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Managing Organisational Culture
Dr. John Whiteoak
University of the Sunshine Coast
Culture = SoftCulture = SoftBUTBUT
Soft = HardSoft = Hard
PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE Organisational Cultures
SOURCE: Neilson et al. Harvard Business Review. 2005.
Passive-Aggressive Cultures• 3 out of 10 people in the US report having a passive-
aggressive cultures• Feigning sweetness between subordinates and supervisors• Robotic submission to leadership• Put in only enough effort to appear compliant• Lack of dissenting opinion – making waves is the ultimate
sin.• Blaming outside sources for poor performance. • A vicious – highly effective grapevine• Bosses use intimidation • Very few consequences for bad behaviour• Environment is secretive –ripe for scandals, sexual
harassment, and financial misdeeds.
What is our strategy?
Or more importantly
Why is our strategy?
Why Do Organisations Vision?
Brings people together around a common dream
Co-ordinates the work of different people
Helps everyone make decisions
Builds a foundation for business planning
Challenges the comfortable or inadequate present state
Makes incongruent behaviour more noticeable
A POWERFUL
VISION STATEMENT
Presents where we want to go. Easy to read and understand. Captures the desired spirit of the organisation. Dynamically incomplete so people can fill in the pieces. Provides a motivating force, even in hard times. Is perceived as achievable. Is challenging and compelling,
stretching beyond what is comfortable.
A mission statement answers the basic question….
“So What Are You On About?”
ELEPHANT HUNTING• The Issues, Challenges, KRAs (The Big
Stuff)• Environmental Scans – Conduct Research• Doing a SWOT is not strategy
• No more than 6• About 3 strategies per issue • Measures and accountability developed for each
strategy
The “Big Three” “Justa”sThe “Big Three” “Justa”s
“The strategy is right. It’s “The strategy is right. It’s justjust a a communicationscommunications problem.” problem.”
“The plan is dead on—it’s “The plan is dead on—it’s just anjust an imimpplementationlementation problem.” problem.”
“Look, we’ve got the strategy right“Look, we’ve got the strategy right—we —we justjust need to fix need to fix
the p the peoeopplele bit.” bit.”
Successfully executing strategy depends to a
great extent on how well the organisation is
aligned with the strategy (Darryl Krook, MD, CPEM Consulting)
““Execution Execution isis strategy.”strategy.”
—Fred Malek—Fred Malek fffffii
Vision statements count for little if more than half the employeesdo not share the company values
SEEK Employee Satisfaction & Motivation Survey 2004
Stanford Research on Values
More effective companies have three qualities in
common around their values:
Consensus
Clarity
Intensity
Typical Organisational Values
• Career Resilience• Employment at “Will”• Select people for skills not attitudes and fit• Buy rather than make talent• Lean staffing• Periodic downsizing• Money is the primary motivator
– Individual incentives– Pay-for-performance
• Share holder value 1st and last
Assumptions about people
• Effort averse• Management and employee interests are not
aligned• People are opportunistic – (self-interest seeking,
will take advantage)• Mangers need to design incentive systems to
overcome these differences• High powered incentives (money) are better than
low-powered• People work for money and will comply with
management to get it
Management Hot Air
“All organisations routinely say that ‘people are our greatest asset’. Yet few practice what they preach, let alone truly believe it … organisations have to market membership as much as they market products and services – and perhaps more”.
(Peter Drucker, 1992)
Culture is about Getting Good People?
–The war for talent (The Mckinsey Quarterly, 1998)
–Get great results with
ordinary people (Hidden
Value, O’Reilly & Pfeffer,1996)
““In short, hiring isIn short, hiring is the the most immost impportant ortant
asasppect of businessect of business and yet remains and yet remains
woefully woefully misunderstood.”misunderstood.”
