Showing papers on "Culture change published in 2011"

Stone toolmaking and the evolution of human culture and cognition.

Abstract: Although many species display behavioural traditions, human culture is unique in the complexity of its technological, symbolic and social contents. Is this extraordinary complexity a product of cognitive evolution, cultural evolution or some interaction of the two? Answering this question will require a much better understanding of patterns of increasing cultural diversity, complexity and rates of change in human evolution. Palaeolithic stone tools provide a relatively abundant and continuous record of such change, but a systematic method for describing the complexity and diversity of these early technologies has yet to be developed. Here, an initial attempt at such a system is presented. Results suggest that rates of Palaeolithic culture change may have been underestimated and that there is a direct relationship between increasing technological complexity and diversity. Cognitive evolution and the greater latitude for cultural variation afforded by increasingly complex technologies may play complementary roles in explaining this pattern.

Safety culture in healthcare: a review of concepts, dimensions, measures and progress

Abstract: Background: A growing body of peer-reviewed studies demonstrate the importance of safety culture in healthcare safety improvement, but little attention has focused on developing a common set of definitions, dimensions and measures. Objectives: Specific objectives of this literature review include: summarising definitions of safety culture and safety climate, identifying theories, dimensions and measures of safety culture in healthcare, and reviewing progress in improving safety culture. Methods: Peer-reviewed, English-language articles published from 1980 to 2009 pertaining to safety culture in healthcare were reviewed. One hundred and thirty-nine studies were included in this review. Results: Results suggest that there is disagreement among researchers as to how safety culture should be defined, as well as whether or not safety culture is intrinsically diverse from the concept of safety climate. This variance extends into the dimensions and measurement of safety culture, and interventions to influence culture change. Discussion: Most studies utilise quantitative surveys to measure safety culture, and propose improvements in safety by implementing multifaceted interventions targeting several dimensions. Conversely, very few studies made their theoretical underpinnings explicit. Moving forward, a common set of definitions and dimensions will enable researchers to better share information and strategies to improve safety culture in healthcare, building momentum in this rapidly expanding field. Advancing the measurement of safety culture to include both quantitative and qualitative methods should be further explored. Using the expertise of traditional culture experts, anthropologists, more in-depth observational and longitudinal research is needed to move research in this area forward.

Culture Change in Long-term Care: Participatory Action Research and the Role of the Resident

Abstract: Purpose: This study’s purpose was to advance the process of culture change within long-term care (LTC) and assisted living settings by using participatory action research (PAR) to promote residents’ competence and nourish the culture change process with the active engagement and leadership of residents. Design and Methods: Seven unitspecific PAR groups, each consisting of 4 –7 residents, 1–2 family members, and 1–3 staff, met 1 hour per week for 4 months in their nursing home or assisted living units to identify areas in need of improvement and to generate ideas for community change. PAR groups included residents with varied levels of physical and cognitive challenges. Residents were defined as visionaries with expertise based on their 24/7 experience in the facility and prior life experiences. Results: All PAR groups generated novel ideas for creative improvements and reforms in their communities and showed initiative to implement their ideas. Challenges to the process included staff participation and sustainability. Implications: PAR is a viable method to stimulate creative resident-led reform ideas and initiatives in LTC. Residents’ expertise has been overlooked within prominent culture change efforts that have developed and facilitated changes from outside-in and top-down. PAR may be incorporated productively within myriad reform efforts to engage residents’ competence. PAR has indirect positive quality of life benefits as a forum of meaningful social engagement and age integration that may transform routinized and often ageist modes of relationships within LTC.

