Cultural Web Analysis Of Heinz Australia - Sample Solution

Question: Discuss about theCultural Web Analysis of Heinz Australia. Answer: Introduction The paper will be making use of the case Transforming the Corporate Culture at Heinz Australia for identifying the problems that exist in the company and then the use of the change management theory i.e. the cultural web will be made for providing an explanation as to why the problems have arisen. Subsequently supported recommendations will be developed for improving the situation by taking into account the concerns as well as the interests of the stakeholders. Culture has an influence on the development of strategy as well as learning. Thus, for understanding the issues related to a company, it is first essential to have an understanding of the corporate culture and take into consideration the various dimensions that are associated with it. In corporate culture a system that is self-correcting and which can show improvement when mistakes occur is needed (Newell et al., 2009). Change management is inevitable in the world of today and for implementing changing, it is vital that the or ganisation is ready for it (Weiner, 2009). Understanding the organisations culture is important for implementing change management (Mento et al., 2010). Understanding Organisational Culture Culture is an aspect that comes from within the people and for rewarding the common capacities that they possess they put it together. Identity as well as continuity is provided to a group by culture. Contributions that are contradictory are balanced by culture and it operates as a system that is self steering and which gains learning through feedback. It acts as an information pattern and to a large extent it helps in facilitating the exchange of understanding. Values that are mostly harmonious are present within the culture (Hampden-Turner). Culture has also been explained as a pattern that comprises basic assumptions discovered, invented as well as discovered or developed by a particular group when it is learning to deal with the issues related to internal integration and also external adaptation which have been working fine in order to be considered as valid. Hence, a teaching regarding them needs to be given to the new members for assisting them in learning the correct way of perceiving, learning and feeling with respect to the problem (Schein, 2004). As per the above definitions, every organisation has a unique culture which has been given shape by the beliefs as well as the values of the people working there. As the evolution of culture occurs, it works in coordinating and controlling decision making, action and behaviour in the organisations. Thus, culture is a reflection of not only the written and explicit rules that an organisation has but also the subconscious and unwritten intangible beliefs and assumptions which give shape to organisational behaviour and can be observed in every facet of the daily life. These consist of the control, command, empowerment and styles of leadership; dress along with language; ways in which one way or two way communication can take place, upfront and open or guarded carefully and closed; adaptive and flexible, fluid or rigid, simple or complex, flat or tall structure of the organisation, and the ones that are regarded by the organisation as winners and heroes. It also includes the competitive success basis (cooperative or collective / individualistic). Cultural Web of Heinz, Australia Cultural Web is a tool that was for the first time mentioned by Gerry Johnson (1992). For the identification of culture that exists within the organisation, this is a perfect tool. The six key elements of the cultural web are interlinked to form a paradigm that is webs core. The cultural web can be considered similar to a medical check-up. It is instrumental in providing the management with the organisations cultural audit so that both the strengths as well as the weaknesses can be diagnosed. Thus, an opportunity is provided for the people managing the process of change to go deep in order to bring the hidden assumptions along with the beliefs and values that can be identified more readily to the surface. As a result identification becomes easy in terms of the aspects where major roadblocks will be encountered by the change managers for introducing changes and where allies and supporters can be expected. This will help them in prioritising their agenda of change and implement the mos t suitable mechanisms for managing the process of change. The components of culture that are tangible as well as intangible are also highlighted by the web. These work together in shaping organisational competencies that are distinctive or cause impediments in the organisations growth as well as development (Graetz et al., 2010). The nature of culture along with its composite parts that have been investigated and this will be helpful in analysing the cultural web value to identify the extent to which changes can possibly be made in the existing culture of the organisation. The implementation procedure requires that there is a deep understanding regarding the culture in which the organisation is operating or aiming to operate along with the understandings related to the cultures that exist in the organisation itself so that if required re-adaption can take place. Paradigm/Core Beliefs /Assumptions The real core of the culture of the organisation is represented by the paradigm which lies at the centre of the cultural web. These include the aspects of