6 - Strategy and organisational culture Flashcards
CoSec and an org’s culture
CoSec will be part of the culture by virtue of being an employee
but their role will often require them to step back mentally or physically, to objectively consider how and why other people behave in certain ways
Barney definition of organisational culture
A complex set of values, beliefs, assumptions and symbols that define the way in which a firm conducts its business
Simple, frequently occurring definition of culture (use in exam with Barney def)
The way we do things around here
What is strategic drift?
The time gap between the development of the strategy and the changes within the environment
4 phases within strategic drift process
Incremental strategic change
Strategic drift
Flux
Transformation or death
Incremental strategic change (phase of strategic drift process)
Small changes that occur during long periods of relative stability - orgs adapt gradually without need for more radical change
Strategic drift (phase of strategic drift process)
Occurs where micro or macro changes restrict org’s ability to amend strategy - causes gap between strategy and environment to widen
Flux (phase of strategic drift process)
Caused by gaps developing during strategic drift stage - causes disagreements and complexity within org over how to respond
Transformation or death (phase of strategic drift process)
Result that naturally emanates from stage of flux - agreed resolution to realign strategy with environment, or strategy (and potentially company) ceases to exist
Bias in strategy
Natural/cognitive bias can have great impact on strategy - we should try and be as objective as possible when developing strategy so it is important to be on the lookout for bias and be aware of types of bias
3 examples of cognitive bias
Confirmation bias - selecting what agrees with existing beliefs
Recency bias - not looking far enough back
Groupthink bias - fitting in with the crowd
Johnson’s 3 main cultural frames that need to be taken into consideration to understand individual’s behaviour
Geographic - national/regional influences
Organisational field - sector of industry with differing prof influencers
Organisation - intermix of subcultures and divisions within org itself
4 elements within geographical cultural frame
- Relationship with authority
- Acceptance of inequality
- Longevity of a vision
- Tolerance of uncertainty
3 elements within organisational field cultural frame
Categorisation (labelling of activities)
Recipes (set of assumptions, norms, routines - ‘best practice’)
Legitimacy (institutionalisation of categories and recipes across period of time)
4 elements within organisation cultural frame
Mission - underlying causes of the heartbeat
Methods - habits of an organisation, why tasks are carried out in certain ways
Principles - hierarchical structure, flow of information
Values - fundamental beliefs about humanity that pervade the organisation
Johnson’s cultural web - 6 elements
Organisational structures - formal hierarchical lines and lines of communication
Power structures - the people who ultimately hold the power
Symbols - tangible visible presence of org (logos, cars driven by execs)
Stories - how people talk about the org, myths and realities
Rituals and routines - daily behaviour of individuals
Control systems - methods of monitoring and maintaining people
Dominant culture
Majority of employees are driven by and moulded by overriding and often unchallenged set of values
Strong culture
Core values are widely shared within org and drive org forward
Goldsmith and Clutterbuck - 7 pros of strong culture
(reverse is true for weak culture)
- Provides sense of identity
- Develops commitment
- Shapes behaviour
- Internalises control systems
- Support and sustain decision-making
- Eases communication and co-operation
- Decreases ambiguity
Weak culture
Minority are striving to get their views and values heard, following own goals rather than those of org
Kotter and Heskett - 7 causes of weak culture
- Individual entrepreneurship
- Over-dominant market position
- Lack of appropriately qualified or experienced managers
- Increasing bureaucracy
- Ignoring external influences and forces
- Management becoming insular or political
- Arrogant approach led by hubris
Why can a weak culture become a liability?
Provides a barrier to change, as prevailing culture will be disconnected with org’s goals
Why can a strong/dominant culture become a liability?
Insistence on maintaining core values can lead to failure if org fails to recognise where values are out of step with changing macro environment
6 areas that require constant vigilance to ensure alignment of the strategy with the culture of the organisation
silo thinking
dominant chief executive
leadership arrogance
lack of openness to challenge
lack of diversity
hierarchical attitude
Why is it key for a CoSec to have a very close awareness of the culture of an organisation?
It helps explain people and organisational behaviour, and can be a significant area for an objective CoSec to challenge
Why is culture so relevant to strategy
It is impossible to consider the dev of strategy without understanding nature of org culture, individuals, and other companies within sector.
In order to deliver sustainable strategic change, the culture of the organisation may need to be changed, as a conflicting culture can hold the strategy back.