Successful strategies for implementing biopsychosocial screening

Abstract: Objective: This commentary integrates successful screening implementation strategies applied in four institutions in the United States and the accumulated knowledge from international leaders about how to engage key professionals and administration in partnering to create a culture of screening. Methods: As in clinical practice, it is first necessary to know the patient's story, potential resources and what motivates them to coordinated meaningful action. Introducing a comprehensive program of screening shares similarities with clinical care but also requires additional insights and an understanding of what motivates institutions to make resources available. Specific behaviors that are tailored to the values of particular professions and the institution are described to increase the likelihood of program uptake. Once key professionals and administration understand the value of screening and not before, a screening implementation plan is put into place. Results: Since the 1990s our screening programs have been successfully implemented in four settings: three NCI Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one community hospital. It is estimated that more than 15,000 cancer outpatients have been screened for distress and cancer-related problems. These programs have demonstrated that biopsychosocial screening programs can be integrated into busy outpatient cancer clinics as part of standard clinical care. Conclusions: Screening involves an intervention that impacts patients, clinical systems, the institution and staffing levels of psychosocial providers. Provision of scarce resources, active engagement of key professionals and administration will only occur if the stakeholders have a clear sense of the benefits for them. Implementing a screening program creates culture change and culture change not only takes time, but active engagement, patience and persistence. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Culture Change Models and Resident Health Outcomes in Long‐Term Care

Abstract: Purpose: To examine the scientific evidence for the effect of comprehensive culture change model implementation on resident health outcomes in long-term care. Design: In this integrated review, an electronic literature search was conducted for studies that examined the effect of comprehensive culture change models on long-term care residents’ physical and psychosocial health. Methods: Eleven articles were thoroughly reviewed for outcomes related to resident health, and findings were integrated across models. Each study was assigned a level of evidence rating using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network guidelines and an overall recommendation grade was determined. Findings: Evaluation of the literature indicates that results are conflicting, although potential resident benefits as a result of model implementation may exist, particularly in regard to psychosocial health outcomes. Conclusions: Evidence regarding long-term care residents’ health outcomes after comprehensive culture change model implementation is inconsistent, and the grade of the evidence makes practice recommendations difficult at this time. However, integrated findings across studies demonstrate potential psychosocial benefits to long-term care residents. Clinical Relevance: Nurses working in long-term care play a crucial role in the success of culture change initiatives as well as the health outcomes of residents. Empirical evidence for the effect of comprehensive culture change models on resident health outcomes supports reasonable expectations of their implementation and indicates areas for future research and translation into practice.

Captives and Culture Change Implications for Archaeology

Abstract: Captives were found in societies of all social levels throughout much of history and prehistory. They were frequently women, and they could be potent agents of culture change. In some societies they entered a highly stigmatized slave class, while in others they might be fully incorporated into the society of their captors. Regardless of their social position, captives played an important role in the transmission of cultural practices and ultimately in culture change, but few studies have explored the role of captives in culture change, especially in nonstate societies. I begin that process, using ethnohistoric, historic, ethnographic, archaeological, and other data. I document the prevalence and antiquity of captive-taking around the world, its gender selectivity, and the rights of social personhood that captives were accorded in captor societies and assess factors that affected captives’ ability to effect culture change. The focus is especially on craft activities, because captive influence is likely to ...

The Archaeology of Etruscan Society

Abstract: The late sixth century was a period of considerable change in Etruria; this change is traditionally seen as the adoption of superior models from Greece. In a radical re-alignment of agency, this book examines a wide range of Etruscan material culture - mirrors, tombs, sanctuaries, houses and cities - in order to demonstrate the importance of local concerns in the formation of Etruscan material culture. Drawing on recent theoretical developments, the book emphasises the deliberate nature of the smallest of changes in material culture form, and develops the concept of surface as a unifying key to understanding the changes in the ways Etruscans represented themselves in life and death. This concept allows a uniquely holistic approach to the archaeology of Etruscan society and has the potential for other archaeological investigations. The book will interest all scholars and students of classical archaeology. • Offers a new interpretation of Etruscan society • Brings together different types of material culture within a single coherent framework • Proposes surface as an overarching means of looking at material culture Contents Introduction; 1. Models of change in Etruria; 2. Etruscan mirrors: reflections on personal and gender identity; 3. Funerary architecture: the living and the dead; 4. Sanctuaries: the sacred and the profane; 5. Domestic architecture: public and private; 6. Urban form and the concept of the city; 7. Making Etruscan society: culture contact and (material) culture change.

