Case Scenario:
The senior executive team at AllGoodThings.com, after a strategy review session with the Board of Directors, has decided that it’s time to invest some time and capital in improving the corporate culture. The company has rebounded from a near calamity two years ago, and while it was a great scramble, the company survived and is in the strongest position ever. They knew that the culture had been strained by the episode and wanted sincerely to work to bring things back to “normal.” With the assistance of local HR offices, a case was made to the employee population that certain aspects of their current culture might have suffered over the past few years and that it was time to think about change. They announced that they would be undergoing an organizational culture review and that everyone’s opinion was valued. A whopping 79% of the employees participated in the survey that they administered. Senior management had worked with the consultants for a few months before the survey was given and had determined their “Ideal” scores. The survey confirmed their suspicions.
The table below provides you with the percentile scores from the employee population, the ideal scores from management, and the percentage point difference between management’s ideal and the actual results. The typical ideal score for companies is also given as a reference point. The overall cultural grouping for the individual cultural norms is also identified.
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AllGoodThings.com Cultural Change Analysis
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Employee Results
|
Management Ideal Results
|
Gap
|
Typical Ideal Results
|
|
11
|
Achievement
|
Constructive Styles
|
41.0%
|
50.0%
|
9
|
78.0%
|
|
12
|
Self-Actualization
|
34.0%
|
50.0%
|
16
|
82.0%
|
|
1
|
Humanistic-Encouraging
|
34.0%
|
40.0%
|
6
|
85.0%
|
|
2
|
Affiliative
|
38.0%
|
40.0%
|
2
|
71.0%
|
|
3
|
Approval
|
Passive -Defensive Styles
|
56.0%
|
22.0%
|
-34
|
27.0%
|
|
4
|
Conventional
|
55.0%
|
15.0%
|
-40
|
18.0%
|
|
5
|
Dependent
|
46.0%
|
20.0%
|
-26
|
24.0%
|
|
6
|
Avoidance
|
71.0%
|
27.0%
|
-44
|
27.0%
|
|
7
|
Oppositional
|
Aggressive - Defensive Styles
|
63.0%
|
40.0%
|
-23
|
45.0%
|
|
8
|
Power
|
41.0%
|
41.0%
|
0
|
30.0%
|
|
9
|
Competitive
|
51.0%
|
52.0%
|
1
|
42.0%
|
|
10
|
Perfectionistic
|
63.0%
|
68.0%
|
5
|
25.0%
|
Referencing the information presented above, please analyze the current culture at AllGoodThings.com.
1) Identify and describe the cultural aspects that management cites as important and contrast them to the cultural attributes that employees report as being expected. Also, compare and contrast management’s ideal results with the typical ideal results.
2) Identify the most significant gaps between management’s ideal and the actual results.
3) What conclusions do you draw taking into account all of the facts presented and your analysis?
4) Provide your recommendations for the nexttwo steps in the AllGoodThings.com change process.
5) How would you prioritize and sequence the necessary change?