What Factors In An Organization Impact Whether Changes In Organizational Culture Are Fast Or Slow?
Introduction
Effecting meaningful changes to the internal culture of an organization is marks one of the most difficult challenges that a leader is likely to face. Organizational cultures tend to constitute an interlocking set of assumptions, attitudes, communication procedures, values, processes, roles, and goals. The various elements fit together creating a mutually reinforcing system that works to prevent efforts to implement changes. Change within an organization is a strategic initiative that impacts all organizational functions and operations. Changing an internal culture is a significant undertaking that requires the incorporation of all mind-changing tools at the organization’s disposal. The selection and order of application of organizational tools to effect changes to internal cultures significantly impacts the possibility of a successful culture transition, organizational operations, as well as the nature of the relationship between the organization and the surrounding communities. Businesses need to conform to changing customer preferences to remain operational. As a result, there is a need for constant changes and adaptations with respect to organizational culture to ensure that the processes undertaken facilitate the realization of organizational goals and objectives. However, how the individual elements that constitute organization culture fit in together, complementing each other, is likely to complicate change attempts. Organizational leaders need to develop an understanding regarding the interaction between the individual elements to determine the order and application processes deemed most appropriate per organizational agenda. The primary forces that influence The degree and speed of changes in organizational culture are largely dependent on the internal environment more than the external environment; leadership and organizational structure serve as the most critical factors that influence how fast or slow organizational culture can change, whereas reward systems tend to lack significant influence on the effectiveness or efficiency of culture change.
Reasons
Leadership Styles
The realization of a successful organizational culture change begins with leadership tools applicable to the given organization. According to Islam et al. (1) employees comprise a key factor concerning the implementation of changes to an organization’s culture; however, the effectiveness of the workforce is significantly dependent on the leadership styles applicable in an organization. An organizational leader has an instrumental role in the creation and changing of internal cultures. Islam et al. (1) posit that a direct correspondence exists between an organization’s traditions and the type of leadership style employed by the management. For instance, a leader that relies on inspiration to motivate employees tends to encourage the development of a people-oriented and more supportive internal culture. On the other hand, a leader that invests in an effective rewards system makes rewards contingent on output, resulting in the creating of a more competitive and performance-oriented tradition. How employees respond to changes within an organization depends on the nature of the interaction between them and their leaders (Duhigg 55). In the process of effecting changes to an organization’s culture, cooperation or resistance is expected of the employees. For example, the workforce may fail to agree with organizational leaders, criticizing or showing cynicism toward the proposed culture changes. Leaders are responsible for moulding the actions of their subordinates. The behavior, actions taken, and consistency demonstrated by a leader determine the extent and pace of culture change. The degree to which the leaders are capable of linking the role undertaken by employees to their individual, as well as collective identities, is a critical factor of consideration when determining how fast or slow organizational culture transition can take place (Duhigg 176). Various leadership styles have different impacts on employee work engagement, particularly when effecting internal changes. The leadership strategies employed during the periods of organizational culture change is likely to influence the success of the process as well as how fast or slow the change takes place. Islam et al. explore transformational leadership as an adequate approach to shaping the attitudes of employees in the process of effecting culture change (2). Many researchers concur that how leaders manage the relationship between employee behavior and leadership determines the efficiency of effecting changes to an organization’s internal traditions.
Organizational Structure
Organizational structure provides the governance guidelines appropriate for the realization of effective and efficient operations and transitions. Culture change constitutes a vital aspect of organizational operations; however, the organizational structure determines how fast or slow the process of change takes place.
Organizational structure outlines and scopes the hierarchy and authority within an organization, determining the nature of the interaction between members of the workforce and the management. Soderstrom and Weber (11) argue that successful interactions between the management team and members of the workforce resulted in the generation of knowledge, motivation, attention, meaningful relationships, and resources that ensure the achievement of efficient and effective operations, and vice versa. Other than leaders influencing employee behavior through their own behaviors, successfully changing an organization’s culture require the involvement of all stakeholders in the decision-making processes. High-level managers that seek the opinion of their employees and involve them in decision-making minimize the likelihood of employee resistance to organizational culture change (Duhigg 55). As a result, the involvement of employees in vital decision-making process results in the development of team-oriented cultures with the potential for further growth. Most importantly, adequate organization structures create opportunities for leaders to serve as role models to employees, allowing them to signal and communicate the values and norms expected to provide the framework for organizational processes and employee actions.
Counterargument: Reward Systems
The reward system put in place by an organization plays a vital role in shaping its internal culture. Many organizations choose to reward results, behavior, or a combination of the two. However, rewards systems lack the ability to influence how slow or fast culture change takes place in organizations that use goal attainment as the sole reward criterion. That is, such a reward system emphasizes the realization of organizational goals and objectives without paying attention to the processes involved (Abdin et al., 202). In regard, performance-oriented reward systems have minimal to no influence on organizational processes, including the internal culture. On the contrary, some researchers argue that, if properly applied, reward systems can significantly influence employee behavior. Proponents of reward systems as an adequate factor in effecting change to an organization’s traditions. Abdin et al. (202) argue that rewarding behavior or a combination of behavior and performance influences employee actions, thus facilitating the development of appropriate internal cultures. Firms that focus on assessing employee output and behavior encourage the development of team-oriented or people-oriented internal traditions in which employee act as members of a family. As a result, some analysts argue that the cohesive relationship between employees is a significant factor in how employees collectively respond to internal culture changes. Culture change follows the ignored or rewarded types of behavior that set the basis for a new organizational tradition.
Conclusion
Culture change marks a significant transition that requires the incorporation of all essential organizational tools. The effectiveness and efficiency of culture change depend on the leadership and organizational structures. Different leadership and organizational structures tend to inspire certain actions and behaviors in employees, hence influencing their impact on how fast or slow change culture change takes place. The use of reward systems to influence the pace of culture change remains a subject of conflict. While some analysts believe in its ability to influence the culture change processes, its impact regarding the subject matter is largely insignificant.