Person-centered care. The heart of culture change.

Abstract: Many long-term care facilities are making the transition from an institutional medical model to a person-centered care model and becoming culture change facilities. The heart of person-centered care is the relationship between the resident and the frontline staff who care for the resident daily. The life of the resident is enriched when his or her desires are honored each and every day. Several different culture change models that embrace person-centered care are available. The transformation of each facility can be accomplished using the Holistic Approach to Transformational Change (HATCh) model.

Contrasting Perspectives on Organizational Culture Change in Schools.

Abstract: The concept of organizational culture continues to be widely used for descriptive and explanatory purposes in academic, policy, and managerial debates in education and other contexts. The range of perspectives on its meaning, which are readily apparent in both educational and non-educational literature, is directly relevant to the analysis of organizational culture change. This article contributes to organizational culture change theory in education by conceptualizing different perspectives on organizational culture—external reality, interpretation, organization, competing subcultures, and process. It then analyzes aspects of an 8-year culture change process in a school staff group using the different perspectives to illustrate their utility. In the paper, we describe the methodology, outline the case study, explain each perspective, and explore the culture change process from that perspective. The paper concludes with a discussion of the usefulness of the analysis for understanding and organizing culture change in educational settings.

Nursing home culture, teamwork, and culture change:

Abstract: Aims: Most developed countries are taking steps to move away from institutional models of care for the aged, in an attempt to both improve quality of life for those receiving care and improve the w...

Growing the scholarship of teaching and learning through institutional culture change

Abstract: The scholarship of teaching and learning represents an important movement within higher education. Through this work, the profession of teaching is able to build upon itself through sustained inquiry and an evidence-based culture. However, for the scholarship of teaching and learning to take hold on a campus, a culture shift often needs to occur, during which time actions by campus leaders, change agents and facilitators lay the groundwork for, and effect, institutional change. This paper uses an organizational theory approach to sketch out a model by which this culture change can occur. It then uses our experiences at a regional comprehensive university in the Midwestern United States to elaborate on culture change models. Our experiences teach valuable lessons about how the scholarship of teaching and learning can become an important element within a campus culture.

Using Appreciative Inquiry to Facilitate Implementation of the Recovery Model in Mental Health Agencies

