People are revolting
The Middle East is in a lot of turmoil as the ‘people’ demand change from the dictatorships they have experienced for years to greater democracy in their terms. However, as we have seen, the capitulation in Egypt has not taken place in some of the other countries experiencing unrest. What is happening is the use of force with the army and security forces clamping down with draconian and brutal action designed to stamp out the ‘disorder’. Yet the protests continue even in the face of arrest, imprisonment, torture, and even death.
Now you may ask “what has this to do with culture change in organisations”. My response would be to say “quite a lot” as the reasons the various regimes fight to retain the status quo is a mirror image of what goes on in organisations. They may not use armed weapons but they do tend to make significant use of traditional, psychological and physical methods to quell any imminent revolt by employees.
Following are a few of the key reasons that can be noted about culture change from the ‘unrest’ being in experienced in the Middle East that can be applied to culture change.
- The people in power have all the organs of State set up in ways that support the regime to ensure that the privileged remain privileged.
- Force will be used to contain and eliminate any dissident behaviour even to the extent of using excessive force when the regime considers it necessary.
- Fear is the key weapon of the regime as keeping its people in a state of constant fear makes it much easier to control them. To achieve this state of fear the regime needs to recruit and reward some citizens who are prepared to support it with total loyalty. These citizens are ‘happy’ to use whatever resources necessary to sustain the regime of fear over the less fortunate citizens.
- Although the leaders have accumulated great wealth and privilege, frequently gained by corrupt means, there appears to be very little the ordinary citizen can do to redress this unfairness.
- The bureaucracy and corruption that citizens experience is designed to keep them in their ‘place’ and to ensure that they do not become ‘empowered’ to challenge the status quo.
It is almost impossible to describe the complexity of structure and rule that exists in the Middle East and the five characteristics are not individual items but part of a control tapestry used by the rulers. Let us now turn to what we can learn from the above about business organisations today.
Why status quo still rules
Although we have experienced many amazing developments over the years in science and technology very little has changed in the way most private and public organisations operate with their people. Some of the reasons are very closely related to those listed above that have kept dictatorships in power for many years.
- The structure of most organisations is based on an autocatic hierarchy that is based on the notion that the ‘workers’ need to be very closely supervised by those in ‘management’. In the distant past there may have been some truth to this assertion, however, in today’s world it is becoming increasingly spurious. Yet after a whole heap of culture change initiatives carried out in many organisation very little positive change has occurred. The reason is clear to see as the hierarchy is naturally committed to retaining the status quo between the roles of those called ‘bosses’ from those labelled the ‘workers’.
- Those in positions of power will fight to retain it as the beneifts of what they have and aspire to are so significnat that the fear of losing them inspires the drive to defend them. It has often been said to me by senior managers that they would be mad to give up the rewards/benefits that they had invested years working towards. A clearly understandable position that drives the need to retain the status quo.
- Inequality of reward for contribution is one of the major areas of contention between the ‘workers’ and ‘management’. The ratio of earnings increasing between them only gives greater focus on what many consider to be an unjust and morally undefendable situation. In many cases the rewards paid to managers are in no way related to performance but more to what is euphistically called ‘the market rate’. Whereas for the ‘worker’ their rewards are often based on some measure of performance determined by ‘management’. This results in a significant gap between the value added by the ‘workers’ compared to the negative value deducted by many in the ‘management’ cadre.
- Inequality in the roles played by women along with the disparity in the rewards received compared with what men receive. This has been a ‘running sore’ for many women who know that their contribution to the organisation is at least as effective if not more effective than their male colleagues. Although the ‘glass ceiling’ syndrome has been broken in some organisations it is still more difficult for a woman to be promoted than for a male colleague. The unstated reasons are fairly predictable in that women are too ‘emotional’, don’t like dealing with conflict, lose career traction when having children, are not as ambitious as men, unreliable when making decisions, and too interested in harmony over competition.
- Fear is endemic in many organisations due to the harassment, bullying, and other unfair practices that exist to control the ‘workers’. The fact that fear exists is one of the reasons that Unions have taken on the role of helping their members when ‘management’ has initiated action against one or more of them. The sad truth is that although fear is an incredible force for retaining control it is an equally powerful demotivator resulting in reducing productivity.
What can we learn about making change happen?
There are an interesting number of factors in play that strongly suggest that achieving culture change may in fact become easier. However, it is very clear that one way is not to challenge the ‘management’ directly about change as this alerts them and gives them time to employ their defensive tactics.
To achieve effective culture change requires a vision of what needs to change and what would replace the existing regime to make it a better place for the organisations ‘citizens’. This is unlikely to be one person’s vision as it will take more than one visionary to shape a new culture. Social networking is now offering an excellent way for employees to network and share their view of what needs to be different and better.
The way that social networking is emboldening people power is both exciting and scary as it has its up and downsides. However, handled in a transparent and honest manner it offers a speedy and effective way for people to share their views and opinions. Therefore connecting with like-minded colleagues is the starting point of change as this facilitates the sharing of personal visions from which an integrated vision could emerge.
As the new vision takes shape it will acknowledge that most people are driven by ‘WIIFM’ to some degree. This means appreciating that altruism can be in short supply and any change needs to offer some benefits to those involved before they will be motivated to act. Removal of fear, greater equality, recognition for contribution, encouragement of self-managing practices, more collaboration rather than competition, rewards that relate to the value added, and appreciation and respect shown to everyone in the organisation because they have ‘earned’ it would offer such benefits.
Power to the people!!!
There is no doubt that technology has enabled many groups of people to network in ways that assist them to keep informed and focused on what they want to achieve. Another factor is the fact that the majority of people in organisations are genuinely committed to do a good job. The main reason why some of them fall by the wayside is due to the conforming drive of their organisations for them to ‘fit’ into the culture. The promise of promotion and the accruing benefits encourage people to naturally seek a better lifestyle; unfortunately this often includes increasing debt to buy it. There is also the tendency to be led into having ‘golden handcuffs’ that make it difficult to be different in terms of seeking needed change.
An interesting observation is that it is not only young people who are expressing and taking action to address what they consider to be inappropriate. The awareness can be found across all age groups and this is what will make change happen in ways that we have not yet discovered. All told we are entering a very interesting if not a somewhat scary time.
What is next?
I plan to continue to look for insights from what is happening in the Middle East that point to learning that would be useful to assist in culture change initiatives.
I would appreciate hearing from you by either contacting me at tom.jaap@centell.org or leaving a comment on the blog.
Best wishes
Tom