There are three basic elements of managing organizational culture:
A. Taking Advantage of the Prevalent Culture:
Most educational managers inherit an organizational culture and are not in a position to create one. In such a case, the core issue for a manager is how to use the existing culture in the best possible manner. It is difficult to change the history, traditions and values that already exist but it is easier to change or modify behaviour of teachers within the prevailing culture.
In order to do this, managers must first be completely aware of the institution’s values and the actions and behaviours supported by those values. This requires a deep understanding of how organizational values operate in an institution.
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This understanding can be acquired only through experience over a period of time. This is then followed by evaluation of performances of employ2es and managing their behaviours within the context of organizational values.
B. Teaching the Organizational Culture:
This is done through the process of socialization. Socialization is the process through which individuals become social beings and the culture is transmitted from one generation to the next (Whiting, 1968).
It is a process through which children learn to perform adult-roles in a society, acquire societal norms and learn what are acceptable and polite behaviour, how to communicate and interact with their superior, colleagues, non-teaching staff, students and parents.
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Organizational socialization is the process through which employees learn about an institution’s culture and pass on their knowledge and understanding to others. They learn through observation and managerial efforts.
Very often, employees do not learn institution’s values but become aware of the difference between their personal values and organizational values as well as learn to cope with these differences. Formal orientation and training programmes for new employees are expected to facilitate organizational socialization.
C. Changing the Organizational Culture:
Some of the important elements of the process of cultural change are as follows:
(i) Culture is understood and communicated through the use of stories and other symbolic media. However, these stories should be such which support new cultural values rather than strengthen and reinforce the old ones which need to be changed.
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(ii) Changing institutional culture is a long and complex process. Sometimes the principal himself inadvertently reverts to old behavioural patterns though committed to new cultural patterns. Thus, it should be ensured that the manager’s words and actions match new cultural values consistently so as to bring about a change in organizational culture effectively.
(iii) Once the new values and beliefs are internalized by the employees, they become self-reinforcing, stable and influential.