Organizational culture is the glue that holds organizations together. Culture in this context includes a combination or a set of an organization’s key internal rituals, belief systems, norms, behaviors, values, and symbols that form the core identity of organizations. It is a critical success factor that links the organization to change management. Culture shapes individuals in an organization and influences these individuals as well. It encompasses practices, assumptions, and sets of values that have evolved over time in an organization. Employees’ job satisfaction and job commitment are also highly influenced by the organizational culture. It directly influences organizational effectiveness, performance, and efficiency in relation to changes at the workplace.
The relationship between organizational culture and organizational change is distinct and works both ways. An organization’s specific culture can make change easier or harder, can affect the way change is communicated, and can impact the overall effectiveness of change (Fullan, 2020). Significant organizational change can also have a profound effect on an organization’s culture (Fullan, 2020). When there is significant change within a company or organization, this is referred to as organizational change (Fullan, 2020). The term generally refers to changes with a high level of impact.
Various examples may refer to organizational change. This might be a merger with another company, a major relocation, a transition from a private company to a public corporation, or a change in leadership, for instance (Hall & Hord, 2020). The most direct link between organizational culture and organizational change is adaptability. Some companies embrace change — they constantly look for ways to improve operations and remain on the leading edge of innovation (Hall & Hord, 2020). Other companies are more traditional and prefer to continue to conduct business as they always have, regardless of market changes. Traditional companies do not generally adapt well to change; they may resist until well after the change is necessary and may fail to implement change effectively.
Another cultural factor affecting change is the effectiveness of communication channels. Companies that are set up to quickly, clearly, and effectively communicate change and change strategies to employees, clients, and vendors are likely to have more effective change initiatives. In addition, a company that encourages employee feedback is likely to experience less worker stress during times of change. The relationship between organizational culture and organizational change also is reflected in how change affects culture. This is especially relevant when the change involves leadership, either due to a sale or acquisition or because top leadership leaves the company (Juliati, 2021). When this happens, the new leadership, or new governing company, is likely to change the culture of the company significantly.
Several studies have already identified differences in the values of public accountants at different ranks. Some found that managers were more committed than staff members to both the firms in which they were employed and the accounting profession in general (Kwarteng & Aveh, 2018). They also found that organizational, professional conflict was lower for managers than for staff members.’
Some researchers discovered further that as public accountants reach higher levels in the Organizational hierarchy, they have stronger levels of self-actualization, greater extrinsic and intrinsic job satisfaction, and stronger organizational and professional commitment. Discuss differences in the tasks and responsibilities of accountants at different ranks, noting that public accountants at higher levels of the organizational hierarchy face less structured tasks and rely more heavily on professional judgment and leadership skills than public accountants at lower levels (Kwarteng & Aveh, 2018). Power distance. Some indicate that appropriate coordination and control are a function of the level of task uncertainty and interdependence (Kwarteng & Aveh, 2018). That is, as the tasks performed by a work unit become Increasingly uncertain and interdependent, coordination and control should become less structured and mechanistic. Therefore, employees at higher ranks, who face greater task uncertainty and interdependence, should observe and prefer less autocratic and authoritative supervision and be more inclined to express disagreement with their supervisors.
Consider the case of a company I am familiar with that just employed a seasoned executive manager as an illustration. They were a midsize company that was doing rather well, so well that they had to hire senior management away from one of their bigger competitors to fill an empty position (Vien, 2021). Furthermore, this new hire not only brought a wealth of expertise but also a wealth of novel ideas to the table. Many useful suggestions included improving daily operations or developing new procedures and checklists.
Furthermore, those concepts were fantastic, but when they are constantly being thrown at a very hierarchical company whose employees take great pleasure in the conventional approaches, employees get defensive. There was much resistance to it as people were asking questions such as “Who is this newcomer to our midst, challenging our collective wisdom and our current course of action?” So rather than seeing them as possibilities for growth and improvement, people instead saw them as attacks on the one thing they valued most: their established order and position in it. Thus, organizational culture was not able to accommodate the change in the organizational structure or operational processes, and it was stuck. The change did not last, and people returned to their old ways because of their prejudice and superfluous relation to the new manager.
References
Fullan, M. (2020). Leading in a culture of change. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
Hall, G. E., & Hord, S. M. (2020). Implementing change: Patterns, principles, and potholes. Pearson Education, Inc.
Hanif, H., Rakhman, A., & Nurkholis, M. (2019). The construction of entrepreneurial accounting: Evidence from Indonesia. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Hanif, H, 104-117.
Juliati, F. (2021). The influence of organizational culture, work ethos and work discipline on employee performance. Jurnal Mahasiswa Ekonomi & Bisnis, 1(1).
Kwarteng, A. and Aveh, F. (2018). Empirical examination of organizational culture on accounting information system and corporate performance: Evidence from a developing country perspective. Meditari Accountancy Research, 26(4), pp. 675-698. Web.
Vien, C. (2021). What type of culture does your firm have? Journal of Accountancy. Web.