Page 412 - Cultures and Organizations

The Elephant and the Stork: Organizational Cultures 377

TABLE 10.2 Managing (with) Organizational Culture

• Is a task of top management that cannot be delegated
• Demands both power and expertise
• Should start with a cultural map of the organization
• Demands strategic choices
• Is present culture matched with strategy?
• If not, can strategy be adapted?
• If not, what change of culture is needed?
• Is this change feasible—do we have the people?
• What will be the costs in management attention and money?
• Do the expected benefi ts outweigh these costs?
• What is a realistic time span for the changes?
• If in doubt, better change strategy anyway.
• Different subcultures may demand different approaches.
• Create a network of change agents in the organization
• Some key people at all levels.
• If key people start, others will follow.
• Can resisters be circumvented?
• Design necessary structural changes
• Opening or closing departments.
• Merging or splitting departments or tasks.
• Should groups or individuals be moved?
• Are tasks matched with talents?
• Design necessary process changes
• Eliminating or establishing controls.
• Automating or eliminating automation.
• Establishing or cutting communication links.
• Replace control of inputs by control of outputs?

• Revise personnel policies
• Reconsider criteria for hiring.
• Reconsider criteria for promotion.
• Is human resource management up to its new task?
• Design timely job rotation.
• Be suspicious of plans to train others.
• The need for training has to be felt by trainees themselves.
• Continue monitoring development of organizational culture
• Persistence, sustained attention.
• Periodically repeat culture diagnosis.