the life of the organisation that are invincible and hidden and which people find difficulty in identifying and explaining. It is a sort of taken for granted approach on the way things should take place and as a consequence are very difficult to change. A major issue is that the dominant behaviours as well as attitudes in Heinz had resulted in inaction along with fear and changes will be negligible in the organisation till these assumptions that are deep seated are brought to the surface and challenged. The paradigm was very negative at Heinz Australia that was present before the Widdows change. The culture was punitive with low risks. There was too much of inward focus where all the things appeared to be very difficult or involved too much of efforts. A feeling of transparency and positivity was brought into the organisation by Widdow which helped in instilling the confidence of the employees. Routines and Rituals A mantra regarding the organisation that was defined by Widdows was that it was a great place for working. This can be reflected in the routines as well as the rituals of everyday by show of respect towards one another and listening to everyones opinion which formed a part of the organisations routine behaviour (Collins Smith, 2006). Stories The senior management spread the stories throughout the organisation by the demonstration of the approach of Walk the talk in each of their behaviours. Widdow was the leader in this on the way people should behave with one another and the way he expected the behaviour of the other persons. Thus, for all the people in the organisation, he acted as a role model to whom all of them including the staff as well as the senior management could look up to. Symbolic Aspects The behaviour of the employees reflected the symbolic expression related to a great place of working. They were always ready to make contributions, innovating new ideas and challenging the complacency. Doing what was done by Widdows was a challenging task however, by constant communication of the same to the employees, this could be achieved (okpekin Knudsen, 2012). Power Structures Widdow placed emphasis in the removal of the power structure and also on showing the organisations employees that the organisation was respecting them and caring for them. The various initiatives such as the removal of staff monitoring, option of taking Friday as off on savings on the daytime, flexible working week displayed the mutual trust that existed between the employee and the employer and the balance between work and life. Organisational Structures At Heinz, Australia changes were brought in the organisational structure by reduction in salary of the staff by 25%, restructuring of the members of the board by bringing members into the middle level of the board. This made a clear statement that for an organisation the source of the innovative ideas was the bottom and middle level employees and for listening to them, it is necessary to bring them onto the board. Attitude change among the employees was also possible due to this (Cooksey, 2011). Control System Control system measures the system of rewards. All those who had made contributions with the ideas that were innovative were rewarded by the higher management as well as by Widows. This acted as a motivating factor for the others and also for the person who contributed the idea for thinking and acting more for the organisations betterment. The process is continuous wherein all the people working on the daily activities take a decision of doing it in a way that is better and then give suggestions to the superiors. This scenario is different from what it was earlier as people were afraid of thinking as well as speaking aloud. The organisations culture and attitude assisted all the people in being more positive and open. Major Forces for and against Change The cultural web analysis of the organisation helps in the identification of the key forces for as well as against change. As a part of the analysis all the web elements describe the forces either for or against change. On the basis of the organisational structure, it is a clarity that that restructures have taken place in the organisation by inviting middle level people and providing encouragement to their ideas. This will help in the implementation of new changes in the organisation since the receptiveness of the people towards change will increase. As per this symbolic aspect of the analysis there has been a change in the behaviour of the middle management and thus it has become all the more receptive and respectful of the ideas that are new (Vinding, 2006). This is an indication of the trust in the organisations vision and the same level of behaviours will be shown by the employees when interacting with their subordinates as well as the other members both inside the organisation and also outside it. the positive environment of work and attitude of the organisation has played a significant part in the implementation of changes which have been suggested by Widdows. As a consequence of this the attrition rate in the company was low which indicated increased loyalty for the company. The major forces that exist against the change for the company were figured out in the analysis of routine as well as rituals of the employees that indicated a work environment that was highly depressing and negative, the higher managements lack of confidence as it had the feeling that all the tasks are needed too much of effort and were also very difficult. This resulted in faith and optimism