Developing A Corporate Culture As Competitive Advantage

By M. Isi Eromosele

Corporate culture has become an important topic in business primarily during the last two decades. While corporate culture is an intangible concept, it clearly plays a meaningful role in corporations, affecting employees and organizational operations throughout a firm.

While culture is not the only determinant of business success or failure, a positive culture can be a significant competitive advantage over organizations with which a firm competes.

People come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and cultural heritages, have a variety of personalities, and have been shaped by a diverse range of experiences. When people from diverse backgrounds are brought together in a work environment, these factors will manifest themselves in an infinite variety of ways.

Over time a dominant set of norms will emerge, guiding the way in which work is accomplished within the organization. This phenomenon gives rise to the concept of corporate (or organizational) culture.

Corporate Culture Defined

There are many ways to define corporate culture because it is influenced heavily by factors such as the industry in which the company operates, its geographic location, events that have occurred during its history, the personalities of its employees, and their patterns of interaction.

A positive corporate culture typically encompasses several key elements.

First, it is fostered not merely by a mission statement, but by a clear corporate vision, which is a mental picture of the company’s desired future. Corporate visions are most effective when clearly communicated by top organizational leaders who exhibit strong values and have dynamic, charismatic personalities.

Second, corporate culture is supported by corporate values that are consistent with the purpose of the company and aligned with the personal values of organizational members. Corporate vision and values permeate all levels of the organization and are consistently modeled by top management.

Third, employees are highly valued at all levels of the organization (they are often referred to as ``associates’’ or ``team members’’), and there is extensive employee interaction both within and across functional departments.

Fourth, the culture is adaptable, adjusting quickly in response to external conditions and is consistent, treating all employees equally and fairly. Finally, corporate culture is perpetuated in some way, perhaps through tangible symbols, slogans, stories, or ceremonies that highlight corporate values.

Corporate culture is determined by levels of sociability (a measure of sincere friendliness among members of a community) and solidarity (a community’s ability to pursue shared objectives quickly and effectively). The combination of these dimensions gives rise to categories that are labeled as networked, mercenary, fragmented, and communal.

None of these categories is considered to be better than the others. Instead, they serve as a way for management to determine where their culture fits relative to other types of cultures.

A networked culture is distinguished by high sociability and low solidarity. Individuals in this type of culture feel like family and socialize often. Promotions are achieved and work is accomplished via informal networks or subcultures within the organization.

A mercenary culture has low sociability and high solidarity. Individuals do not interact socially but are united in supporting strategic business objectives. They do not tend to exhibit a strong degree of loyalty, staying only as long as their personal needs continue to be met.

A fragmented culture has low sociability and low solidarity. People in this type of organization rarely interact. They may work with their office doors shut or from home. This type of culture might be found in a law office or in a company that is downsizing.

Finally, a communal organization has high sociability and high solidarity. This type of culture is often found in small start-up companies. Members of such an organization work very closely together for long hours and will likely socialize together. They strongly identify with the corporate culture and have a high sense of fairness so that rewards are shared equally.

Building A Positive Culture

An organization that is able to maintain a positive culture is likely to enjoy many benefits. When organization members identify with the culture, the work environment tends to be more enjoyable, which boosts morale. This leads to increased levels of teamwork, sharing of information, and openness to new ideas.

The resulting increased interaction among employees activates learning and continuous improvement because information flows more freely throughout the organization. Additionally, such a culture helps to attract and retain top employees.

Today’s globally-competitive business environment has made a positive corporate culture a critical aspect of success for firms. No longer just a competitive advantage, it has become a prerequisite for success by having a great impact on employee productivity and morale.

M. Isi Eromosele is the President | Chief Executive Officer | Executive Creative Director of Oseme Group - Oseme Creative | Oseme Consulting | Oseme Finance

Copyright Control © 2012 Oseme Group

Effective Organizational Change And Development

By M. Isi Eromosele

Change is a constant, a thread woven into the fabric of our personal and professional lives.

Change occurs within our world and beyond, in national and international events, in the physical environment, in the way organizations are structured and conduct their business, in political and socioeconomic problems and solutions, and in societal norms and values.

As the world becomes more complex and increasingly interconnected, changes seemingly far away affect us. Thus, change may sometimes appear to occur frequently and randomly. We are slowly becoming aware of how connected we are to one another and to our bigger world.

Organizations must be aware of their holistic nature and of the ways their members affect one another. The incredible amount of change has forced individuals and organizations to see the big picture and to be aware of how events affect them and vice versa.

Organizational development is a relatively new area of interest for business and the professions. While the professional development of individuals has been accepted and fostered by a number of organizations for some time, there is still ambiguity surrounding the term organizational development.

The basic concept of both professional development and organizational development is the same, however, with an essential difference in focus.

Professional development attempts to improve an individual’s effectiveness in practice, while organizational development focuses on ways to improve an organization’s overall productivity, human fulfillment and responsiveness to the environment.

These goals are accomplished through a variety of interventions aimed at dealing with specific issues, as well as through ongoing processes.

