Abstract
For an organization to thrive and survive,it has to change some of its culture so as to have a
competitive advantage over its competitors. Though culture cannot be overlooked ,an
organization has to develop new strategy basing on its culture for effective change, creativity and
innovation .Basing on the Harvard Business review journal (2012),’cultural change that sticks
,start with what is already working.’ and other authors this paper analyses organization culture
change ,forces that drives for organization culture change both external and internal factors.
Change can have both negative and positive responses hence the report gives change
management strategies both from the acceptable Kurt Lewin model and other models .The paper
also analyses the concepts of innovation and creativity within an organization.it finds ways of
encouraging innovation such as integrating formal and informal interventions ,leadership ,open
communication and innovation strategies. The paper concludes by discussing the principles and
practices of innovation and creativity
Organizational Culture Change
Organization culture change is defined as any alliteration in one or more elements of the
organization .This change can be in form of new product or process, new method of doing work
,new organization structure and change in personnel policy or employee benefits. There are two
types of organization change. Planned change involves actions based on a carefully thought-out
process for change that anticipates future difficulties,threats and opportunities The second type
reactive change refers to changes made in response to situations and are primarily unplanned in
nature
Reasons for change within organization
Organization culture change is inevitable in a progressive culture .Modern organizations are
highly dynamic,versatile and adaptive to the multiplicity of changes .organization change maybe
be necessitated by both external and internal factors
External factors
These are pressures derived from the organization’s general and task environment .Every
organization affects and is affected by others –be it suppliers, shareholders ,customers
,government or trade unions .Hence an organization has to give in consideration on its own goals
and the goals of others .For instance government regulations on health ,safety ,and the conduct of
business affect an organization .Labor laws influence hiring ,paying ,training production
decisions. Advancement in technology yields new production techniques thus the need for
change in an organization. Another factor is change in market situations such as competitors
,needs and desires of consumers , suppliers and trade unions .For an organization to survive it
has to cope with the changes in market situation .political factors such as new laws ,court
decisions affect organizations resulting to change. Other factor is business mergers and
acquisition which prompts organizations to change their culture(Jon R Katzeback et al,2012)
Internal factors
These are changes resulting from within the organization .They include: changes in the
managerial policy and style such as revision in organizational goals may call for change(Jon R
Katzeback et al 2012).Internal inefficiency may force organizations to change their structure due
to imbalances in management .internal pressures such as employees desire for share in decision
making, higher wage rates ,conducive working conditions may call for change in an organization
Characteristics of successful change and unsuccessful change
Most changes disturb the equilibrium of situations and environment within which individuals or
groups exists. These responses maybe positive or negative depending upon the fact as how they
affect people. successful change leads to increase in output as individuals accept new ways of
doing things which increases productivity. Leadership ,without a doubt is a strong component of
success of any organizational change and with good leadership there is support and non-
resistance to change from employees .Another aspect of organizational change success is
standards. With successful culture change there is high standard upheld by the management as
well as employees (Larios A,2020).
Unsuccessful change leads to less productivity as individuals are demotivated ,do shoddy work
and there is increased absenteeism. Also there is a lot of resistance as individuals fear losing their
jobs ,status quo and losing power for those in managerial positions
Effective change management strategies
By definition management is the art and science of getting things done through people thus
favourable culture change can be brought about only by working through people.one of the most
accepted model for bringing change in people was suggested by Kurt Lewin in terms of three
phase process .The first phase is the unfreezing whereby an individual is made to realize that
their belief or behavior is no longer appropriate to the current situation hence need for change.
Once the individual has accepted to change the next phase is changing whereby they are
provided with new model to align themselves to through internalization .The last stage is
refreezing ,an individual has to practice and experiment with the new methods of behavior to see
if it blends with his other behavioural attitude. Other change management strategies include
matching strategy with culture; culture is ingrained and any strategy that is at odds with a
company’s culture is doomed. Culture trumps strategy every time(Jon R Katzeback et
al,2012).another strategy is focus on few critical shifts in behavior which if heavily emphasized
,employees will develop additional ways to reinforce them. Another way is redesigning systems
to support new changes for example re-engineering and total quality management .The
organization can also introduce activities and policies that might replace obstructive values.
Training and development can improve behavioral skills and knowledge.
The Concepts of creativity and innovation
Schumpeter(2017) defines innovation as new changes implemented in developing organizational
forms ,new combinations of new or available information ,resource equipment and other factors
.innovation is considered and accepted as the competitive advantage for continuing global
sustainable growth ,as the central process guiding financial development and sustainable
competitive advantage of both companies and nations
Canon (1991) defines creativity as an opportunity to create new appearance ,content or process
by combining existing factors or inputs of production .creativity is the ability to develop new
ideas and use them face problems and possibilities ,while innovation is an ability to perform
creative solutions in order to enhance people lives .Hence enterprises can be successful only if
they invent and make new things ,or if they make old ones in a new way(zimmerer and
scarborough,2002) .Therefore innovation and creativity can be used interchangible.
Conditions that encourage innovation and creativity
Dimensions of organizational culture that support innovations and creativity include leadership
and management .Top leaders should find ways to encourage their staff to think about innovation
every day, take ownership and responsibility for new ideas and solutions. Organizations should
come up with good innovation strategy which will clarify what is expected of employees and
openly define project target. An organization that is willing to take risk will create room for
experimenting thus it will participate in innovation hubs ,looking for market adjacencies
,embrace co-creation and open innovation opportunities. Innovation and creativity also requires
openness and transparency in communication. employees need clear ,consistent information on
the organization so as to make right innovation decisions .Employees need appreciation for
being creative thus the organization should encourage this by rewarding and recognizing
successful innovations and also ensuring their psychological safety.
Principles and practices of innovation and creativity
Peter F Drucker (1993) listed several principles which should be respected by innovators which
he grouped into the Do’s and Don’ts
The Do’s include the following
First, Innovation starts with analysis of opportunity through unexpected events ,disagreements in
the process, unexpected industry changes ,demographic changes ,change in perception
,importance and new knowledge .second ,innovation is a conceptual and perceptual activity thus
successful innovators work analytically on the question regarding what should the innovation be
in order to satisfy an opportunity .Thirdly ,innovation should be simple and focus in order for it
to succeed .Forth ,innovation should be aim towards leadership so as to be innovative enough
Don’ts
The innovation should not be smart as things done in a smart way are set to fail by higher
probability,also organizations should not innovate for future but for the present
There are also other principles that give life to innovation which:
Innovation starts when people convert problems to ideas through action learning or .innovation
needs a system which can either be formal or informal. innovation consists of both passion and
pain hence innovators should learn to manage both effectively .Building trust is also an
important aspect as this will increase the possibility of exchange of information, stimulation of
creative thinking and critique of ideas. The other principle is differences such as language
,culture, race ,gender being leveraged so as to sustain an innovation process.
Conclusion
Innovation and creativity are used interchangeably .Innovation,creativity and change are
essential for organizational success and survival .successful change is critical but difficult to
manage. Peter Senge(2006),where people continually expand their capacity to create the results
they truly desire ,where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured where collective
aspirations is set free ;and where people are continually learning how to learn together may lead
to a successful organizational culture change as a learning organization is able to accommodate
new changes hastily.
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