Showing papers on "Culture change published in 1992"

The cult[ure] of the customer

Abstract: Much organizational restructuring, at least in the UK and USA, seeks to replace organizational regulation by that of the market. These developments centre around an emphasis on relations with customers - the ‘sovereign consumer’- as a paradigm for effective forms of organizational relations; they are apparent in, and underpin, a wide variety of organizational developments: just-in-time, total quality management, culture change programmes. Understanding these developments requires consideration of the discourse of enterprise of which the culture of the (internal) customer constitutes a key element. Defining internal organizational relations ‘as if’they were customer/supplier relations means replacing bureaucratic regulation and stability with the constant uncertainties of the market, and thus requiring enterprise from employees. This discourse has fundamental implications for management attempts to define working practices and relations and, ultimately, has impact on the conduct and identities of employees. Understanding these developments is not possible if analysis remains at the level of the organization. It requires that organizational restructurings, and the discourse which supports them, be located within the social and political rationality of enterprise. The certainties of management, the conviction that environmental challenge and competitive threat must be met by the cult[ure] of the customer, are due to managements’largely unquestioned acceptance of the normality and perceived good sense of the discourse of enterprise.

Learning to be an American parent: how cultural models gain directive force

Abstract: When John Whiting came to publish his dissertation research on childrearing practices in a New Guinea tribe (Whiting 1941), he titled the work “Becoming a Kwoma.” The title was deliberately chosen to express the idea that children are not born with an understanding of their cultural identity, but that they must learn to think and act like members of a particular social group. This theme has received renewed attention under the rubric of “the acquisition of culture” (Schwartz 1981, Harkness 1990), drawing metaphorically from the field of child language to suggest the kinds of mental processes that may be involved in the child's learning of the culture. In both recent models of culture acquisition and earlier formulations of “childhood socialization,” the role of parents is taken as central. Strangely, however, anthropologists have rarely examined the processes by which parents learn to be parents in a manner consistent with the beliefs and practices of their own culture. In traditional societies where the ethnographer could at least imagine a time before contact with western culture, the task of learning to be a parent as part of learning the culture may have seemed fairly straightforward. Ethnographic accounts of traditional societies in East Africa, for example, detail how children are trained to be child nurses at an early age, how they learn the lore of married life through the circumcision ceremonies, and how they begin married life and parenthood under the close supervision of their elders.

Contemporary School Administration: An Introduction

Abstract: Each chapter concludes with â Implications for Practice.â 1. Perspective of Educational Administration. Defining Leadership, Management, and Administration. Evolution of School Administration. Contemporary Conditions. 2. Administration Roles in Professional Education. School Administration as a Profession. Nature of Administrative Work. School-Level Administration. District-Level Administration. Other Careers in School Administration. 3. The Study of School Administration. Professional Preparation Programs. Professional Preparation Components. Preparing Administrators in the 21st Century. 4. School Administration: Requirements and Opportunities. Licensing and Certification. Quality of Life Considerations. Contemporary Opportunities. 5. Control and Authority in Public Education. Government's Interest in Education. Interests in Colonial America. Evolving Purposes. Environmental Influences. Purposes and Control. Federal Government's Role. Sources of Intervention. Federal Government's Present Role. State Government's Role. Legislative. Judicial. Executive. State Government's Present Role. Local School Districts. Local District Boards. District Superintendent. Present Status of Local Districts. Intermediate School Districts. 6. Social, Political and Historical Context of Private Education. Historical Overview. Types of Private Schools. Parochial Schools. Other Private Schools. Home Schooling. Status of Private Education in the United States. Resurgence of Interest in Private Education. Types of Private Schools. Governance and Control of Private Schools. Political and Legal Issues. Regulation of Private Schools. Governmental Aid to Private Schools. Legal Issues. 7. Organizational Dimensions of Schools. Defining Organizations and Organizational Behavior. Important Concepts. Organizational Theory. Professional Organizations. Organizational Climate. Authority. Organizational Adaptability. Schools as Organizations. Social Frame. Professional Frame. Political Frame. Public Frame. Contemporary Context for Schools. Preparing Schools for Change. Building Professional Cultures. 8. The Roles of School in Society. Schools as a Mirror of Society. Conflicting Values and Purposes. Goals Versus Purposes. 9. Administrative Strategies and Styles. Complexity of Leadership. Administrative Strategies. Administrative Style. Normative Models for Administrative Style. 10. Behavior, Decision Making, and Reflective Practice. Descriptive Models of Administrative Behavior. Personal Needs and Dispositions. Personal and Situational Variables. Value of Descriptive Models. Administration and Decision Making. Rational Models. Ethical Models. Participatory Models. Political Models. Garbage Can Model. Reflective Practice. For Further Reflection. 11. Important Aspects of Practice. Motivation. Understanding Motivation. Content Theories. Process Theories. Motivation and the Exercise of Power. Communication. Elements of Communication. Using Communication Effectively. Importance of Communication. Ethical Practice. Taxonomy of Ethical Issues. Ethical Issues of Daily Practice. Time Management. Time Management Strategies. Importance of Time Management. 12. Demands for School Reform. Society and Schools in the 21st Century. Demographic Trends. School-Related Problems. Tensions Between Excellence and Equity. The First Wave: 1983-1987. The Second Wave: 1988-. 13. Responses to Student Needs and Public Dissatisfaction. Failure and an Unfinished Agenda. Reasons for Failure. An Unfinished Agenda. Reform Through Market-Oriented Concepts. Choice Programs. Vouchers and Tax Credits. Charter Schools. Reform Through Restructuring. School Partnerships. 14. Transforming the School. Organizational Change. Resistance to Change. Change Strategies. Culture Change. Implications for Practice. 15. Women and Minorities in School Administration. Women and Minorities in Education. The Concern in Administration. Characteristics, Placements, and Barriers. Seeking Solutions. Implications for Practice. 16. Planning Your Career. Personal Career Planning. Changing Attitudes and Assumptions. Building an Individual Plan. Implications for Practice.