Change In Organizations

Organizational development efforts, whether facilitated by an outside expert or institutionalized and conducted on an ongoing basis, bring about planned change within organizations and teams.

However, they are but one type of change that occurs in organizations, for change can be both planned and unplanned and can occur in every dimension of the universe. A change in the head of a company can dramatically alter the character of an organization.

Organizational realignment of a company’s strategies, operations and methods may yield similar impacts. Change will not occur unless the need for change is critical.

Because individuals and organizations usually resist change, they typically do not embrace change unless they absolutely have to.

Planning For Change

Before embarking on an organizational change initiative, it is wise to carefully plan strategies and anticipate potential problems. One useful method of planning comes from using the concept of force-field analysis. The term describes analysis that is deceptively simple and can be used to help plan and manage organizational change.

Behavior within an organization is a result of the dynamic balance of two opposing forces. Change would only occur when the balance shifted between these forces.  Driving forces are those forces which positively affect and enhance the desired change. They may be persons, trends, resources, or information.

Opposing them are the restraining forces, which represent the obstacles to the desired change. As these two sets of forces exist within an organization, they create a certain equilibrium. That is, if the weights of the driving and restraining forces are relatively equal, then the organization will remain static.

As changes occur and affect the weight of either one of the two forces, a new balance will occur and the organization will return to what is called “quasi-stationary equilibrium.” Individuals practicing their vocation in the context of the organization may

intuitively employ these concepts in defining and redefining what change is possible.

What is the usefulness of this perspective? Force-field analysis assists in planning in two major ways: (1) as a way for individuals to scan their organizational context, brainstorming and predicting potential changes in the environment; and (2) as a tool for implementing change.

In the former, force field analysis becomes a method of environmental scanning (which is useful in strategic planning), whereby organizations keep abreast of impending and potential changes from societal trends and potential budget constraints to staff turnover and purchases of new office equipment.

The more change can be anticipated, the better individuals and organizations are prepared to deal with the resulting effects. The second use of force-field analysis is similar, offering a way to systematically examine the potential resources that can be brought to bear on organizational change and the restraining forces that can be anticipated. This advance planning and analysis assists in developing strategies to implement the

desired change.

M. Isi Eromosele is the President | Chief Executive Officer | Executive Creative Director of Oseme Group - Oseme Creative | Oseme Consulting | Oseme Finance

Copyright Control © 2012 Oseme Group

Using Change To Create Competitive Advantage

By M. Isi Eromosele

Today, more than ever, change is essential to satisfying expectations. Customers expect higher product and service quality than the price they’re willing to pay to acquire those products and services. More than ever, employees expect security in their jobs. Shareholders expect that today’s investments will yield a higher rate of return over a shorter timeframe.  

In light of today's competitive pressures and a rapidly changing environment, to not change is to give way to one’s competitors. Hence, it is crucial to understand that to improve means to change. To improve means a company must: 

• Provide products and services that solve customers’ problems
• Release products and services consistent with market demand
• Reduce variability in our processes
• Have measurements that indicate success relative to achieving our goal
• Reward people for their contribution to change

What to Change?

From a list of observable symptoms, cause-and-effect is used to identify the underlying common cause, the core problem, for all of the symptoms. In organizations, however, the core problem is inevitably an unresolved conflict that keeps the organization trapped and/or distracted in a constant tug-of-war (management versus market, short term versus long term, centralize versus decentralize, process versus results).

This conflict is called a Core Conflict. Due to the devastating effects caused by Core Conflicts, it is common for organizations to create policies, measurements and behaviors in attempts to treat those negative effects that, when treating the Core Conflict, must be removed, modified or replaced. 

What to Change To

By challenging the logical assumptions behind the Core Conflict, a solution to the Core Conflict is identified. This is only the starting point for the development of a complete solution – a strategy – for resolving all of the initial symptoms, and many others, once and for all.

The strategy must also include the changes that must be made alongside the solution to the Core Conflict to ensure that that solution works and that the organization is restored to its “best possible health.” 

Respectively, these are often the changes to the policies, measurements and behaviors identified in What to Change?, as well as the organization's strategic objectives. 

Lastly, the strategy is not complete until all potential negative side-effects of the strategy have been identified, and the means for preventing or mitigating them become key elements of the strategy. Trimming these negatives side-effects allows an organization to intentionally and systematically create strategies that are a win for all those affected.

Construct an Implementation Plan with strategic components that will:

• Resolve the negatives constraints that are causing the undesirable effects
• Align with your Strategic Objectives that the particular process is a part of
• Identify what specific changes are needed within your internal policies and procedures of your system the ensure that the constraints are eliminated
• Quantify the positive results that will accrue from your implementation

How to Cause a Change

Taking into consideration the unique culture which exists in every organization, a plan is developed to transition an organization from where it is today to realizing the strategy. In other words, a plan for successfully implementing the strategy is created, including what actions must be taken, by whom and when. 

