ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Organizational Culture and Leadership, 3rd Edition

314 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND LEADERSHIPassumptions. They could not challenge and overrule some of thepowerful research people and the culture dictated that they stay offof each other’s turf.In such a situation, the basic choices are between more rapidtransformation of parts of the culture to permit the organization tobecome adaptive once again through some kind of “turnaround,” ordestruction of the organization and its culture through a process oftotal reorganization via a merger, acquisition, or bankruptcy proceedings.In either case, strong new change managers or “transformationalleaders” are likely to be needed to unfreeze the organizationand launch the change programs (Kotter and Heskett, 1992; Tichyand Devanna, 1986).Culture Change Through TurnaroundsTurnaround, as a mechanism of cultural change, is actually a combinationof many of the above mechanisms, fashioned into a singleprogram by a strong leader or team of change agents. In turnaroundsituations I have observed or heard about, what strikes me is thatall the mechanisms previously described may be used in the totalchange process, especially the replacement of key people with internalhybrids and outsiders who bring in different assumptions. Inaddition, the turnaround leader will launch planned change programsof the type that will be described in the next two chapters.Turnarounds usually require the involvement of all organizationmembers, so that the dysfunctional elements of the old culturebecome clearly visible to everyone. The process of developingnew assumptions then is a process of cognitive redefinition throughteaching, coaching, changing the structure and processes wherenecessary, consistently paying attention to and rewarding evidenceof learning the new ways, creating new slogans, stories, myths, andrituals, and in other ways coercing people into at least adoptingnew behaviors. All the other mechanisms described earliercome into play, but it is the willingness to coerce that is the key toturnarounds.