ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE CHANGE

Phuoc D. Nguyen

Because of organizational culture change is a component of organizational change. Therefore, before leaders plan an organizational culture change. First, they review national culture dimensions assessment results such as power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism-collectivism, and masculinity-femininity in countries where their company operates aim to improve low-ranking dimensions first as their cultural norms to choose appropriate organizational change strategy. Second, based on desired cultural norms, they evaluate organizational culture assessment results to analyze cultural gaps and fill out cultural gaps, find out organizational culture change needs, and suggest recommendations for cultural improvement and change. Cameron and Quinn (2011) suggest steps for designing an organizational culture change process, including reaching consensus on the current culture; reaching consensus on the preferred future culture; determining what the changes will and will not mean; identifying illustrative stories; identifying a strategic action agenda; identify immediate small wins; identify the leadership implications; identify metrics; measures, and milestones; and identify a communication strategy.

Second, based on desired cultural norms, they evaluate organizational culture assessment results to analyze cultural gaps and fill out cultural gaps, find out organizational culture change needs, and suggest recommendations for cultural improvement and change. Cameron and Quinn (2011) suggest steps for designing an organizational culture change process, including reaching consensus on the current culture; reaching consensus on the preferred future culture; determining what the changes will and will not mean; identifying illustrative stories; identifying a strategic action agenda; identify immediate small wins; identify the leadership implications; identify metrics; measures, and milestones; and identify a communication strategy.

Janicijevic (2014) assumes that “National culture has an impact on how an organization changes, and that the matching of national culture and a change strategy will improve the efficiency of the change process… It is also necessary to explore if and how culture has an impact on the efficiency of the change process and its success.” (p. 14).  Based on change direction and desired types of national culture, leaders choose and use the appropriate form of collective action, change tools, and change strategy such as the normative-re-educative, creative, behavioral, rational empirical, and power-coercive strategy. Additionally, leaders put selected change tools and change strategy into Cameron and Quinn’s (2011) step of ‘identify a strategic action agenda’ to suggest a change strategic plan and strategic action agenda for implementing change. Further, leaders choose directive strategies or participative change strategies and put them into Cameron and Quinn’s (2011) step of ‘identify a communication strategy’ to implement an appropriate communication action plan.