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equires consideration. The following section will briefly discuss organisational culture and
its relevance to organisational change.
3.2 Organisational Culture.
In trying to comprehend the organisations culture one must first determine how the
actual culture should be described (Willcoxson and Millett, 2000). The Health Service
Executive (2006:21) suggests a simplified explanation on it suggesting that the way
individuals speak of culture as ‘the way we do things around here’. Organisational culture is
neither standardized nor motionless (Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, 2006) but may often occur as
slight alterations between elements that typify the particular culture. Willcoxson and Millett
(2000) highlight that although cultures are energetic in their adaptation to change and the
initiation of new behaviours they still endeavour to preserve some of their old culture and
values. For this reason it is necessary that managers are sensitive to the culture of the
organisation and direct activities in a productive way thereby avoiding unhelpful behaviour of
employees who are not dedicated to the organisations goals and objectives (Coghlan and
McAuliffe, 2003).
The attempt to change the organisation’s culture or even departmental culture can
prove a challenging prospect (Brazil et al, 2010). Culture change in the organisation is
substantially shaped by the leader, therefore they must be confident in their ability to effect
change and motivate others to follow. They are also expected to be effective communicators
(Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, 2006). Kotter (1996) sound a note of caution however, and states
that leaders should realise that management is concerned with planning, organising and
controlling while leadership is related to motivation and inspiration of people.
Denison (2000) identified four qualities of culture and leadership namely; Mission,
Adaptability, Involvement and Consistency (Appendix F). It is clear from the literature
reviewed that while there are a number of definitions of organisational culture, the common
theme is that it is imperative that everyone should be aware of what the culture of their
organisation represents. It is suggested that if an organisation wishes to be successful they
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