Abstract: Changing an organization's philosophy is not a simple task. New mission statements, policies, and procedures are frequently insufficient to fundamentally change entrenched attitudes and customary methods of accomplishing tasks, especially when those methods are deeply rooted in organizational cultures. The recovery model represents a new philosophical approach to the treatment of mental illness that differs from established medical model approaches. Thus, difficulties adapting to recovery are likely to be common in agencies seeking to implement this model. The present article argues that organizational culture must be taken into account to ensure effective implementation of the recovery model. Recovery requires client empowerment. It is important that a recovery-oriented agency model this approach by empowering direct care staff (Clossey & Rowlett, 2008). Staff empowerment can result in change in an agency's cultural context. Appreciative inquiry (AI) is an organizational change tool that empowers agency participants, thus helping to create a recovery supportive context. "Culture can be viewed as a bubble of meaning covering the world, a bubble we both create and live within" (Czarniawska-Joerges, 1991, p. 287). Organizational culture is created by stakeholders through words, manner of conversing, and other ways of interacting that reflect deeply held values and attitudes about the way an agency should function. As an organizational change tool, AI targets culture change by altering an agency's dominant discourse and empowering staff. AI has been used successfully in fields such as business and nursing and possesses a philosophy consistent with recovery, but it has rarely been considered in the mental health literature. This article defines the recovery model, presents a literature review illustrating the importance of addressing organizational culture when implementing new services, and defines and explains AI. Use of AI is explicated by describing the experiences of two mental health agencies that used it to aid in making the change from medical model to recovery model care. Directions for future implementation research are also discussed. RECOVERY MODEL The recovery model "is a treatment concept wherein a service environment is designed such that consumers have primary control over decisions about their own care" (NASW Office of Social Work Specialty Practice, 2006). Recovery can be seen as a way of living life with hope and possibility in spite of the presence of mental illness (Anthony, 1993). The recovery model challenges the traditional understanding of mental illness as chronic and debilitating. Recovery advocates point toward two classic longitudinal studies of mental health outcomes that challenge long-standing assumptions of chronicity and decline (Harding, Brooks, Ashikaga, Strauss, & Breier, 1986a, 1986b; Huber, Gross, & Scuttler, 1975). In addition, Warner (2009) cited recent work advocating an optimistic trajectory for sufferers of mental illness. Individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness have written about their experiences living rewarding and rich lives while coping successfully with their disease (Chamberlin, 1998; Chovil, 2005; Copeland, 2001; Deegan, 1996; Fisher, 2003). Often, the recovery model is defined in opposition to the medical model. The medical model maintains that mental illness is a chronic condition, with a prognosis of decline in functioning unless there is appropriate diagnosis and treatment. The emphasis is on expert power and control over consumers' care. In contrast, recovery emphasizes the creation of an empowering community where clients are the experts in their own care. The medical model focuses on disease, whereas recovery focuses on wellness, strength, and resilience (Swarbrick, 2006). Such different worldviews implicitly engender disparate cultural perspectives. Carpenter (2002) has provided a persuasive argument for the recovery model's consistency with social work values, noting that its emphasis on empowerment and hope parallels social work's valuation of self-determination. …

The Diurnal Path of the Sun: Ideology and Interregional Interaction in Ancient Northwest Mesoamerica and the American Southwest

Abstract: The Postclassic period (AD 900-1521) in Mesoamerica marked an era of significant social change. During this period of time in the American Southwest, Puebloan cultures also engaged in their own major social transformations. A central concern of archaeologists has been to seek connections between these two broad regions and these social changes, whether in material culture or ideology, that help to clarify the nature and extent of long-distance interaction and integration of people in the past. This dissertation primarily examines the rise of two major cultural traditions in Northwest Mexico: the Casas Grandes and Aztatlan cultures. To understand these cultures, and the nature of their social, political, economic, and religious organization, is to enable scholars to understand how social change on a continental scale was intertwined and interrelated. This work argues that the rise of the Aztatlan and Casas Grandes cultures was primarily due to the expansion of a new worldview and an entire system of beliefs and socio-political organization, with local manifestations, that was centered upon the Flower World complex, a cosmological framework that penetrated to the core of every aspect of the life of an individual and the community. The adoption of this religious complex, a veritable world religion centered upon the sun and a floral paradisal realm, was at the heart of nearly every major social change in Northwest Mesoamerica and the American Southwest after AD 900. This belief system continues to play a significant role in social change to the present day. Drawing from the spectrum of academic disciplines, this work reflects a broadly humanistic approach in the comparative study and synthesis of data from archaeology, ancient and contemporary religion and symbolism, literature, arts, and native oral histories. Thus, it is uniquely suited for the goal of reconstructing a balanced social history of past and present culture change in the American Southwest and Mesoamerica. The goal of this research is to construct a new conceptual framework for scholars to obtain a better understanding of the mechanisms by which religious beliefs were transmitted and transformed in the past in local and regional cultural contexts across time and space.

