What Our Research Is Saying About Organizational Culture
The Breckenridge Institute is conducting research on the formation, operational characteristics, and corporate life cycle changes of organizational culture. We're finding that an organization's culture is like its personality, with unique patterns of financial and non-financial performance that are revealed using the Breckenridge Culture Indicator (BCI). We are using advanced statistical techniques like factor analysis to identify effective and ineffective patterns of organizational performance, which subsequently provide a quantitative basis for organizational improvement and change initiatives.
The frenetic pace of today's global economy has increased the need for fact-based decision-making using scientific analysis, not just business experience and intuition. The research being conducted by the Breckenridge Institute staff promises to yield the kinds of tools, methodologies, and quantitative information needed to help leaders and managers make informed decisions and to transform their organization's culture into a more reliable resource.
posted by Breckenridge Institute at 11:07 AM
5 Comments:
Hi: I am currently working for a company that is about to make the leap from entrepreneurial to corporate. The appeal of this company, up until now, has been its strong sense of humanity, which comes from its owners. They are hoping to back off and let a general manager run the show. However, the general manager they have brought in comes from a market research background and we are a creative shop. The culture he is trying to establish is one in which emotionalism on any level negates credibility. My 34 years of experience in the creative world tells me that this is inappropriate for a creative shop, and quite frankly, somewhat inhospitable to women. While I can appreciate the value of muting emotionalism in conflict resolution, overall I feel uncomfortable with this shift in culture. I guess I'm concerned with whether I will fit in with this new culture if it takes hold.
7:45 AM
This is a common problem when founders and owners decide to back away from the day-to-day operations of a business and have someone else run it. It sounds like your organization is heading for a "culture war" that (depending on the circumstances) could drive some of its best people away.
Do the owners know what's going on? If not, I would make them aware of your concerns. If they know and approve of where things are going, you may have to make some personal decisions about what you're willing to live with.
8:24 PM
Re: adman78 Post
It's not unusual for top managers to set corporate goals without a detailed, quantitative understanding of the business context in which they are operating, or the actual strengths and weaknesses of their internal operations.
Your experience is consistent with our research and the research of others, e.g. that over 85% of the root causes of organizational performance problems are in the structures, systems, and culture - put good people in bad systems and you denigrate their performance. So the feeling that you are achieving your goals despite the system and culture you're working in is spot on.
Our experience has also taught us that organizations are collective-cultural entities that are led, managed, and changed one person at a time. Sometimes change starts at the top with the CEO, but more times than not it starts at the middle manager level, moves horizontally across the organization, then travels up to the executive suite.
8:30 PM
Having awareness of your organization's culture is critical to harnessing the power of it ... or changing it if it is not moving your company in the right direction. Many companies have problems that are dealt with in a variety of tactical ways, yet are never very effective. Until a company knows the cultural drivers that impact them, many of their programs and initiative may be totally ineffective.
9:01 AM
Re: greg Post
One study that points to this is described in: Diane C. Coutu, "The Anxiety of Learning" in the Harvard Business Review, March 2002, Volume 80, Number 3, p. 105.
In addition, we have seen this multiple times in our consulting practice. In fact, the Breckenridge Institute is currently working with a DOE facility where this has happened in the last 6 months, e.g. change was inititated by tier 2 line managers who subsequently experienced positive change in their organizations' performance, then this change was adopted by top managers who saw the value and began driving it down through the entire organization with even more dramatic positive results.
8:30 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home