The Impact of External Influences on Organizational Culture and Change Management

This unit assignment considers the impact of external influences and how the digital and commercial environment shapes businesses and the
culture within which they operate. It considers the importance of people’s behaviour on organisational culture and its ability to manage change
effectively.

Case study

You work in the HR Team of a medium sized organisation and are studying for your people practice qualification. In a recent discussion with your manager, you expressed how important you thought it was for employees to understand the organisation’s business environment. You feel this is especially important for people practice professionals as their roles impact on the policies, processes and values of the organisation, which in turn impact on all the people within the organisation.

Inspired by this discussion, your manager has asked you to help prepare for the team’s next development day. A team-based learning needs analysis has shown that as well as more knowledge about the business environment, the team would benefit from a deeper understanding of organisational culture and how humans behave in organisations. The team would also like to build their knowledge and skills in relation to change management.

Preparation for the Tasks:

Spend time planning your answer. You should attend the Assessment Q&A session if you have any questions about the assessment tasks.
Refer to the indicative content in the unit to guide and support your evidence.

Pay attention to how your evidence is presented, remember you are working in the People Practice Team.
Ensure that the evidence generated for this assessment remains your own work.

Task One – Slide Deck for Team Day

Your manager has asked you to prepare a presentation (slide deck and brief presenter notes) in readiness for delivery to the HR Team at the next Team day. The aim of the presentation, entitled ‘The Business Environment’ is for team members to gain a general understanding of their
organisation’s business environment and the key issues that can affect this.

Your presentation (which you are not required to deliver) can be based on your own organisation or one(s) that you are familiar with, and should include the following:

Application of an analysis tool (such as PESTLE) to examine the key external forces impacting or likely to impact an organisation’s activities. (AC 1.1)

An explanation of an organisation’s business goals and why it is important for organisations to plan for how they will achieve these. Your explanation should include examples of planning, such as how a business has been structured or specific policies introduced or people practices followed, in order for business goals to be achieved. (AC 1.2)

An explanation of an organisation’s products and/or services and main customers. (AC 1.3)

A short review of different technologies available to people professionals and how these can be used to improve working practices and collaboration. You might consider for example, technologies relating to communications, information sharing, record keeping, learning, wellbeing, productivity or security. (AC 1.4)

Task Two – Guidance Leaflet

In line with the team’s learning need analysis and knowing that they will be required to support a number of change initiatives soon, your manager has also asked you to prepare a guidance leaflet for the team. The guidance leaflet should cover two main themes and include examples to ‘bring the information to life’. The two themes are:

1) information about organisational culture and how people behave in organisations

2) guidance about the impact of change and how organisational change can most effectively be managed.

Your guidance leaflet should explain:

1. What is meant by workplace (organisation) culture (AC 2.1)

2. Why it is important to foster an appropriate and effective workplace culture. (AC 2.1)

3. How organisations are whole systems in which different areas and aspects such as structure, systems and culture, are all inter-related. (AC 2.2)

4. An example of how good people practice, and an example of how bad people practice can impact other parts of the organisation or beyond the organisation (for example through developing new and better ways of doing things or through poor practice stimulating new legislation). (AC 2.2)

5. How individuals may learn and develop in different ways in organisations and how this might be accommodated in assessing and developing skills and capabilities. (AC 2.3)

6. Why it is important for an organisation’s business that change is predicted, planned and effectively managed. (AC 3.1)

The nature and importance of different roles that can be played by people practice professionals, in relation to change agendas. You might consider roles such as:gatekeeper, champion, facilitator, critical friend or record-keeper. (AC 3.2)

How change can impact people in organisations, such as changing their role or status or financial situation, and the different ways people may respond to change.