going out of the company resulting in it becoming an organisation that was focused inward. The power structure also gave the suggestion that nobody from the middle management was included in the board members resulting in high degree of autonomy of at the top due to which the opinion as well as the ideas of the lower management could not be heard. For the survival of any organisation, a significant factor is innovation otherwise the organisation cannot survive (Roberts, 2007). In Heinz, Australia also there was lack of innovation before the joining of Widdow which resulted in the organisation b ecoming dull and almost dead. Absence of innovation and also experimentation resulted in the stagnancy of the organisation and it slipped into a mode of complacency. Key Strengths of the New Culture Each change that is conducted as a change management part needs to show compliance with the companys overall strategic objectives. The changes related to trust, openness and challenging of the status quo have been introduced in the organisation and they form the cultures basic ingredients (Adams et al., 2006). Attitude and Behaviour Changes This ensured that no one was taken for granted. From inward looking organisation, it started encouraging experimentation and innovation. The top management sent a clear message that they wanted to survive, change and grow with the assistance of operational efficiency, employee engagement and a desire for excelling. Openness and Transparency The kind of knowledge that is transferred in a particular situation is determined by the cultural norm. It can consist of punishment, rewards, expectation and rules. Heinz Australia developed a culture that comprised transparency and openness which put the organisation in a strong position as openness in environment facilitated the flow of knowledge to the right sort of persons so that they could handle problems in future (Kang Snell, 2009). Loyalty and Commitment The development of loyalty sense for the organisation was developed by the employees resulting in low attrition and high engagement with superiors. This helped in ensuring that new knowledge and learnings remained within the organisation and also spread to others. Employees found the company a great place for working. This develops into a strategic force for achieving common goals. Self-Learning Mode for Improving Continuously The company improved on its mistakes and worked hard for achieving results that were better. This will help it in attaining competitive advantage. Recommendations Sustaining the Positive as well as the Innovative Environment Heinz, Australia has to ensure that the culture of negativity as well as pessimism is not brought back into the organisation and they continue with be a great place for working. The environment that is positive and surrounded by openness along with innovativeness has resulting in giving a platform to the employees for meeting the external world challenges. Avoidance of Complacency Management should avoid becoming complacent even after they have become successful and profitable. The basic behaviour which is related to trust and mutual respect needs to prevail for the organisations success. Once, the maturity of the organisations and increasing profitability will become a regular feature, they tend to develop complacency (Alves et al., 2007). The employees need to constantly communicate the vision of the management and creativity and innovative culture needs to be ensured (Moultrie Young, 2009). Transparency and Fairness The company needs to give a fair treatment to its employees with respect to the corporate practices and ethics. As the control system of the cultural web, the reward as well as recognition practice for the deserving candidates needs to be a practice that should be adopted by all the units of the company. This helps in motivating the deserving candidates and the subordinates to put in better performance. Lead by Example The great place needs to sustain the corporate culture for ensuring that the employees are engaged with the organisation and willing to put in extra efforts for achievement of the best results. A great effort was undertaken by Widdow in bringing changes in the attitudes as well as the mindsets of the people for attaining the best of everyone and increasing the companys profitability (Chen Huang, 2009). Flexibility facilitates innovations and Heinz, Australia by being innovative and open has achieved flexibility. This needs to be sustained. Conclusion Heinz Australia that had become an organisation which was pessimistic as well as inward focusing wherein the people had apprehensions in talking out openly but under Widdows leadership its transformation took place into an enterprise that was profitable and successful. The reason for this turnaround by Widdow was analysed and the changes that he implemented were focused for bringing improvements in the company. Identification of a problem is the first step for solving it. The problems were identified so that change management could be adopted so that the turnaround of the organisation could happen. Consequently, the negativity paradigm, inward thinking and lack of confidence shifted towards being more transparent and open and led to experimentation and exploration. References Adams, R., Bessant, J. Phelps, R., 2006. Innovation management measurement: A review,. International Journal of Management Reviews, 8(1), pp.21-47. Alves, J., Marques, M.J., Saur, I. Marques, P., 2007. 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