Culture Change in Long Term Care Services: Eden-Greenhouse-Aging in the Community

Abstract: To discuss the relationship between residents and the management team, we must first review the transition from a medical model to a social model of care that is sweeping across America. Long-term care (LTC) management models were developed for a very autocratic and hierarchical style of management based in the 1960s. Those facilities were built on the model of hospitals (after the Hill-Burton Act of 1946), where the major focus was on healing, or palliation of, physical ailments and mental impairment. Residents were—and, for the most part still are—isolated from family, friends, and community, often without any consistent interaction from the outside world. However, Baby Boomers today will not tolerate such an environment for their parents or themselves. A cultural revolution started to occur in skilled care facilities that changes the resident and management relationship called Resident-Centered Care. Culture change is the common name given to the national movement for the transformation of older adult ...

Steps Towards Operationalising an Evolutionary Archaeological Definition of Culture

Abstract: This paper examines the definition of archaeological cultures/techno-complexes from an evolutionary perspective, in which culture is defined as a system of social information transmission. A formal methodology is presented through which the concept of a culture can be operationalised, at least within this approach. It has already been argued that in order to study material culture evolution in a manner similar to how palaeontologists study biological change over time, we need explicitly constructed “archaeological taxonomic units”. In palaeontology, the definition of such taxonomic units – most commonly species – is highly controversial, so no readily adoptable methodology exists. Here, it is argued that “culture”, however defined, is a phenomenon that emerges through the actions of individuals. In order to identify “cultures”, we must therefore construct them from the bottom up, beginning with individual actions. Chaine operatoire research, combined with the formal and quantitative identification of variability in individual material culture behaviour allows those traits critical in the social transmission of cultural information to be identified. Once such traits are identified, quantitative, the so-called phylogenetic methods can be used to track material culture change over time. Phylogenetic methods produce nested hierarchies of increasingly exclusive groupings, reflecting descent with modification within lineages of social information transmission. Once such nested hierarchies are constructed, it is possible to define an archaeological culture at any given point in this hierarchy, depending on the scale of analysis. A brief example from the Late Glacial in Southern Scandinavia is presented, and it is shown that this approach can be used to operationalise an evolutionary definition of “culture” and that it improves upon traditional, typologically defined techno-complexes. In conclusion, the benefits and limits of such an evolutionary and quantitative definition of “culture” are discussed.

Understanding culture and culture management in the English NHS: a comparison of professional and patient perspectives.

Abstract: Rationale and objectives The growing interest in patient-focused health care in the National Health System (NHS), especially in the wake of high-profile failures in clinical practice, has underlined the need to involve patients in the design and evaluation of organizational change management programmes at the local level. This includes an evaluation of the relevance of culture and how culture might be assessed and managed in the delivery of high-quality and safe care. The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast the perspectives of health care professionals and patient representatives on purposeful attempts to manage culture change in the English NHS. Methods We used the mixed approach, but with more quantitative than qualitative data. A postal questionnaire survey of clinical governance leads and patient representatives from 276 NHS trusts was followed up with a focus group discussion of eight of the survey participants and semi-structured interviews with 18, including health care professionals and patient representatives from various organizations. We used spss to analyse the survey data and Atlas.ti to analyse the qualitative data. Results and conclusions Both clinical governance leads and patient representatives considered culture management and change to be integral to quality and safety improvement efforts. However, clinical governance leads were more positive than patient representatives about anticipated results from ongoing efforts to manage culture change at the local level. Further, in spite of general agreement on various attributes for culture assessment efforts, there was a striking difference in the level of importance respondents attached to blame free (more important to clinical governance managers) and customization (more important to patient representatives).

The Impact of Positive Practices on Nurse Work Environments: Emerging Applications of Positive Organizational Scholarship:

Abstract: The overall purpose of improving work environments in health care is to enhance patient care delivery and improve the retention of nurses by engaging nurses in a model of cultural change that enhances communication and collaboration and actively involves nurses in organizational and clinical decision making. This article reports the findings from a 5-year study that describes an educational intervention for nurse leaders and a unit-based educational intervention for nursing staff, based on the application of Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) and its impact on nursing work environments.