Because resistance to change can block even the most perfectly laid strategies and plans, building active consensus and collaboration, or buy-in is crucial.

• Build a Strategic Objective Plan that chronicles the path to be taken towards implementing the future plan that has been devised. Refine the details of the processes that need to be changed and set specific milestones
• Create a detailed interdependent implementation plan using components of research results of the current problem that have been identified
• Start implementing a detailed plan to achieve the collaborative process needed to achieve positive results

M. Isi Eromosele is the President | Chief Executive Officer | Executive Creative Director of Oseme Group - Oseme Creative | Oseme Consulting | Oseme Finance

Copyright Control © 2012 Oseme Group

Change Management In Global Business

By M. Isi Eromosele

Modern companies are in a state of constant change. From working alone to solving specific tasks, employees are now required to work in an interdependent way. Teamwork is vital. Today, even everyday tasks need to be solved as if they are projects. Our daily lives are becoming so project oriented.

These changes have altered what we expect from the people we work with, requiring us to change the values we live by. Values such as awareness, teamwork, tolerance, responsibility and information are vital, just as flexibility and change readiness. 

The new way to accomplish work tasks is to be project oriented. This poses a problem to many companies as they realize that there is a big difference in working project oriented to solve specific tasks vs. working project oriented all the time.

Traditional project management focuses on solving specific and limited jobs, whereas everyday project management is a continual process. Traditional project methods focus on creating a specific outcome, result or product, where the new approach focuses on improving the process.

Change management deviates from traditional projects in the way that it is more about people. Higher efficiency comes not from working harder, but from improving the human process. Higher efficiency comes from inner-energy, self-motivation, self-worth, and complete understanding for the entire process.  These are the human attributes that needs to be focused on in change management.

The Change Management Model

The change management model should be built to optimize specific phases - making the process more effective. The first four phases are very negative and counterproductive. The model solves this by quickly focusing on understanding (what’s and why’s) and the potential possibilities the change will bring with it. It tries to create energy from start to finish and ensure that everyone is committed.

Variations Of Change Management Model

There are 5 variations of the Change Management Model, which are the following:

• Light model, for small projects
• Medium-sized model, for the majority of projects
• Complex model, for very complicated projects
• Quick model, for projects where time is the most important element
• Day by day model, for your everyday needs

The Light Model

The light model is targeted small changes. These are projects that take a relative short time, projects that are simple and where the people involved know most of the issues.

The time needed for analysis should be a very small task. The initial analysis and planning is often done within

1-2 hours.   

A light project should not exceed 2 primary goals (if you have more, then you should consider using “the medium-sized project model”)

The Medium Sized Model

The medium-sized model is the most popular model for change management projects. It covers changes in projects with a limited group of people and processes. The project duration is usually between 1-12 months. There will also be a significant amount of unknowns that would need to be scrutinized.

The work needed for analysis is more in-depth. You should consider creating an analysis group, which looks into specific elements of the change management process. You should also spend more time on the cost/benefit analysis.

Communication and information is essential in medium-sized projects.  Change management project is primarily about people. An open information policy ensures motivation and better understanding. 

The Complex Model

The complex model can be used for very large and complicated change management projects. It usually involves a large group of people from many different departments. It also covers change of more than one corporate component. The project duration is usually between 6-36 months. The project is very complex and covers the majority of the company. The project contains a significant amount of unknown factors and tasks.

The time needed for analysis is sizeable and takes more than 60% of the total project time. A senior group of people (a top-level analysis team) is gathered and evaluates what each project team should do.

The project itself will be handled by a number of “Power Teams” – dedicated project team, which covers parts of the total project.

An open information policy is vital, as many employees will have doubts about themselves and the project (“what does this mean to me?”, “Will I be fired?” etc.) It is very important to inform employees why the ongoing change is needed, and what to expect the future to be like.

Marking the end is often a critical action in complex change management projects.

 

The Quick Model

The quick change management model is special. Here time is the most important factor. The light, medium-sized and complex models are built upon quality over quantity. This model focuses on finishing a project quickly, thus ensuring short-term wins.

The model has no analysis phase, except for a short action plan. Each task is focused on action and energy.

Quick projects can create increased energy, happiness and motivation.

You should, however, minimize the number of quick projects. The lack of long-term goals and overall understanding can create unfortunate results in the long run.

You can use this model to create extra energy prior to bigger projects.

Day by Day Model

The day by day model does not as such cover change management projects. Instead, it focuses on daily tasks in a project oriented corporate culture. It covers situations where more than one person needs to solve a task - teamwork.

There is no formal analysis and there is no cost/benefit analysis. Both are usually covered in the overall department strategy and yearly budget. 

The day by day model focuses on action, energy and an overall understanding.

It has an evaluation phase built-in in the form of active listening and formal evaluations.

The day by day model can be used for all tasks not directly associated with a project. 

M. Isi Eromosele is the President | Chief Executive Officer | Executive Creative Director of Oseme Group - Oseme Creative | Oseme Consulting | Oseme Finance

Copyright Control © 2011 Oseme Group