Cultural Change

Business organizations follow a series of guidelines that govern people’s behavior. The laws and regulations extend to the entire fraternity and are passed on from generation to generation. Based on the disposition of the people, customs and values vary from one organization to the next. The organization’s community is shaped by this collection of values. Changing the ideology of an institution, such as a university, necessitates a new positioning of the culture, which necessitates the complete removal or alteration of previous values. Fear of the unknown is a widespread source of resistance to reform in organizations. People tend to enjoy a comfort zone in the original culture making them reluctant to experiencing another culture in the organization. Cultural changes see to disturb the sense of equilibrium in organizations hence the resistance. Lewis three-stage process of change seeks to eliminate resistance to change and iron out issues causing the resistance such as misunderstanding of the cultural change process.

Challenges to Managers

Managers are the leadership that implements cultural change in an institution. However, cultural implementation is likely to provide challenges to the director through resistance from the team, lack of communication and ensuring the cultural change is permanent. The three broad challenges reduce the likelihood of a smooth transition from the previous cultural practices to the new ones.

Resistance to Change

Cultural changes in organizations seek to establish a new system that will govern day to day activities. In a professional organization such as a university, the changes might experience resistance due to poor communication. Experts consider communication as a vital part of life. It is important for them to understand the change, the possible benefits to them and the institution as well as to their professional growth. However, poor communication means that they do not get access to the information considered critical by them (Grieves 167). Therefore, the cultural change had the possibility of encountering massive resistance from the professionals. Reducing the resistance requires ample communication to all the concerned departments before the process of change begins. Cultural change might be more beneficial to them as compared to the current one. However, communication is vital to ensuring low resistance from them.

Cultural change brings along fear of the unknown to the members of the work force (Nelson and James 302). In some cultural changes, the systems of performing individual duties change immensely. The management issues out a new regime which the people need to adapt within the period of change. The change disturbs the sense of equilibrium and comfort enjoyed by the employees. Some of the employees experience low morale and lack the confidence of fitting into the new system. As such, the only way for them to maintain their comfort zone is to resist the change and ensure the maintenance of the original culture. In an organization such as a university, the change might have the intention of improving the productivity of the institution through methods such as the introduction of long hours in class or remedial extracurricular activities. Any activity that introduces a new aspect of work will raise resistance from the employees for disturbing their comfort.

Cultural changes introduce systems or modify the existing ones. Many professional organizations alter the culture of the organization in aspects such as the dressing code for the employees or the behaviour of the employees within the work premises and outside. Such changes will affect the routine of the employees in their organizational activities. Professional employees do not embrace changes in routine because of the associated changes in their personal life. For example, changes in the dressing code will force all the staff to invest in a new set of clothes leading to financial expenditure. Changes that force the employees to change their routine and an additional financial expenditure are likely to experience resistance from the employees. Many employees believe in enjoying the comfort of their organizational cultures without the consideration of a change or modification of the culture.

Professionals require a reward system to any cultural change (Finnegan and Leslie 33). Managers are responsible for ensuring motivation of the employees at all times. In instances of cultural changes, the employees will have fears of losing their jobs in the new changes. Further, the management will require cooperation by the employees for a smooth transition to the new culture. Therefore, the management will experience opposition to the change if it fails to address the fears of the employee and create a reward scheme associated with the new culture. The bonus scheme will act as a motivational tool for the employees in assuring their support and minimizing their resistance. Therefore, the resistance that the managers may face is due to the fear by the employees to lose their jobs and lack of a motivational tool or a reward scheme for the employees in the new culture.

Change Communication

Cultural changes in an organization require a clear communication to all the people in the system. Lack of communication will result in resistance from the team due to fear of the unknown. To remove the doubts, managers have a responsibility and a challenge of communicating the change effectively to the professional team. It is a challenging task for the manager to predict the mode of communication that the employees will embrace with minimal resistance. The manager will have to develop creative means of passing the information to the team. Cultural change communication is important to all share holders in the organization (Gilley 33). Therefore, the managers must use device communication channels that will be effective for all the groups in a clear manner. Secondly, the manager must explain the reasons behind the proposed changes.

For a change to be valid, the communication must answer all the questions that the shareholders possess. Therefore, the communication must be clear on the reasons behind the change and the roles of all the employees in executing the cultural changes (Cummings and Christopher 183). For the whole team to feel like part of the change, it is important for the management to allocate the professionals specific duties in the process of change. The employees feel motivated when they are responsible for executing the cultural shift for the institution. Ample communication from the manager will give ensure the confidence of all the employees in undertaking the process. Therefore, the manager must come up with a reliable communication channel that will be in a position to address the concerns of the employees regarding the cultural change to eradicate any doubts or traces of resistance from the team of professionals in the university.

Making the Change Permanent

A successful cultural change in an organization occurs with the full adoption of the new culture. However, the manager undergoes a lot of challenges to ensure the complete adoption of the culture. Many employees tend to resist the change and casting doubts to a permanent change (Kreitner 434). It is challenging for the managers to create a favourable environment for the cultural change and ensure the change is complete and permanent. Managers have a problem of commanding confidence and support from the employees of the institution as well as the creation of structures and systems that support the changes. Cultural changes require mechanisms that implement the changes to ensure a permanent change. Lack of the systems and the financial expenditure to implement the changes will lead to a complete failure of the change.

