The Center for Healthcare Leadership
recognizes that organizational culture is a critical factor that often determines whether
organizational change initiatives will succeed or fail. Leadership plays a key role
in integrating cultural knowledge in the design and implementation of change. We see our
role as helping leaders fully understand the culture of their organizations so they can
manage the change process in an informed, effective manner.Cultural assessment provides insight into the norms, values and
beliefs of the organization that define its identity. The cultural assessment serves
as the basis for guiding decisions regarding strategy, structure and implementation.
Culture is the system of meanings members use to
understand and act within their organizations. It is the way people act and the way
things get done. As such, culture is comprised of both (1) a formal component
("expressed culture"), policies that are readily accessible and used by most
members of the organization to interpret and explain events; and (2) an unstated, more
hidden component ("informal culture") which cannot be articulated by most
members of the organization, but exists every bit as much as the policies that govern.
Through this latter component, culture exerts a subtle, invisible and especially
strong influence. Recognizing how both play a role in the organization is a vital
step to successfully managing any change or development program.