Inside-Out and Outside-In? Global Development Theory, Policy, and Youth

Abstract: Humanity is young: In 2006, over a third (2.2 billion) were under age 18 and almost half were under age 25. In addition, nearly the majority of young people ages 15–24 lives on less than $2 per day, 15 percent are undernourished, and 14.4 percent are unemployed. Although 85 percent of young people live in developing countries, only a fraction of adolescent development and mental health research is focused there. Efforts to shift the emphasis of such research also must engage with the prevailing views in development theory and policy that link human development with socioeconomic development in a “dual development model.” A critical cultural analysis of this model reveals both the bases and limitations of its power, and identifies an implicit cultural model of the life course within it. The model mandates society-to-individual (outside-in) investments in health and education that are expected to return reciprocal gains in lifetime productivity that benefit society as a whole (inside-out). The current burden and advantage of this equation are assessed as they bear on young people across the globe. A case is made for lifecourse cultural models as a potent framework for mediating among realities, perceptions, and behaviors at the level of youth, parents, and policies under conditions of rapid culture change.

Culture change in aged care: the Eden Alternative(TM)

Abstract: Objective: The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the values that The Eden Alternative represents. The benefits, challenges and potential risks, associated with implementing this ...

Traditions in Transition: Adolescents Remaking Culture

Abstract: This article proposes a cohort-based theoretical model of understanding adolescence as a key moment in the intersection of individual and cultural change. Drawing on work from anthropology, psychology, and sociology, adolescence is shown to be a critical time for examining the proximate interactions of individuals with the cultural models and norms transmitted to them in the re-creation of new generational norms and practices. Examples are provided from Kenya, Mexico, and Nepal as well as the United States. This kind of psychocultural research contributes to policy, practice, and theory regarding both adolescence and cultural change.

The Professional Culture of Australian Family Lawyers: Pathways to Constructive Change

Abstract: An empirical psycholegal field study of 230 Australian family lawyers and 94 clients provides valuable information to guide government policies aimed towards changing the broader litigation culture. The study contributes knowledge of our legal cultural capital and of what motivates and influences family lawyers and litigants in their choice of dispute resolution process. A constructive lawyering model emerges from the study, which shows that family lawyers use a mix of lawyering approaches. The article illustrates how this constructive approach is one that clients prefer in terms of fairness and satisfaction with the dispute resolution experience, and in terms of perceptions of procedural justice. The study also provides evidence that alternative dispute resolution education has made a difference to our family litigation culture. Drawing from the results of the study, the article presents a behavioural map of family lawyers and their clients, and a goal profile that highlights issues, which policymakers, educators, and practitioners may want to consider in any initiatives aimed at culture change in other jurisdictions. The article ultimately argues that culture change is psychological and suggests that we need to understand the psychology of lawyers and their clients to ensure that sustainable and comprehensive long-term change is possible.

Hunter New England Training (HNET): how to effect culture change in a psychiatry medical workforce

Abstract: Objective: It is now recognized that education and training are at the core of quality systems in health care. In this paper we discuss the processes and drivers that underpinned the development of high quality education and training programs and placements for all junior doctors. The early identification and development of doctors interested in psychiatry as a career, engagement and co-operation with the broader junior doctor network and the creation of teaching opportunities for trainees that was linked to their stage of development were identified as key to the success of the program.Conclusions: Targeted, high quality education programs and clinical placements coupled with strategic development of workforce has reduced staff turn over, led to the stabilization of the medical workforce and created a culture where learning and supervision are highly valued.

Reconstructing communities: the impact of regeneration on community dynamics and processes.

