09-14-2015, 03:07 PM
Organisational culture is a concept that is easily misused and can mean different things to different folk.
Given its part of my trade, there can be a tendancy to see culture, if it is able to be identified, as the problem and address it head on. I would prefer to see culture as the set of behaviours and preferences that staff, and thus an organisation tend to display, especially under pressure.
Culture is thus more a symptom or a consequence of these behaviours. Addressing such a culture, if it is considered a problem is thus better undertaken by attempting to adjust work practices and behaviours of staff, setting different expectations and so forth.
In short, it is hard, and changing behaviours, especially under pressure is enormously difficult, which is why it often leads to sackings, resignations and new people brought in.
But what will fail is an attempt by senior management to unequivocally state that culture has to change and then expect people to understand what it means for them. It is day to day work practices, style and manner that has to change, and this can only realistically come from the top.
For a professional sporting team, a culture of highly driven individuals has to be enmeshed with a culture of team work. This is tricky, and requires the right mix of personalities. The company leading teams has made plenty of coin flogging their wares to AFL clubs, but as far as i can tell their model is pretty similar to what many in organisational development have been doing for years. It's in essence establishing a set of desirable principles for an organisation, translating these to day to day work practices (this typically falls on middle management and is critical) and holding each other accountable for this. Rinse and repeat.
Good things can grow out of this, but it takes great commitment over time. Carlton have lacked this across many parts of its organisation, and the worse it gets (as demonstrated by results), the more drastic the means to address it, and the greater the risks change entails.
I have been pleasantly surprised by many of the changes made in the past few months at CFC. Whether they yield good results is unknown, but they are trying, which is all they can do.
Given its part of my trade, there can be a tendancy to see culture, if it is able to be identified, as the problem and address it head on. I would prefer to see culture as the set of behaviours and preferences that staff, and thus an organisation tend to display, especially under pressure.
Culture is thus more a symptom or a consequence of these behaviours. Addressing such a culture, if it is considered a problem is thus better undertaken by attempting to adjust work practices and behaviours of staff, setting different expectations and so forth.
In short, it is hard, and changing behaviours, especially under pressure is enormously difficult, which is why it often leads to sackings, resignations and new people brought in.
But what will fail is an attempt by senior management to unequivocally state that culture has to change and then expect people to understand what it means for them. It is day to day work practices, style and manner that has to change, and this can only realistically come from the top.
For a professional sporting team, a culture of highly driven individuals has to be enmeshed with a culture of team work. This is tricky, and requires the right mix of personalities. The company leading teams has made plenty of coin flogging their wares to AFL clubs, but as far as i can tell their model is pretty similar to what many in organisational development have been doing for years. It's in essence establishing a set of desirable principles for an organisation, translating these to day to day work practices (this typically falls on middle management and is critical) and holding each other accountable for this. Rinse and repeat.
Good things can grow out of this, but it takes great commitment over time. Carlton have lacked this across many parts of its organisation, and the worse it gets (as demonstrated by results), the more drastic the means to address it, and the greater the risks change entails.
I have been pleasantly surprised by many of the changes made in the past few months at CFC. Whether they yield good results is unknown, but they are trying, which is all they can do.