EdGrimshaw.com

Culture Change is never easy.Many times in organisations, the change required is described as a culture change. This generally means that the prescribed change should be applied across the organisation at both a general and universal level. The problem is it is just left at that. The change considered is detailed in isolation rather than a complete cultural design. If even that can be achieved. If culture includes everything then everything must be changed.

How do you design a culture? Often a culture simply emerges from a whole range of decisions. It has an emmergent quality. It comes from the conditions operating at the time. If we compare the cultures of two very similar organisations, say two banks, RBS and Barclays we will find some differences but only at a marginal level.

Culture does not emerge in isolation, the sector, strategy and environment all influence the how an organisation operates. So the cultural design cannot be undertaken as an isolated activity.

A culture in NHS hospital will be different to Richer Sounds, the Hi Fi company. Culture differentiates. Whats the differences. So if we takes the operating theatre, the clinics, the consultants, the HR department, they will have commonality in how they operate. The Patient may be at the forefront! In a Hi Fi company the customer may be the focus. So its a question of relationship. The responsibilty, commitment and attitude to both.

At Richer Sounds it is consistent. The organisation has been designed to deliver with consistency. In a hospital there can be differences as the challenge and structure is more complex.

Compare the cultures of two supermarkets, say Tesco and Aldi. Aldi is lean, Tesco offers a far broader product range. Aldi is budget based shopping, Tesco is  product based. In Aldi you might find 3 staff in the whole supermarket in Tesco you may find that number in a single aisle. Notice the differences and then translate to behaviours. This will then translate to values and an identity.

So next time you walk into an organisation, as a customer, service user or spectator notice what values are in operation. How consistent are they? What does this say about them? Is the projected or declared culture consistent with the one actually experienced?