WHY HANDY WAS CROWNED AS KING
I chose Handy’s ideas because, thanks to the questionnaire that he uses, you can obtain a quick overview of the organisational culture that you operate in and some measure of how well that culture suits you. No other theory gives you that much information for so little effort. The better you know yourself and your organisation, the more accurate the results will be. Even if you have only been working in the organisation for a short period of time, you can still get some useful information from the questionnaire.
Before you try to change your organisation’s culture, ask for whose benefit you are doing it. Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean it needs changing. Changing any organisation’s culture is always a risk and not something to undertake on a whim. It’s entirely possible that the organisation’s culture does not need to be changed. Remember the story of the proud mum at her son’s army passing-out parade exclaiming that everyone was out of step except her Jimmy. Well, maybe they were – maybe it is the others that need to change to match your preferred culture, but can you afford to be wrong? The old adage ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ may be relevant here but I prefer ‘If you don’t think it’s broke, you may not be looking close enough’.
If you want your organisation to progress you need to identify the organisation’s existing culture, what culture is required for the organisation to flourish in the future, and, if a change is required, how you are going to bring about the required change. Don’t start tinkering until you have answers for all three questions.
Finally, remember that any medium-sized or larger organisation is likely to consist of several sub-cultures. Such a set-up can help build team spirit, but all sub-cultures must contribute to the welfare of the organisation not weaken it. Remember that to change the organisation’s culture all you may need to do is change just one powerful sub-culture.