The concept of culture is handled more and more frequently and, in a way, it seems a fairly intuitive concept, but nevertheless it is difficult to define and understand in its entirety and at the same time it is a key concept in innovation processes within of an organization and in the management of change.
Culture includes such everyday elements as the way in which decisions are made, the flow of communication, leadership styles, accepted values, the degree of definition of norms and flexibility in their application, the relationships between directors and employees, the predisposition to take risks and accept mistakes, demonstrated initiative and innovation, etc… In other words, culture is what is "breathed" in an organization, what is transmitted by the behaviors of the people who make up the company.
Some examples of cultures can be:
- Customer-oriented vs. product-oriented. Open and cooperative vs. non-sharing culture Delegation vs. concentration of power Flexible vs. rule-relentless. Staff vs. bureaucratic. Innovative vs. "static." Engaged vs. to not engaged.
But beyond the definition of culture and the elements that compose it, what is really key is to understand its importance and its impact on the company's income statement basically through two basic aspects in the organization:
Change processes, increasingly frequent in the current environment since culture is a key element for managing organizational change.
The competitiveness related to the people of the organization since inherently there are cultural models that make organizations more competitive than others.
"Taking it to the day-to-day of a company, culture makes each organization unique."
In this way, it is clear that knowing the nature of one's own culture, the behaviors and values by which the people who constitute the company are governed, as well as the mechanisms that set in motion that peculiar way of being of a company, is proposed as a necessary matter to promote any process of change and innovation in the company.
Frequently, the changing environment and the challenges that companies face, leads to the need for them to implement structural changes that allow an adequate response to the demands of the environment, which are increasingly being stated in terms of Cultural Change, that is, the necessary change in behavior of all the people in the company in relation to the market.
Models of organizational culture
Although there are as many cultural models as there are authors, we developed the one defined by Roger Harrison (Harvard Business Review), who defines four types of cultural orientations based on the objectives pursued by the company and the values associated with each of them, which will give rise to to specific cultural guidelines. In this model, four profiles of organizations are defined based on their culture:
- Organizations oriented to power, whose objective is competitiveness, in which the values associated with this orientation will be all those that reinforce the positions of power within them, those that favor centralized decision-making and control over people. Standards-oriented organizations, whose objective is security and stability. Strictly complying with the rule, ensuring responsibilities and observing the strict order in the procedures, will be the values associated with this type of orientation. Results-oriented organizations, identified with the objectives of efficiency and optimization of resources. The company's structure, functions and activities are all valued in terms of their contribution to the objective.People-oriented organizations. Its objective is the development and satisfaction of its members. It will be associated, therefore, with values related to personal fulfillment.
Very important elements that condition the culture of an organization are the level of competitiveness in the sector, degree of technical complexity of the products, levels of market saturation, consumption patterns, the profile of competitors, geographic coverage, etc.
The identification of the organization based on these elements is key both for its diagnosis and for the development of action plans or conflict management depending on the type of culture.
But beyond the different models that can be used to diagnose culture, it is very important to define based on which parameters the suitability of a culture for a specific organization can be assessed.
"It is very important to define according to what parameters the suitability of a culture for a specific organization can be assessed."
- Support to the organization's strategy. Culture is a basic element in the development of the strategy, so it must be fully aligned with it. Degree in which it expresses the philosophy proposed for the organization in visible and spontaneous behaviors. Degree in which it encourages integral human development or personal fulfillment of its members.
But beyond the knowledge of culture, the methodology for managing it (or the implementation of a new one) is also very important, which is composed of the following elements:
1. Creation of the project team
2. Definition of the project objectives
3. Analysis of current culture:
to. Collection of information from a statistically relevant sample
b. Validation and study of the degree of consensus of the results
c. Identification of the culture model
4. Definition of the desired culture:
to. Senior Management Participation
b. Validation
c. Definition of the new culture model
5. Identification of the "gap" between the current culture and the desired culture.
6. Design of the action plan to reduce the "gap".
7. Implementation of the action plan and change management
In conclusion, culture management is a key element in an environment like the current one in which change is a constant and it is very important to have tools to identify and manage this culture to be a competitive organization.
