Exploring Cultural Web and Its Effective Use by Organizations in Managing Change

The Cultural Web

Johnson Holes And Whittington Use The Concept Of The Cultural Web. Explain The Cultural Web And Discuss How It Can Be Used Effectively By Organisations In The Process Of Managing Change.

Discuss How Organisation Culture Can Be Identified Through The Use Of The Cultural Web Framework With Supporting Examples

Assess The Challenges Of Managing Change And The Role Played By Culture Within The Process

Cultural web consists of the six elements of culture, which are stories, symbols, power structures, organizational structures, control systems and rituals and routines. The web is centrally operated through the paradigm, which shapes the social constructs (Rees & Smith, 2017).

Fig: The Cultural Web

Routines are one of the basic elements of the cultural web, which indicates the methods in which the operations are conducted by the organizations. Routinizing the activities generates systematic approach towards accomplishing the goals and objectives. Mention can also be made of the rituals, which highlight the culture of the organizations. Typical examples in this context are training programs, promotion, motivational seminars, cultural events and others, which diversify the organizational culture. Stories glorify the past, present and future of the organizations. Social media platforms and websites helps in promoting the organizational culture (Lasserre, 2017).

Symbolic representation enhances the glory and achievements of the organization. This aspect includes language, which indicates the hospitality and courtesy towards achieving customer satisfaction. Control systems are effective for the organizations to monitor and measure the performance through the means of focus attention and activities. Examples can be cited of the performance management systems, which assists in controlling the performance.  According to Rees and Smith, (2017), power structures reflects the power and authority exerted by the managers to promote the organizational values and beliefs. Organizational structures are the typical exemplar for showcasing the power structures, indicating the relationship structures.

All of these aspects are centrally controlled by the paradigm, which depicts the assumptions, beliefs and values possessed by the staffs towards the organizational issues. There is a particular method for approaching the activities. Herein lays the effectiveness of the cultural view of strategy, which invokes systematic progression within the business for accomplishing the targets. Strategic approach of the staffs evokes mutual understanding reflects the shared values, beliefs. Lasserre (2017) is of the view that power structures are to be exercised for measuring the extent to which the shared values, beliefs and assumptions relate to the goals, objectives and strategies.

Doherty and Stephens, (2019) states that cultural compatibility is one of an important consideration for conducting the risk assessment tests. In this context, consciousness is needed from the managers towards ignorance and resistance towards the strategies, which contradicts the compatibility towards preserving the cultural elements. Change management models is beneficial in this context for mapping the transition from the unfreezing to the freezing stage. Measurement of the performance through routines helps in systematizing the operations.

References

Doherty, O., & Stephens, S. (2019). The cultural web, higher education and work-based learning. Industry and Higher Education, 0950422219879614.

Lasserre, P. (2017). Global strategic management. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Rees, G. & Smith, P. eds., (2017). Strategic human resource management: An international perspective. Sage.