How to enhance your organisation's culture
Culture comprises tangible, intangible, and symbolic elements in organisational life - those customs, stories, practices, assumptions, values, symbols, ceremonies, and traditions that are shared by all members of an organisation. The culture indicates how employees should dress, think, work, behave, communicate, and make decisions in the workplace. Culture can be a most powerful influence; and leaders must work at enhancing their organisation's culture through maintenance, sustenance, or change...
1. Do not underestimate the role of culture.
The culture of your organisation is the set of beliefs that are shared, often subconsciously, by people in your organisation. It is a powerful influence that shapes behaviour, influences morale, and creates your organisation's identity. For example:
- It determines how individuals act and what they should value. Do men wear ties? Do superiors get called by their first names? Are meetings formal affairs? Staff who fail to come to grips with your organisation's culture will have trouble fitting in.
- It helps you understand employee motivation, performance standards, and actions. So, your company rewards individual effort - and yet you still wonder why some people have trouble working in a team?
- It can explain the presence of intergroup conflict. Do you ever wonder why your slow, analytical, patient, deliberate R&D people have trouble working with your action-oriented, flamboyant marketing group?
- It explains why change is so difficult to bring about. The targets of change are invariably those deeply imbedded cultural values, habits, behaviours, and images.
2. Appreciate that culture is not easy to change.
Organisational culture is usually so deeply rooted and pervasive that it is very difficult to change. However, because of a perceived need for more effective management approaches, a major restructuring, or changing market conditions, a decision to consciously reshape the corporate culture may be warranted. But remember, change could take years to achieve, be expensive, and create disruption for management and employees alike.
3. Begin with a vision.
The successful creation of a new organisational culture goes hand in hand with strong and respected leadership. Such leaders always have a vision of the type of company they want to develop and devise workable strategies to actively reshape the culture of the organisation.
