Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy, 2nd Edition

Chapter 15

Bringing about Culture Change

Companies around the world are coming to the realization that the right strategy is crucial but not always sufficient. And when great strategies fail, leaders often instinctively know the reason. Their next question is, How do we fix our culture?

(Couto et al., 2007)

Change is an inevitable consequence of strategic decisions. After all, planned strategy involves bringing about desired choices and usually involves stopping, starting or modifying activities. However, if the strategy is to be successful, the organizational culture, or ‘way we do things around here’, needs to be conducive to the change. This is likely to be a culture with a positive work climate, where work practices and employee mindsets ...