Leveraging Culture Change to Improve Business Performance

1
Leveraging Culture Change to Improve Business
Performance

• Chicago Industrial/Organizational Psychologist
• Robert Rodriguez, Ph.D.
• Astira Group
• April 5, 2002

2
What is Culture?

• Shared assumptions a group has learned.
• These assumptions are considered valid and
  therefore are taught to new members.
• The correct way to perceive, think behave.

3
The Functions of Culture

• Provides stability, consistency meaning.
• Holds the organization together by providing
  focus, identity and commitment.
• Acts as a defense mechanism and makes culture
  change difficult.

4
Barbados Facility

• For business opportunity financial reasons, US
  based printing organization opened a facility in
  1994.
• Financial investment approximately 35 million
• American managers were sent to Barbados to start
  up and manage the business.
• Approximately 85 Bajans hired

5
Barbados History

• Colonized by the British in the 1600s.
• Sugar Plantations became a profitable industry.
• 92 of Bajans are black descendants of West
  African slaves.
• High unemployment. High literacy rate.

6
Organizational Structure

• 6 members on Mgmt. team. Only 1 Bajan on team.

Mgmt

• 14 members. Only 4 Bajans

Operations

• 80 employees. All Bajans

Manufacturing
7
Trouble from the Start

• From the very beginning, productivity and quality
  were low for the facility.
• Several attempts were made to bring about change.
  All unsuccessful.
• Managers began to label the Bajans lazy
• Future of the plant in jeopardy.

8
Discovery of Exploitation

• OD team met with local psychologist,
  anthropologist and sociologist at the University
  of the West Indies.
• Firm had created a plantocracy
• When people feel exploited, there is no incentive
  to work hard.
• Impacts stories and work ethic. Matter of
  survival

9
Plantocracy

• British Land Owner. White male.

Owner

• Managed the plantation. Occasionally a local.

Overseers
Slaves

• African slaves

10
Organizational Culture Inventory
11
OCI Passive/Defensive Culture

• 3 oclock 6 oclock positions
• Approval
• Conventional
• Dependent
• Avoidance
• Tend to avoid conflict, members are expected to
  conform, limited individual initiative, and a
  overall lack of accountability.

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Culture Change
A Step towards Democracy (G9)
Overcome Exploitation Environment Enhance
Business Performance Improve Employee/
Management Relations
The Need for Change
CULTURE CHANGE
The Development of a Team
Overcoming Resistance

Link with Continuous Improvement Team
13
Culture Change
Leadership
Success
Culture
14
Organizational Culture Inventory
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OCI Constructive Culture

• 11 oclock 2 oclock positions
• Achievement
• Self-Actualizing
• Encouraging
• Affiliative
• Tend to have transformational leaders, attain
  challenging goals, value creativity quality,
  and employees are supportive cooperative with
  each other.

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Implications

• Look outside of the client organization for
  answers to the culture.
• Be careful of an exploitation mindset, especially
  when working internationally.
• Address issues relating to Loss of Power
• Bottom Up approach to culture change can also be
  successful.

17
Information

• OD intervention was published in the January 2002
  issue of The OD Practitioner Journal.
• Contact Information
• Dr. Robert Rodriguez
• Robert_at_astira.com
• 312/423-8736