Source: Source: Wall Street JournalWall Street Journal, 10.29.08,, 10.29.08, review ofreview of Who: The A Method for Hiring, Who: The A Method for Hiring,
Geoff Smart and Randy StreetGeoff Smart and Randy Street
#1#1 cause of cause ofDis-satisfaction?Dis-satisfaction?
Employee retention & satisfaction:Employee retention & satisfaction:
OverwhelminOverwhelminggllyy, , based on thebased on the first-first-
line manaline managger!er!
Source: Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, Source: Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, First, Break All the First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do DifferentlyRules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently
““You have to You have to treat your treat your
employees like employees like customers.”customers.” —Herb Kelleher, —Herb Kelleher,
complete answer, upon being asked his “secrets to success”complete answer, upon being asked his “secrets to success”
Source: Joe Nocera, Source: Joe Nocera, NYTNYT, “Parting Words of an Airline Pioneer,” on the occasion , “Parting Words of an Airline Pioneer,” on the occasion of Herb Kelleher’s retirement after 37 years at Southwest Airlines (SWA’s pilots of Herb Kelleher’s retirement after 37 years at Southwest Airlines (SWA’s pilots
union took out a full-page ad in USA Today thanking HK for all he had done; union took out a full-page ad in USA Today thanking HK for all he had done; across theacross the
way in Dallas American Airlines’ pilots were picketing the Annual Meeting)way in Dallas American Airlines’ pilots were picketing the Annual Meeting)
Press Ganey AssocPress Ganey Assoc:: 139,380139,380 former former patients from patients from 225225 hospitals: hospitals:
nonenone of THE top 15 factors of THE top 15 factors
determining determining PPatient atient SSatisfaction atisfaction referred to patient’s health referred to patient’s health outcomeoutcome
P.S.P.S. directldirectly related to y related to StaffStaff InteractionInteractionP.S.P.S. directldirectly correlated with y correlated with EmploEmployyee ee
SatisfactionSatisfaction
Source: Source: Putting Patients FirstPutting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel
““Natural selection is death. ...Natural selection is death. ...
Without huge amounts of Without huge amounts of death, organisms do not death, organisms do not
change over time.change over time. ... Death is ... Death is the mother of structure. ... It took the mother of structure. ... It took
four billion years of death ... to four billion years of death ... to invent the human mind ...”invent the human mind ...” — — The The
Cobra EventCobra Event
The greatest dangerThe greatest dangerfor most of usfor most of us
is not that our aim isis not that our aim istoo hightoo high
and we miss it,and we miss it,but that it isbut that it is
too lowtoo lowand we reach it.and we reach it.
Michelangelo
Mediocrity
is a
Disease
Complacency
No obvious ‘Crisis’Great resources
General low standards
Focus on narrow functional goals
Internal measures have inappropriate performance indices
Inadequate external reporting feedback
Low confrontation culture
Denial of bad news
Management “happy talk”
Management Support
• True Believer: highly committed to the values and persistent
• Believer: supports values but other priorities dominate
• Skeptic: doubts about values being effective
• Detractor: open, visible troublemaker, undermines values
Source: Adapted from McDonald, G. (1989). Manager attitudes to training. Asia
Pacific HRM, 27(4).
Manager’s 10 point checklist self assessment
1. ….Used stories to reinforce the organisation’s values
2. ….Verbally acknowledged individual’s efforts and achievements
3. ….Written a note to someone to acknowledge special effort and achievements
4. ….Had a discussion with one of my direct reports in relation to their role, personal development and career aspirations
5. ….Provided constructive feedback to one of my direct reports on how they could improve the way they are doing things
6. ….Invested some one-on-one time with one of my direct reports to ‘chew the fat’
7. ….Invested some face time with employees at lower levels in the organisation
8. ….Invested some time in ‘tapping the pulse’ listening to people’s issues and concerns
9. ….Had a conversation concerning poor performance and how to deal with it effectively
10. ….Prompted people to collaborate and share information and experience with people in other parts of the organisation
In the past month I have….