Values and Valuations: The Conflicts between Culture Change and Job Cuts

Abstract: Based on empirical work from two major UK organizations. British Airways and BT (formerly British Telecom), both of whom have, after privatization, engaged in large‐scale culture change programmes. Both organizations have made substantial job cuts and (at the time of writing in May 1991) both organizations have announced the need for further redundancies. Considers the objectives of culture change programmes and evaluates the extent to which they have been achieved in the organizations concerned, i.e. what values are cultivated and to what extent are they shared by organizational members? Considers the conflicting messages offered by the redundancy programmes and attempts to assess the implications for individuals and for self‐perception of job losses in the context of culture change.

Creating, Maintaining and Reinforcing a Customer Service Culture

Abstract: Customer service is now playing a vital role in every company′s attempt to improve the quality of its offering. Based on a number of real‐life projects carried out by the Marketing Improvements Group across many industry sectors, explores three main issues: why companies need a customer service culture; how to create and, more importantly, sustain the culture once developed; why having a good customer service culture is worth the time and resource investment. Also describes the process through which companies should go, in order to achieve a customer‐service culture change. These include: gaining the commitment of the whole company; the identification of the key issues; the establishment of causes; identifying how to change behaviour.

Surveying the scene

Abstract: Draws on the results of recent Surveys which highlight the need for clear vision and sustained top management commitment in culture change. Suggests that in order to gain the necessary skills, management should adopt more of the attitudes, approaches, tools and techniques that have transformed management performance in benchmark companies. Uses the case of Rank Xerox to illustrate how a quality culture might be created.

Interaction and Isolation

Abstract: Since the 1960s, it has become axiomatic in American archaeology to argue that culture change is predicated on the existence of variability in cultural and behavioral strategies The debate over whether to emphasize norms or variation in archaeological interpretation, in fact, has become passe At the same time, site-specific studies have been argued to be less relevant Regional and panregional approaches that emphasize the systemic development of cultural systems and interaction are now viewed as a synthetic alternative to narrower culture historical studies of single sites The changing spatial perspectives of archaeologists (from sites to regions and panregions) and the acknowledged importance of cultural and behavioral variation in change studies is the self-evident result of disciplinary housekeeping that has taken place during the last two decades What is not self-evident despite such housekeeping, however, is how the axes of cultural and behavioral variation are acted upon by the selective pressures that mold cultural systems In this chapter, I explore the issues of variation and change in a limited way by focusing on the spatial characteristics of panregional systems As the title of this chapter suggests, I am interested in the “empty” spaces in such systems, the areas most often neglected by the spatial analytic techniques that emphasize nodal analyses, connectivity measures and ideas of centrality Yet the purpose of this chapter is to show how these “empty” spaces create an important dynamic in regional and panregional systems, and are essential in the development, maintenance, and decline of large-scale interactive networks

Opportunity 2000: a culture change approach to equal opportunity

Abstract: Describes approach of Opportunity 2000, the UK business‐led campaign, which aims to rebalance the workforce so that women are employed, especially in management, in a way that reflects their abilities. The campaign is underpinned by research in the UK, USA and elsewhere. Compares models of organizational culture change and implementation of equal opportunities and develops a new model of change. Gives examples of the business case for equal opportunity.

Effects on Academic Culture of Shifts from Oral to Written Traditions: The Case of University Accreditation

Abstract: Academe's primary function in Western culture is to systematize and communicate knowledge, mainly in oral and written forms. Universities therefore would be expected to use literary skills as the main means of communication and administrative functioning. The academy would thus be expected to be one of the most articulate and literate of communities, so it is interesting to know how oral and written traditions are used within the various subcultures of the university and how these subcultures respond to directed culture change. This paper analyzes the changes in academic culture resulting from a two-year process of reaffirmation of accreditation at a public university. It focuses on the various verbal, written, and organizational responses of academic subcultures to a request by a regional accrediting association for a written summary of their present and future activities. It begins by presenting a description of the culture of the university, and then describes the accreditation self-study process, its ...

