessity to switch to online learning, a new type of leader has been created: the digital leader. Their responsibilities concern monitoring staff within and outside the institution, business and operation innovations, and using digital gadgets to enhance performance.
The changes, however, are not always easy to enforce. The main challenges presented are a lack of similar vision, commitment, and negative attitudes. In addition, such obstacles as lack of skill and knowledge among staff members and issues with academic criteria have been mentioned. To solve these problems, leaders have to obtain digital proficiency and learn how to use gadgets in the workplace. Considering the fact that the process of education is closely linked with innovation, it is safe to expect that the number of digital leaders will increase in the future. It is also safe to assume that the need to be more Internet-savvy will be more prominent.
References
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