Managing Cultural Change in a Business Process Outsourcing Organization in Makati City

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Effects of Cultural Change in Employees’ Performance

Culture in an organization can be seen between two dimensions: a focus on internal maintenance (smoothing and integration) versus external relationships (competition and differentiation), and a focus on organic processes (flexibility and dynamism) versus mechanistic processes (stability and control) (Cameron & Quinn, 1999). It is vital to recognize that there is not just one organizational culture; as different organizations have distinctive cultures such example is the Competing Values Framework (CVF) based on work by Quinn and Rohrbaugh. One of the four dominant organizational culture type that is related with the performance is the Market (competitive) or Rational culture. Its focus is on planning and goal setting which are then utilized to achieve productivity and efficiency; it emphasizes outcomes and goal fulfillment. Organizations which have this kind of culture is said to have an effective relationship between suppliers, customers, and external stakeholders (O’Donnell & Boyle, 2008; Acar & Acar, 2014). Change is an inevitable part of business; the reasons could be borne out of a need for an organization to become more competitive, due to a merger or an acquisition, higher customer expectations, and greater focus on quality (Pietkiewicz, 2008). As changes occur, resistance is the initial reaction to be gathered from the people involved in the said change. When this happens, employees may feel less optimistic and hopeful about their professional future with the company, they become less focused on doing their tasks, which can lead to a reduced level of output and may affect the company’s bottom line (Belcher, n.d.). A positive and strong culture of an organization can make an individual employee perform and achieve brilliantly whereas a negative and weak culture may demotivate an outstanding employee to underperform and end up with no achievement (Ahmad, 2012). According to GE Capital (2012), culture is considered as an enabler of strategy and performance in high-performing companies; a culture of learning fosters curiosity and exploration, and may enable development of the skills needed to run an innovation-oriented business.

Local Studies

Characteristics of Filipino Organizations’ Corporate Culture

Dr. Racelis (2005) wanted to form a topology that will characterize Filipino organizations, using Deshpandè, Farley and Webster Model of Organizational Culture types. It has four different types: clan, adhocracy, hierarchical, and market-driven. The a) clan culture possesses high affiliation and concern with teamwork and participation. The research showed that firms with this type of culture are architectural firms, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, social welfare, and Philippine retail organizations; the second type, b) adhocracy, refers to entrepreneurial, flexible, innovative, and creative areas with its external oriented and dynamic structure of an organization. The field of computer software and hardware, consulting, education, engineering, print and publishing settles in this type; c) hierarchical culture reflects values and norms associated with bureaucracy. Organizations who belong in this type are those from the banking and finance, the government sector, social welfare, and transport; and the fourth type is d) market-driven, where it emphasizes efficiency and achievement. This includes organizations dealing with architecture, chemicals or oils, food and beverage, manufacturing, property development and utility firms (Racelis, 2009; Acar & Acar, 2014).

Making Organizations Change-ready

As the global business environment today is rapidly changing, organizations are forced to reinvent themselves or undergo transformations to remain relevant and competitive. It is said that change is no longer a matter of choice, but a necessary tool for survival. Changing a part of an organization is often a difficult process as organizations are human systems and an organization’s culture defines the collective character and essence of a group in an organization. The success for change or transformation will ultimately depend on the people who will implement the changes (Hechanova & Teng-Calleja, 2011). There are different factors how an organizational culture is formed such as influence from the founder of the organization, it may have simply evolved or emerged over time as the organization faces challenges and obstacles, or it may be created deliberately by the management (Serrat, 2009). Whatever need that may arise that will force an organization to change their culture; its employees will need time to get used to new ways of organizing. To bring about change and long-term sustainable transformation, it is important for leaders/managers, or HR personnel to know where their company is and where it is trying to go (Joaquin, 2015).These leaders must provide extra support when difficulties are encountered and reinforce desired outcomes. These leaders must also motivate their subordinates as this entails creating readiness for change and identifying areas of resistance for change. According to Hechanova, Ilac, and Elloronco (2012), one effective way of managing change requires a certain level of personal relationship and interaction among members of the organization.

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Synthesis

Organizational culture is widely accepted as the personality of an organization. It is central to the values, beliefs, inter-personal behaviors, and attitudes that guide how employees think and act on the job. According to Desson and Clouthier (2010), corporate culture does not only help in achieving an organization’s goals, but also in attracting and keeping desirable employees, creating a positive public image, and building respectful relationships with stakeholders. Some researches highlight the role of leaders, consultants, and/or human resource managers in managing culture change; that these people should understand and work with culture, they must achieve clarity in the organization’s vision and that they must strategically align their resources to achieve that vision (Schein, 2004; Ryan, Atteberry, & Simon, 2014). Some studies regarding organizational culture also emphasize that it has a powerful effect on the personnel; that it positively affects the job satisfaction of the personnel and the performance of the organization (Zając, 2009; Desson & Clouthier, 2010; Ahmad, 2012; Dwirantwi, 2012; Aksoy, Apak, Eren, & Korkmaz, 2014; Eren et al., 2014).

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