Abstract: The New Labour government placed communities at the heart of urban regeneration policy. Area deprivation and social exclusion were to be addressed through rebuilding community in deprived areas, a process involving tenure diversification and the building of bridging social capital to support community empowerment, increased aspirations and wide-spread mutually supportive relationships. There is, however, little empirical evidence that tenure mix is an effective means for achieving the social goals of neighbourhood renewal. This thesis contributes to the mixed tenure debate by exploring the impact of regeneration on community. The research was guided by theories of social structure and cultural systems and argues that the regeneration process may give rise to social divisions and conflict between community groups, inhibiting culture change. The research was conducted on a social housing estate located within the West Midlands region. The findings represent the views of local residents and community workers and suggest that greater recognition needs to be given to the role intimate social ties play in community sustainability, that the provision of supportive services must be balanced with individual self-efficacy, and that regeneration policy should focus less on what new homeowners can bring to a community and more on what community can already offer.

Europeanisation and territorial governance : an inquiry into power and institutional culture change in Portugal

Abstract: From within the European Union integration project, a shared spatial development agenda has emerged. From the beginning of the European Spatial Development Perspective process in 1989, to the post-enlargement Territorial Agenda of 2007, in a non-binding policy context of inexistent formal competencies, member-states agreed on a shared vision, spatial development objectives and planning principles for the EU territory. This catalysed the institutionalisation of European Spatial Planning. Fuelled by processes of socialisation framed within a platform for common policy learning the latter produced an undeniable cultural footprint. Growing attention has been given to the impact that this process has had on domestic planning systems and institutions among member-states. This impact is widely referred to as the Europeanisation of planning. This thesis examines the Portuguese National Spatial Planning Policy Programme (PNPOT) under the light of the hypothetical causal relationship between the Europeanisation of planning and institutional culture change in Portugal. As evidence mounts of innovation in policy discourse, conceptual paradigms, legal framework and practices, the research focus shifts to the domestic drivers, mechanisms, key actors and their motivations, enabling factors and obstacles to culture change. The outcome is a portrait of the contemporary challenges faced by planning in Portugal. The latter highlights the fragilities of the planning-related policy learning dynamics, capacity-building processes, inter-institutional coordination deficit and structural shortcomings in terms of the communicational capacity and the adaptational ability of institutions and practitioners in an evolving public policy context. Finally, although a policysteered process, planning culture change in Portugal, if to prevail, depends on the mobilisation of the community of planners. Through a communicative power framework they must work alongside central and local government and citizens in an inclusive spirit of mutual learning and partnership. For a culture change in planning to have any effect in shaping places, it must first shape minds.

The importance and influence of middle management onorganisational culture change - an action research study

Abstract: This doctoral thesis explores the influence of middle management on cultural change processes in organisations. An action research strategy in a medium-sized organisation that was facing broad structural and cultural change was adopted. It is well-documented in the literature that the position top management takes with respect to cultural change is of high importance for successful change. At the same time, the role of middle management seems to have lacked attention until recently. The purpose of this work is to contribute to knowledge about middle management during such processes and to explore the roles middle-managers play within such cultural change. In addition it researches if middle managers take over the explored roles, when the organisation creates an environment that supports cultural change. Middle management is mainly discussed in the literature in the context of strategic change. In the context of organisational culture research with a middle management perspective still seems to be missing. Using a critical realist philosophical approach an action research strategy was adopted. The practical part reveals the action cycles undertaken. First, the action research cycles according to the consultancy work are presented, as they form an important basis for the parallel conducted thesis cycles. Actions and data collection methods are discussed. During the research different methods have been chosen to create an extensive picture of the development inside the organisation, and to answer the research questions: three qualitative interviews, participative observations on six occasions (workshops and meetings), as well as two quantitative questionnaires (staff surveys). The findings suggest that an organisational culture change occurred in the time-span of two years and that middle management played a crucial part within this process. Several roles can be located with the role `cultural role model' as the most important one. In addition, the roles middle management play as part of strategic changes according to various literatures was in the main confirmed. These findings contribute to knowledge about middle management and help to minimise the existing gap. The results can be used to develop a model of integrating middle managers actively into the change process and using their creative potential. The thesis finishes with recommendations, not only for further research but also concerning practical considerations. Furthermore, limitations of this research work are outlined.