Managing Organizational Culture (MOC)

Program Description:

Unlike an organization’s product portfolio, brand name, or process capabilities, culture is not typically viewed as an element of the business that can be managed and deployed as a competitive edge. While few executives deny the power of culture, most fail to proactively address cultural issues and create a corporate environment that fosters involvement, innovation and far-reaching change.

“Managing Organizational Culture (MOC)” is a workshop intended for supervisors and managers who are concerned about or have been asked to help change or transform the culture of their organization or organizational unit.

Course Overview and Outline:

The objective of this two-day workshop is to provide manager-participants with realistic, actionable specific ideas about what they can do, and what they can influence colleagues and subordinates to do, in order to enable the day-to-day practices and procedures of their unit to be more in harmony with its culture. A by-product is that participants become wisely aware that a unit’s culture is often more productive and practical than trying to transform it.

To pave the way for that outcome, the participants need an understanding of “culture,” and specifically of “organization culture.” They likewise need knowledge and techniques for diagnosing the culture of their unit. Attaining these requires all of the first training day and part of the second. The question of “what, therefore, to do,” is addressed toward the end of the second training day.

“Managing Organizational Culture” is delivered in four modules:

Module I: Understanding Organizational Culture

What is Organizational Culture? Abstract definitions don’t make sense without concrete examples. The participants are made aware that the concepts of “culture” and “organizational culture” are only useful only if they are carefully defined and precisely used. The levels of culture are also described in this module.

Module II: Diagnosing Organizational Culture

In this module, the participants are led through four sequential steps:

• Describe the culture’s artifacts
• Identify the culture’s espoused values
• Identify the culture’s underlying assumptions
• Evaluate assumptions facilitating or hindering hoped-for practical improvements in their respective organization or unit.

A case will also be presented to make the participants appreciate the methods of inquiry employed, as well as the implications of diagnosing organizational culture.

Module III: Managing Organizational Culture

This is the heart of the course. The discussion revolves around these topics.

• How Leaders Begin Culture Creation
• How Leaders Embed and Transmit Culture
• What Leaders Need to know About Culture Changes
• A Conceptual Model for Managed Culture Change
• A Real Life Example of LEADER-LED Culture Change

Module IV: Final Integration and Commitments

The intention of this module is to generate commitment by the participants to return their respective organizations with actions steps on how they can manage their respective organizational cultures