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Chapter 17 ■ Culture models and organization change
■ Networks – the informal means of communication often known as the
‘grapevine’.
A strong culture is one in which people may have a clearer idea of what is
required of them, a clearer sense of the objectives being pursued. Following Itami
(1987), it is an important ‘invisible asset’. Organizations with weak cultures may
be less effective, less productive and less satisfying places in which to work.
If all this is true can we then change the corporate culture? This is what is
being attempted at International Engineering, for example. The evidence sug-
gests that one can change a corporate culture, but only slowly and through sus-
tained effort and hard work.
Deal and Kennedy (1982) conclude that an attempt at corporate culture
change can only be justified where any or all of the following various conditions
apply:
■ Where the environment is undergoing fundamental change (say, in healthcare
or banking).
■ Where the industry is highly competitive and the environment is character-
ized by rapid and often turbulent change (e.g. the computer industry).
■ Where the organization is growing rapidly, particularly where the organization
is becoming very large.
■ Where performance has been in sustained decline.

In such conditions sustained changes to attitudes and behaviour will be essential.
New ‘role models’ will be needed; new management styles will be emerging. The
‘lists’ of change are such that people will need to understand why the changes
are needed. Deal and Kennedy identify the following guidelines for those engag-
ing in culture changes; these are worth examining:
■ Peer group consensus will have an important influence on acceptance of
change. Typically, people do not feel strongly opposed to a given change.
However, social ties can be such that resistance to change can build within
social groupings and networks. It is important to build support within these
networks.

■ It is important to convey and build on trust in communication and in how
problems are handled.
■ Changes need to be treated as opportunities within which to build skills and
develop people.
■ Allow enough time for changed behaviour to become the norm. This point is
often ignored, with naïve estimates of how much time is needed.
Encourage people to adopt new approaches, new behaviour patterns and new
systems to match their needs more effectively and these can be built on. Stronger
relationships and a more open decision-making style will be a better basis for
dealing with the ongoing conflicts of views and ideas which will inevitably exist.
Conflict and organizational politics are inevitable. Moreover, both are likely to
be heightened during a period of change. The Philips case study summarizes one
example of how it is possible to develop a more open approach to management. The

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