Besides, cultural change requires a considerable amount of time for the whole institution to embrace the change. The managers have a challenge in creating a change management plan that outlines the expected changes as well as the estimated time for the change. The program will help the management in measuring the progress of the cultural change and be in a position to determine the possibilities of a complete turnover to the new system. The plan will also help in identifying setbacks on the plan and applying the necessary approach to eliminating the challenges. Permanent cultural changes must make the institution better concerning performance and economic gain. The challenge for the manager is ensuring that the change will yield a positive outcome for the business.

Any cultural change that leads to the negative outcome is not favourable for the university (Cameron 19). Therefore, the manager will experience a challenging task of ensuring that the cultural changes in the institution yield the required result and enjoys the support of the whole team. Ensuring the change is permanent requires a serious commitment by the leadership of the establishment in the implementation of the change. Junior employees look up to the manager for motivation during any organizational change. A serious manager would command confidence on the employees while the lack of commitment will lead to a lack of seriousness for the whole team. The elimination of the three broad challenges is possible by employing a good model of change in the organization. The model will iron out all the challenges and set the ground for a favourable change implementation process that is smooth and profitable.

Change Management Model

Change management model is a system that tries to ensure a smooth transition of cultural change. The models prepare the professional population for the upcoming change to minimize any possible resistance and ensure a successful end. According to the Lewin’s Change Management Theory, managers should execute cultural change in the institution by using three major steps (Liu et al. 89). The first phase creates the need for change, and the second implements the change while the last one ensures the change is permanent. The three levels have a high chance of making the change possible through the inclusion of all the stakeholders in the modification and psychological preparation for the university to change. One of the leading causes of resistance to change is inadequate information which turns the employees against the process for fear of the unknown.

The first step to cultural change is a determination of the necessary change for the organization. Any culture change in an organization requires a substantial reason behind the modification. Establishing the causes is possible through surveying to understand the feelings of the professionals in the field. Using the survey, the managers should come up with a convincing reason for carrying out the change and convince the shareholders using the facts gathered from the study. The study helps the management to have factual information to substantiate the need for the change instead of instigating the change based on unconfirmed information. The management should then create the need for change using the collected information. The changes should bear a vision, mission and the steps in place to facilitate the change. The management should emphasize on why the change is necessary and invite any employee with concerns for an open chat that will clarify any miscommunication in the organization. Using the approach, managers will be making the employees part of the change and eliminating any possible issue in future. When the employees understand the need for change, the manager will have an easy time implementing the next step of the change.

The second phase is change implementation. The level provides an opportunity for changing the required systems, rules and regulation and putting the new ones in place. A successful implementation of the second phase by the managers requires a proper communication channel to dispel any rumours and allocate duties to the employees for faster implementation. The phase s a good time for responding to the questions of the employees and ensuring they fully understand the process. By replying to the questions, the employees will be confident on the positive aspects of the change and dispel their fears which might lead to possible delays in the process. Similarly, the management should incorporate the ideas of the employees to give them a sense of ownership to the process (Lussier 168). The incorporation of their ideas will motivate them to facilitate the change to enjoy the implementation of their thoughts. The first step provides a foundation for the implementation of change while the second invites the employees to contribute their efforts towards objectives of the modification. During change implementation, the management should measure the short achievements of the change and compare them with the desired outcome according to the time frame allocated. Completion of the short-time goals will show that the process is within the required limit which is a positive step towards success.

The first and the second phases of the model aim at eliminating any resistance to the cultural change. The two steps try to offer ample communication to the employees to gain their support while the third phase tries to make the move permanent. The model describes the last step as a chance to create systems to make the change permanent. A permanent change requires that the manager establishes a financial kitty to pay for the changes. After establishing it, the manager should employ people or delegate duties to employees who will develop and sustain the change. Failure of installation of such mechanisms might lead to failure of the process. The structure of the organization should change concerning accommodating the change. More so, the manager should maintain communication channels with members of the team.

The communication will continue to communicate ideas to the manager which might be useful in making the change permanent. When dealing with cultural change in a professional environment, it is good to maintain the communication channels to address any issues that might arise regarding the modification. Lastly, the management should motivate the employees through a reward scheme for the cultural change success. A reward system will keep the employees happy and motivated to see the change implementation successful. A motivated workforce is the responsibility of the manager and a key aspect of a successful organization. A successful cultural change implementation depends on the support that the manager gets from the employees especially in an institutional setting such as the university. However, communication is paramount to ensure the management gets full support from the team.

Conclusion

The culture of an organization refers to the approach used by the directorate in running the institution. The culture determines the rules and regulations used by the directorate in running the organization. Change is a constant part of organizational growth. However, implementation of change challenges the management in communication, resistance from the employees and making the changes permanent. Employees seem to fight changes with unclear information. Communication is an essential part of any change since it gives the employees an opportunity to understand the change and take an active role in making the transition successful. To ensure a successful implementation of cultural change, the management should create the need for change in the organization and communicate it to the employees. The management should then eradicate any doubts on the minds of the employees through addressing the concerns of the employees and involving them in the process. Lastly, the management should create systems that support the changes and reward the teams responsible for the modification. As such, the change will not encounter any resistance from the group, and the process will come to a successful completion.

Works Cited

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