Total quality and change management: integrating approaches for organisation design

Abstract: Offers a framework for understanding and improving the implementation of a total quality (TQ) culture in manufacturing companies. It is based on the assumption that management team understanding of the inherent opportunities and limitations of each approach is essential for maintaining the momentum of culture change. Continuous improvement is difficult because a whole new mindset or paradigm is required to relaunch a TQ programme. Central to this paradigm switch is the revealing of shared, taken-for-granted assumptions amongst the management team about how to organise, manage and compete through TQ. Current disparate practices, which the authors have labelled the TTQ model (transformation model of TQ), seek to change managerial thinking about TQ by creating company-generated managerial assumptions against ideas 'from outside'. >

Migration and stress among corporate employees

Abstract: Globalisation of business interests has resulted in new trends in international mobility of the highly skilled. Skilled flows can no longer be seen as the combined result of individual decision-making processes. Rather, the rise of the multinational since the Second World War has ensured that the majority of skilled worker mobility across borders is as the result of inter- and intra-organisational relocation, transfer and travel policies: company strategies applied to fulfil corporate aims. Skilled employees of such companies are participants in a mobility process closely related to paths of career development, in which mobility has a dramatic impact upon their relationship with their employer, with their family and upon their career. This thesis argues that such mobility brings about changes in the relationship of the individual with their immediate environment (organisation, family and career) and alters the physical space within which these relationships take place. These changes are hypothesised to generate stress in line with established theories of stress generation through role strain and conflict. The study isolates a set of potentially stressful life events and records their occurrence, and the incidence of stress symptoms across a sample of skilled corporate employees undertaking international mobility. Quantitative and qualitative methods are used to establish the relationship between mobility events and stress. New patterns of international mobility among the highly skilled are analysed before policies and trends at the level of individual companies are examined. Depth interviews are used to establish the meaning of frequent and peripatetic patterns of migration and travel to employees and their families. Diaries are used to quantify the occurrence of mobility events and short-term stress symptoms and determine the temporal relationship between them. Survey evidence points to a complex relationship between mobility event experience and short-term stress symptoms. Stress outcome is dependent upon the types of mobility undertaken, but also prior experience of mobility, other person variables and the support offered by firms. The study questions the efficiency of corporate mobility policy which ignores its impact on the well¬being of those employees on the front line of change. The need to look beyond the individual's role within the organisation and of the effect of culture change is shown. Mobility alters the temporal and spatial context within which the balancing of corporate and own career needs with family needs is undertaken. The study goes some way towards enabling these needs to be quantified and considered comprehensively in the mobility decision. In these ways the debate about the management and support of mobility in the short term, and the use of mobility in the long term is informed. A quantitative device is developed which has the ability to aid this decision-making process. The thesis thus highlights the need for, and feasibility of, policy mechanisms which address the effect of mobility upon all actors in the system and which manage geographical changes at the individual level to those which can be operationally justified and adequately supported.

Towards a learning organization: 2. the method

Abstract: The concluding article of two parts, which observes a culture change project – The Learning Edge – developed at Grand Metropolitan Foods Europe and discusses the training interventions involved. Describes the Learning Wheel – which allows employees to enter at any particular stage – and also the courses which involve line managers. The latter have four different courses; Leadership and Counselling Skills being the last two, preceded by Development Workshop and Manager as Coach, which develop complementary effects from differing skills and qualifications. Women in clerical grades were introduced to the “Springboard” programme to give impetus to self‐development and to enable full potential to be acquired. The benefits are starting to accrue in various areas, though only time will tell (three to five years is the prediction). Concludes that only with change from knowledge, constant reviews and flexibility can organizations continue to prosper and grow.

Facilitating Public Sector Organisational Culture Change through the Process of Transformational Leadership

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to re‐explore the concept of transformational leadership using a combination of action research methods in order to contribute to a clearer understanding of the practice of strategy development and culture change management.

Leading by example

Abstract: Argues that in order to change the corporate culture, management should focus on changing its own behaviour first, before leading the rest of the organization into a new culture. Examines differences between organizational and management culture, and introduces the management culture continuum. States that planned culture change is most likely to fail if measurement of progress is not consistent and supportive of the desired behaviour. Provides a five‐step method of gradually changing corporate culture through management behaviour.

Establishing marital allegiance–monitoring the success of the marriage

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on establishing marital allegiance. Post-merger stabilization, particularly if the organization relies on the traditional knock-on or domino approach to culture change or integration, is likely to take several years, depending on the size of the organization. Increased organizational size in itself reduces feelings of pressure to participate. Because employees frequently feel as if they are even smaller cogs in an even larger wheel, they find it more difficult to identify with the organization. The energy expended in introducing, integrating systems, and procedures tends to stretch managerial resources almost to breaking point. The importance of monitoring the integration cannot be overemphasized. Feedback mechanisms introduced in the early stages should remain in place and operate for some time post-merger/acquisition.